This selection of popular French piano duets, excellently played in a quiet, unforced manner, makes for an enjoyable disc. Fromentin and Plancade formed their duo in 1992 and they seem well suited, producing an attractive and warm sound, with subtle tonal nuances at soft dynamics. This feeling for shadings of colour is especially evident in Faure’s much-loved Dolly suite, which is played with unaffected simplicity and charm. Greater scope for expressive variety is given by Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants, where the softer pieces, particularly those of a more whimsical character, are most successful. In places there is a beguiling sensitivity and feeling for texture, notably in the opening ‘Reverie’, although the more extrovert pieces are reserved and understated. But in the majority of this repertoire the fact that nothing is overplayed is a virtue, and most pieces radiate a calm and restrained beauty. True, the Poulenc Sonata has a brittle edge to it, although that is wholly idiomatic here (and anyway, the clarity of articulation, especially in the finale, is impressive). Ravel’s popular suite, Ma mere l’oye, especially ‘Laideronnette, imperatrice des pagodes’ (track 10), better demonstrates this duo’s gently expressive approach, with a softly lit sound, with clarity of characterization, but never with garish contrasts or effects.
So, while there may not be any major revelations here, this disc is recommendable for its lucid and honest musicianship, its fresh and stylish playing; and the recorded sound is wonderfully natural and clear.'