Yvon Demillac
Les Productions D’Oz: 8 pages
Yvon Demillac’s pieces are always easy on the ear, pleasant to put your fingers round also, and moreover are often about water, or the sea. So when I saw the title I at first assumed that this was going to be a bluesy piece, until I realized that it the colour of water he is referring to, and writing about. There are five little miniatures here, beginning with Outremer (Overseas), which has two speeds, the opening one, marked Ritmico set in 5/4 in Dm with a dropped D 6th, before turning into the major key for a rubato section where the emotions ride high, as the two part writing falls very nicely in your hands, leading to a 2/4 section still governed by the rubato. After a repeat of all that has gone before a slightly slower section flowing in semi-quavers arpeggios returns us to the opening speed for a varied 4/4 repeat of the first theme. This is however very brief and the slower speed returns and continues to the coda, with a broken two chord idea. A very short 8 bar interlude follows called Horizon, which although given a place as the second piece in the set is barely a piece in its own right. Azur follows, beginning with harmonics both natural and artificial, before a gently rocking idea consisting of a pair of notes alternating with a lower note in the middle voice takes over, moving slightly away from the opening theme, in the middle only to move to a coda consisting of a completely new Giocoso, slightly faster idea, that leads from a harmonic chord to the 4th Movement Reflet Bleue which is a gentle 3/8 idea , again quite brief, leading finally to Les Provinces Atlantiques, which is the fastest moving section in the work, and largely alternates between 4/4/ and 3 / 4.A brief poco animato , of 4 bars , leads back to the opening speed, and varied theme, for a brief coda that climbs slowly and freely up to top B on harmonic 7 of the first string.
The entire piece is very pleasant, gentle, nicely and friendly harmonized and it was enjoyable as far as it went, but my only criticism is that it was a little light – weight , and to my ears , didn’t really gel into a complete piece. It felt and sounded like 5 very pleasant little interludes, two of them very brief, but that was all. If you like this composer’s style then this fact won’t bother you, and providing you have a moderately good technique, then you will find this little set quite enjoyable.
Chris Dumigan