• The five composers on this disc share the clarity and refinement, brio and wit, and subtle sensuality that permeate French music written between the Franco-Prussian and Second World Wars.

• Each found in literature, the visual arts and the music of Debussy and Ravel touchstones for their own compositions, while expressing their individual personalities.

• Refinement and pellucid textures characterise Tournier’s Suite; vigour, elegance and passion Schmitt’s.

• Françaix’s Quintet, much-loved for its charm and delicacy, matches Roussel’s neo-classical Serenade and complements Pierné’s virtuosic and translucently scored Variations.