TORU TAKEMITSU (1930-1996): Sayonara, In a Small Room, I just sing, The Game of Love, A Song of circles and triangles, Small Sky, La Neige, Take off for the Clouds, Unseen Child, A marvellous kid, In the Month of March, All that the Man left behind when he died, Waltz, The Encounter, Glowing Autumn, Wings, To the Island, Will tomorrow, I wonder, be cloudy or clear?, All Alone, Yesterday's spot.

Description: 15 of the 20 songs here were composed as theme songs for either radio broadcast, film, TV or stage plays and date from 1954 to the composer's death. Needless to say, they do not follow any western tradition of art song since they were designed to appeal to the widest possible audience and perhaps the best way to think of them is as 20th century Japanese salon music (although most are sung in English translations) - easily approachable, light and ephemeral in their surface beauty, some with haunting melodies which remain in the mind. No texts. Dominique Visse (countertenor), François Couturier (piano).