With the exception of one sole Rossini piece – and even then, the text isn't very Italian as it's the Cats' Duet whose only lyric is "miaow" – this whole programme is dedicated to French works, mostly vocal, with a couple for solo piano. Sophie Karthäuser and Eugene Asti have set off on a wild goose, pig, dromedary, cricket, crow, and fox hunt, keeping an eye out for many other furry, feathered and scaly beasts along the way, with Ravel, Chabrier, Offenbach, Hahn, Bizet, and Poulenc for company – all of whom have written music for creatures great and small, real and fantastical. Alright, on occasion these animals might not be animals, strictly speaking, like Satie's Statue de bronze (although the statue in question is of a frog), or The Little Shepherd from Children’s Corner by Debussy. Another rarity: there are three melodies from Poulenc's Bestiaire which have been left out of most recent editions: La Colombe, La Puce and Le Serpent. © SM/Qobuz