Chanson DAmour - Melodies By Faure. Debussy. Roussel. Ravel. Poulenc

Sabine Devieilhe and Alexandre Tharaud bring their customary clarity, finesse and insight to works by Fauré, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc - composers who defined the path of French art song or mélodie from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.

Their programme is built around Ravel's Cinq Chansons populaires grecques and Debussy's Verlaine setting Ariettes oubliées. Tracing the theme of love, but also of war and death, the album offers both favourite songs like Fauré's 'Après un rêve' and some rarer treasures.

"We started off with the two song cycles and then chose individual songs," explains Alexandre Tharaud, "aiming both for diversity and for the occasional surprise." "Debussy and Ravel were musts for me," says Sabine Devieilhe. "Fauré, as their spiritual father, was a natural choice, and Poulenc offered something spicier and spikier."