Ever in search of attractive works that have not yet found a place in the chamber repertoire, the versatile
Chamber Music Palm Beach presents seven obscure but interesting pieces on Prisms, the group's fourth release on Klavier. Composed as music for a televised shoe commercial, Irving Fine's One, Two, Buckle My Shoe stands out as the most charming work here, both for its bright, neo-Classical timbres and childlike humor. Almost as amusing is
Darius Milhaud's irreverent Little Symphony No. 3, Op. 71, "Sérénade," which is enjoyable for its pungent polytonality and insouciant Parisian flavor. Clark McAlister's vigorously contrapuntal The Moon in the River may also be counted among the album's liveliest selections, and Gabriel Pierné's gallant Ballet de Cour evokes Renaissance dance music with great panache. Albert Roussel's Duo for bassoon and string bass is a bit of a disappointment for its brevity, but its meandering quirkiness may raise a smile. More subdued and introspective in tone are Amy Beach's Theme and Variations and Charles Tomlinson Griffes' Sketches Based on Indian Themes (2). While these late-Romantic American works provide some heft to the otherwise bubbly program, they are perhaps the least entertaining selections because of their earnestness and comparatively somber colors. Klavier's recording is exceptional.