Escales (Ibert)
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("Ports of Call") is a three-movement orchestral suite by
Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of 20th-century classical music, classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoir ...
. The music was inspired by several voyages the composer made in the years after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He did not originally give the three movements geographical titles, but they are now customarily headed "Rome– Palerme", "Tunis– Nefta" and "
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
". was an immediate success when premiered in Paris in 1924 and has remained one of Ibert's most popular works.


Background

After distinguished naval service in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
– winning the
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
and the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
Nichols, p. 6 – Jacques Ibert resumed his interrupted musical career. In 1919 he sat for the
Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, France's most prestigious musical prize, and won it at the first attempt. The prize brought with it two or three years' residence in and study at the
Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...
, the
French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...
. Students were required to submit their new compositions to the
Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...
; Ibert's first submission from Rome was a sombre orchestral piece inspired by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
's poem ''
The Ballad of Reading Gaol ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand and Naples, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross indecenc ...
''. It was followed by an opera, '' Perseus and Andromeda'' and, in 1922–23, . Before setting off for Rome, Ibert had married his fiancée, Rose-Marie Veber. They sailed to the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
but Ibert was taken ill in
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
and the couple returned to Paris. Nevertheless, Ibert jotted down some musical impressions.Michel, p. 33 In February 1921 the Iberts took a more extended sea trip, calling at various Mediterranean ports, before taking up residence in Rome. Ibert gathered more material during the cruise. The vibrancy and shimmering sunlight of
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
in Sicily delighted him, and he invoked them in the
tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...
rhythms of the first movement. The plaintive oboe melody of the second movement was transcribed from a chant he heard in Tunisia, and the third movement, inspired by
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, is an evocation of Spain in the tradition of
Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
and
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
.Wright, p. 5 In a 1967 biography of Ibert, Gérard Michel wrote:


Premiere

The first performance of was given on 6 January 1924 at the
Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...
in Paris by the
Lamoureux Orchestra The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoure ...
conducted by
Paul Paray Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray (French: ɔl paʁɛ 24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and composer. After winning France's top musical award, the Prix de Rome, he fought in the First World War and was a prisone ...
.Brussel, Robert
"Les Concerts"
''Le Figaro'', 7 January 1924, p. 4


Reception

The work was well received in Paris. The music critic of ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' wrote: was taken up internationally. It was given at the Prague International Festival shortly after the premiere, and was subsequently programmed by orchestras throughout Europe and in the US. It was not invariably applauded. After the British premiere, under
Hamilton Harty Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist. After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a ...
, the reviewer in ''
The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...
'' compared Ibert unfavourably with Joaquín Turina and
Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...
; after the Italian premiere a critic commented on the three movements, "They did not evoke admiration, the material used in their construction lacking both in invention and development – shortcomings that brilliance in orchestration did not compensate". Nevertheless, such was the general popularity of the piece that Ibert later complained mildly that it was overshadowing his subsequent compositions: "I have written twenty works since , but ..."


Score

The full score was published in 1924. The geographical labels now usually attached to each movement did not appear in it: they were added later, at the behest of his publisher and the composer raised no objection to them.Guillard, Annie (1976). Notes to CBS LP 7623


Orchestration

The work is scored for: *Piccolo, 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 3 bassoons *4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba *Timpani (4 drums), bass drum, cymbals, military drum, tambourine, castanets, tam-tam, triangle, xylophone, celesta, 2 harps *Strings ::Source: Orchestral score and
IMSLP The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public domain, public-domain sheet music, music scores. The project use ...
.Ibert, title page


Analysis

The total playing time of the work is about 15 minutes."Escales"
IMSLP. Retrieved 10 November 2024


I. Rome–Palerme

. G♯ minor, changing to F♯ major. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 = 63–69.
Over shimmering tremolos of high muted violins the solo flute has the opening melody. It is interspersed with dashes of harp tone, and the melody is taken up by a solo oboe, which is likewise interrupted by the harps. The movement grows increasingly brilliant and the theme is taken up by violins and finally by all the woodwinds. There follows a lively tune for solo trumpet, possibly indicating a new port of call or a fresh adventure. The music reaches a climax before calming down and reverting to the languorous calm of the opening.


II. Tunis–Nefta

. D minor. 𝅘𝅥 = 108.
An
ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
accompaniment of the strings and timpani, with the oboe melody marked (soft and melancholy), evokes the Middle East. Ibert said that the main theme, representing Nefta, was "entirely based on a tune I heard in the Tunisian desert. It helped me to recreate in music the atmosphere and the memory of the landscape and scenery where I spent several weeks". An uneven seven-beat pulse is sustained by strings both plucked (
pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...
) and tapped with the wood of the bow ().


III. Valencia

. B♭ major. 𝅘𝅥. = 80.
Generations of French composers, including Lalo, Bizet, Chabrier,
Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
and
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
had been fascinated by Spain and depicted it in their music."Spanish music by French composers"
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, 1 July 2025
Ibert here follows in that tradition. The blazing colours with which the movement opens, the sinuous rhythms of its quieter bars, the mounting excitement and the fiery finish are all in this established tradition.


Notes, references and sources


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * {{cite book , last = W first = Simon, title =Jacques Ibert, date = 1994, location = London, publisher = Decca, oclc = 946049576 1924 compositions