"Art songs: settings of texts from the folk songs, in this case settings of texts that have come down to us through generations of oral transmission, before being finally collected and written down. Attractive in their simplicity and timelessness, such texts have provided a rich source of inspiration for many 'classical' composers, who have given them a different lease of life and fixed them, like photographs, in their own time.

We decided to include some familiar songs, splendid examples of the work of Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel, Reynaldo Hahn and Joseph Canteloube, but we felt that it was important too for there to be an element of rediscovery, and therefore to get away from the very well-known pieces that tend to overshadow the rest of the repertoire.

Thus, for Spanish art songs, for instance, we chose not to include Manuel de Falla, generally the obvious choice, but to turn instead to Jesús Guridi and Henri Collet, and their fine 'Canciones castellanas' and 'Siete canciones populares de Burgos y Cinco conciones populares castellanas', respectively, which are unjustly neglected. For Italy, we chose Ottorino Respighi’s rich but little-known 'Quattro arie scozzesi', settings of four Scottish songs – rarities that we are pleased to have recorded here.

This programme is the result of four years of preparation and concerts. We sincerely hope that it will bring the listener as much pleasure and emotion as it has brought (and continues to bring) us." - Nicolas Jouve