Album: Albrecht Mayer, Bonjour Paris (Decca)

Several of the pieces on oboist Mayer's musical portrait of Paris easily choose themselves: adaptations of Satie's Gymnopédie No 1 and Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Défunte, along with a couple of Debussy standards – the wistful La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin and Clair de Lune, reminiscent of a moonlit stroll that beds the oboe softly among harp and woodwind. But the longer pieces reflect the paucity of showcase material: Français' L'Horloge De Flore is laboured, while D'Indy's Fantaisie sur des Thèmes Populaires Français is by turns rumbustious and portentous. But Gotthard Odermatt's Été is a delightful modern piece in the style of Ravel at his most pastoral.

DOWNLOAD THIS Pavane pour une Infante Défunte; La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin; Été