Six of these ten charming little pieces, originally written for the piano by Ibert, were arranged in 1933 for flute and piano by Marcel Moyse.

For "La meneuse de tortues d'or..." (The Leader of the Golden Tortoises), the sweet, droll melodic line expressing the movement of the "slowpoke" is totally given over to the flute, but other than that, few additions or changes are made to the piano original except for an occasional doubling of a bass figure in octaves. The scoring of the music for the two separate instruments does, however, make the feeling of the piece more "doux et mélancolique" (sweet and melancholy). "Dans la maison triste" (In the Sad House), with its elusive three-part mini-story is also enhanced by this same instrumental separation, especially in the easier-to-follow 1940s-romantic-mystery-film-score chromatic lines in the first part. Similarly, the staccato crystalline chords that accompany "La cage de cristal..." (The Crystal Cage...) are beautifully distinguished from its childlike melody.

"Le petit âne blanc..." (The Little White Donkey...) is transposed a half step higher than the piano original to G major, which makes the piece more playable on the flute and makes the timbre somewhat lighter. The charming melody is given over to the flute. Moyse distributes the notes of the little "hee-haw" dissonances between the two instruments (simultaneously, an upward figure for the flute and a downward figure for the piano), which makes their timbre sharper and more contrasting. He retains the more densely chorded "hee-haws" as in the original, and later doubles the top notes with the flute, making these dissonances more poignant and delightful. To the coda, Moyse has added a major-scale run not in the original but which makes for a more effective cadence against the sustained piano chords.

"La marchande d'eau fraîche..." (The woman Who Sells Fresh Water) is an especially effective arrangement which allows the piano to continue the lovely patterns made of alternating fourths in both hands, while the flute picks up the melody. This gives the music a more "liquid" texture than the piano original, where the pattern must be stopped in the right hand in order to play the melodies.

Likewise, in "Le cortège de Balkis..." (The Balkis Procession), the flute is given most of the melodic material, which frees the line to truly be "free and brilliant" as well as "supple and nonchalant." The timbre of the flute itself here suggests the oriental dance and march of the music. The separations of the often contrasting articulations of the piano and flute also create more colors.

© "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Music Guide