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Ibert: Histoires: Piano Book

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Ibert: Histoires Cover Image
Ibert: Histoires: Piano Book

Ibert: Histoires: Piano Book

By Jacques Ibert / ed. Wesley Roberts

Level: Advanced

Item: 00-44328
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Description
Jacques Ibert's Histoires, a collection of 10 Impressionistic piano pieces, was written between 1912 and 1922. Most of the pieces were composed during Ibert's years in Rome at the French Academy, and many of the pieces were inspired by the sights seen during his travels to Spain, Italy, and Tunisia. These works are known for the vivid images they evoke and have found a permanent place in the teaching repertoire. The collection has been transcribed for various instruments, including piano duet (one piano, four hands). The complete set is approximately 23 minutes in duration. Titles: I (La meneuse de tortues d'or) * II (Le petit âne blanc) * III (Le vieux mendicant) * IV (A Giddy Girl) * V (Dans la maison triste) * VI (Le palais abandonné) * VII (Bajo la mesa) * VII (La cage de cristal) * IX (La marchande d'eau fraiche) * X (Le cortège de Balkis).

Dr. Wesley Roberts is Professor of Music at Campbellsville University, where he teaches courses in piano, organ, and musicology, and has been a member of the faculty since 1982. He has presented concerts as pianist and organist throughout the United States, in Europe, and in Asia. Roberts is co-author with Maurice Hinson of The Piano in Chamber Ensemble, 2nd Ed. and Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire, 4th Ed., and he is a past president of the Kentucky Music Teachers Association.

This edition is a winner of the 2017 Music Publishers Association Paul Revere Awards For Graphic Excellence.

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Additional Details
Series: Alfred Masterwork Edition
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 40
ISBN10: 1-4706-2285-8
ISBN13: 978-1-4706-2285-5
UPC: 038081499376
SKU: 00-44328

More about this title

About the Composer: Jaques Ibert

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) was a French composer who bridged late Romanticism and modernism with a compositional voice that prized clarity, wit, and vivid orchestration. His years as director of the French Academy in Rome (1937-1960) cemented his reputation as both composer and influential pedagogue, yet his most enduring works remain those written during his formative period, when travel and cultural immersion fueled his imagination.

Why we love this

Histoires occupies a rare space: it offers advanced pianists character pieces with genuine substance and sophistication without demanding virtuosic pyrotechnics. The collection's painterly quality and accessibility have kept it relevant in both studio and recital settings for over a century, making it ideal for students ready to explore impressionistic color and narrative architecture.

What to expect

Histoires conjures intimate scenes with spare, luminous orchestration translated to the keyboard. Each piece is a miniature world of precise colors and emotional clarity: melancholy, whimsy, decay, and exoticism emerge through harmonic subtlety and restraint rather than romantic excess.

Who it's for

Advanced pianists preparing recital material, competitive festival programs, or students exploring early 20th century French aesthetics beyond Debussy. Teachers seeking repertoire that develops interpretive maturity and awareness of impressionistic harmony will find these ten pieces invaluable.

How to get the most out of it

  • Shape each piece's harmonic language by listening through the pedal rather than relying on finger technique alone; Ibert's impressionistic textures demand sensitivity to sustain and resonance.
  • Approach the programmatic titles as compositional invitations: let the evoked imagery (a golden tortoise, a white donkey, an abandoned palace) guide your choices in tone, pace, and rubato rather than literal description.
  • Attend carefully to Ibert's sparse but precise dynamic markings; his use of sudden shifts in texture often carries more weight than overt dramatic gestures.
  • Balance rhythmic precision in pieces with dance rhythms (Bajo la mesa) against the freedom needed for introspective passages; this collection rewards interpretive nuance within structural clarity.

How to use it

Construct a thematic recital around travel and visual imagery by pairing selections from Histoires with other impressionistic or early modernist piano works. Individual pieces work well as contest selections or studio recital fillers, while the full collection (approximately 23 minutes) serves as a substantial program entry for advanced students exploring mid-career twentieth-century repertoire.

Skills your students will build

  • Impressionistic harmonic language and voice leading in early 20th century idiom
  • Sustain and pedal control without harmonic muddiness
  • Rubato and interpretive flexibility within notated structure
  • Tone color differentiation and dynamic control in sparse textures
  • Narrative and programmatic interpretation of instrumental character pieces

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