French composer Fernande Breilh-Decruck showed signs of a promising career from an early age, when she won several prizes at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris (harmony, fugue, piano). As an assistant professor of harmony, she trained many students, including one who became very famous and later dedicated her a score: “To Fernande Decruck, with all the gratitude and fond memories of the author – Olivier Messiaen”.

The Sonata in C sharp for alto saxophone (or viola) is Decruck’s best-known work. Decruck created two versions of her world-famous sonata, one with saxophone or viola and piano, the other with full orchestral accompaniment. The latter version is rarely heard. Decruck combines the classical sonata form with impressionistic harmony and, at times, polytonality.

The Concerto pour harpe et orchestre was dedicated to and premiered by French harpist and pedagogue Pierre Jamet in 1946. Jamet later became the harp professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1948. Decruck’s Concerto shares similarities with Germaine Tailleferre’s Sonate pour harpe. It is a concertino in style, light-hearted, warm, and full of surprises

Written in 1946, Poème héroïque is a double concerto for solo trumpet, solo horn and orchestra. The work often features the two solo instruments in imitation and is a fantastic example of Decruck’s mature style. Divided into three contrasting movements, the piece sounds more American and Neo-Romantic than French. At times, it can sound mysterious and ethereal. Other sections have a driving, perpetual motion character. Decruck experiments using contrasting time signatures like 24/16 and 2/4.