39. Coffee Concert

French composers seem to have a natural talent for writing exquisite wind music as this short programme will make abundantly clear. Nicholas Daniel and Julius Drake have a long-standing musical friendship going back further than either cares to remember. I have found the elements of an oboe sonata, the first part will be elegiac, the second scherzando and the last a sort of liturgical chant. Francaix wrote his Second Wind Quintet when he was 75, it is a breathless tour de force of high class wind playing, not to be missed. With Poulenc there is always an element of high-spirited surrealism. If he spins a romantic air you can be sure his sense of the ridiculous will get the better of him soon. To be enjoyed.