Cécile Chaminade was a legend in her own lifetime. However, after the First World War, her music, which breathes the fragrance of Parisian salons as well as the lightness of the fin de siècle, was no longer in demand and disappeared from concert stages.

Two fantastic musicians have come together for this recording. Chosen by Barenboim for the Berlin State Opera, the mezzo-soprano Katharina Kammerloher puts her enormous vocal potential to great effect, whilst pianist Johann Blanchard has advanced to become one of the few Chaminade experts with his recordings of solo and chamber music works.

These carefully selected gems, written between 1886 and 1910, are about "seasons of love" and span almost Chaminade's entire compositional career. From the tender urges of first love to wild passion in L'Été, from the fear for the fiance in La Fiancée du soldat to wistful retrospection in Jadis ! - Kammerloher and Blanchard have a fine sense for each individual mood that Chaminade imparts on these lyrical poems.

For three songs, the duo are accompanied by Jiyoon Lee, first concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin, who adds a magical nuance to this colourful programme with her Stradivarius violin. With its striking naturalness, this finely balanced recording takes us back to a time of innocence and deeply moving beauty.