Born in Rennes in 1929, Pierick Houdy was only 10 when he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Milhaud and Messiaen. In 1954, he married the harpist Ghislaine de Winter, for whom he promptly composed the resourceful and extremely appealing Solo Sonata that forms the centrepiece of this enterprising anthology.

That Houdy writes fluently and idiomatically for the instrument is no less evident in the four remaining items. The 1960 Suite for flute and harp falls easily on the ear, whereas the Harp Quintet of 1984 quarries an altogether more gritty vein of expression. It’s a work that repays study, as does the 1990 Suite for violin and harp, whose four movements are based on early dance forms. The emotional kernel of the Concerto français, written in 1997 for harpist Isabelle Perrin, comprises a crepuscular Lento, thoughtful and concentrated.

The performances throughout are agile and sympathetic. The concerto was set down within a cramped, unflattering acoustic; otherwise, both sound and balance have been nicely judged. Harp-fanciers and adventurous collectors alike needn’t hesitate.