The mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately and pianist Edwige Herchenroder present a Programme of French mélodies from a range of composers, all based in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. This was an exciting and stimulating time in the city, when the country was experiencing a surge of national confidence and creativity, and events such as the 1889 Exposition Universelle, broadened both geographical and cultural horizons. The women’s movement flourished concurrently, ushering in new – if still unequal – educational and professional opportunities.

The songs included on the album reflect these new horizons in a number of ways. The majority were composed by female composers and share popular contemporary sources such as Songs of Bilitis (a collection of erotic, essentially lesbian poetry by Pierre Louÿs, published in Paris in 1894) and Franz Toussaint's La Flûte de jade (The Jade Flute), a French translation of an anthology of Chinese poems. The album contains four première recordings – three songs by Hedwige Chrétien, and Marguerite Canal’s settings of seven songs from La Flûte de jade.