Georges Bizet lived a somewhat frustrating life with his attempts at opera and other large-scale forms being scorned by a Parisian audience captivated by the charm and accessibility of the likes of Rossini. Even a work of the stature of Carmen did not receive recognition until after its composer's death. Bizet's works, therefore, are a tantalizing mix of pure genius and the routine hack work which he had to undertake merely to survive.

Only in the genre of the mélodie did Bizet find himself free from the pressures of commercial music-making, and Graham Johnson and Ann Murray have here devised an enchanting programme of twenty particularly fine songs.