Federico Ibarra is
one of Mexico’s leading composers but
I must admit that until this CD plopped
onto my doormat I had never heard of
him. His CV is impressive. He has written
symphonies, cantatas, songs, these six
piano sonatas and other solo sonatas,
several concertos, operas, ballet and
incidental music. His music is often
performed throughout the Hispanic world.
Since 1998 he has been professor emeritus
at the University Autonoma de Mexico.
These six piano sonatas
span almost a lifetime.
The first sonata is
actually a brief ‘Sonata 0’ written
as a student at the Escorial Nacional
de Musica. No date is given in the CD
booklet so I would guess c.1965. It
is reminiscent of Prokofiev and at four
minutes duration this simple Allegro
tells us nothing about the composer.
The first sonata proper dates from almost
ten years later and is a somewhat curious
affair. As I decided to listen to the
works in chronological order and not
the order presented on the CD this put
me off the composer early on which was
unfortunate. The anonymous booklet notes
call it a "bold experiment employing
random techniques". As you can
gather therefore it is typical of its
period. Ibarra goes in for various effects,
such as playing inside the piano and
on the sounding-board. The score is
marked ‘Nervoso-Calmado’ and although
it is in three sections it plays without
a break.
I can’t say that I
went much on the Second Sonata either
although it does have a better sense
of structure. Also in one movement,
it divides into two tempi markings and
three sections: a powerful Lento which
lacks memorable material and later an
Allegro. Sadly it is presented in a
single track.
After that I tackled
the Third Sonata with a certain circumspection
but then started to warm towards Ibarra.
I began to wonder about the logic of
a composer having recorded works - i.e.
the first two sonatas - which do not
necessarily reflect his most representative
efforts, just for the sack of ‘completism’.
And it was at this point that I especially
noticed the brilliance of pianist Cecilia
Soria. She is also Mexican. The biography
in the booklet tells us that she is
"dedicated to the study and dissemination
in Europe of Mexican 20th
Century piano music". I assume
from that, that she did not learn these
works especially for the CD. Indeed
she sounds confident and at home in
them, as if she has performed them in
public. This sonata proved it for me
using material from Ibarra’s successful
opera Madre Juana of 1986. Here
we have some fascinating sonorities
which are played with sensitivity and
understanding. I also found myself wondering
if the composer composes at the piano.
I suspect so as that may be how he has
found some of the unusual sounds he
conjures from the instrument which in
his - and Soria’s - hands one can quite
often forget is a member of the percussion
department. The sound-world of this
work, especially the tense and mysterious
opening, which contrasts an occasional
repeated bass notes against high treble
chromatics, is reminiscent of ‘atmosphere
music’ you might well find in orchestral
scene-setting in an opera. I must however
add at this point that the ‘boxy’ studio
recording does not help either the performer’s
subtleties or the composer’s special,
often very quiet, effects. From that
point of view it is therefore quite
a disappointment.
The Fourth Sonata uses
material from his next opera Alicia.
Like Tippett, Ibarra seems to need to
explore the idea of relating works by
using up material which he feels could
go further. This sonata, based around
repeated Gs again plays without a break,
falling into a fast-slow-fast pattern.
It is austere, even harsh but hits home
and it made me feel that from that point
onwards the composer had definitely
found his personal language.
The last two sonatas
are in many ways more conservative.
If you are the kind
of listener who likes to start at the
beginning of a new CD and work methodically
through, or one who asks for a sample
in a shop which always begins with the
first track, then you will first encounter
the three movement Fifth Sonata. This
is fortunate because this is probably
the most approachable of them all. It
has the atmosphere and soundworld of
the Fourth but also an exciting scherzo-like
and virtuoso middle movement. The Sixth
Sonata continues in the same vein. This
is in two movements with a long and
pounding Presto finale. There at last
the listener realizes the composer’s
indebtedness to the piano writing of
Ginastera or indeed of fellow Mexican
Carlos Chavez (1899-1978) especially
a fiery, rhythmic work like the orchestral
Sinfonia India.
I find quite difficult
to do a sensible summing up. With restricted
shelf-space I have come to the conclusion
that I probably will not keep this disc
as it does not have enough of interest
to make me want to play it very often.
On the other hand these are well-crafted
pieces, superbly performed and conceived.
Each sonata approaches the form in a
slightly different way and it is interesting
to witness the composer’s development
if you play them from 0 to 6. Anyway
you’ve read the review so now it’s all
down to your curiosity.
Gary Higginson
Cecilia Soria (piano) 
for
details
