Product Review

Since first visiting Paris with his parents at the age of twelve, Albrecht Mayer has been in love with France and especially the savoir-vivre of Paris. He now fulfills an ambition to record an all-French program. The oboist has compiled many of the best-loved pieces of French classical repertoire, including Fauré's Pavane, Debussy's Clair de lune and Satie's Gymnopédie.

Although the oboe has French origins, none of France's most famous composers - Ravel, Debussy, or Fauré - ever wrote an original piece for the instrument. For the specially commissioned transcriptions on this album, arranged by Chris Hazell, Albrecht Mayer is joined by the world-renowned Academy of St Martin in the Fields

The album has everything that Albrecht Mayer's many fans have come to expect from him: popular melodies interpreted by a master musician - and yet there is also much here that will be new.