A respected interpreter of Fauré, Jean-Philippe Collard has over the years recorded all of his piano works, not to mention his complete chamber music and a disc of songs, with Frederica von Stade - a part of the composer’s output that he regrets not having explored more “for all the insight it gives us into Fauré’s music, the conjunction of words and music, and the phenomenon of phrasing with the breath that singers are obliged to respect and that some pianists neglect.”

50 years after his first version of the Barcarolles and 37 years after his recording of the Ballade op.19, here is a miraculous record, by a humble servant of music at its peak of inspiration.