Two names new to me – but, from this showing, names of whom we shall be hearing much more in the future (Angus Webster, still only in his mid-20s, probably as a conductor). Irène Duval is French and would seem to have an innate empathy with her compatriots’ music of this period. Yes, Reynaldo Hahn was born in Caracas and Georges Enescu in Romanian Moldavia but there is an unmistakable Gallic je ne sais quoi that binds these (roughly) contemporary friends of Fauré into a satisfying whole. Is the piano a little too self-deprecating for some of the numbers? Perhaps, but it’s a minor quibble. These two are a well matched partnership.

They open with a charming Romance from Hahn written in about 1901. It might just as well be one of his chansons. In a similar vein, but far better known, comes Fauré’s Berceuse, and an Andante from 1897 which may have been intended for a violin concerto (now lost). Enescu was a composition student of Fauré’s. The substantial centrepiece of the disc is his Violin Sonata No 2, written in 1899 ‘in the space of a fortnight’ when he was 17. I was immediately taken with it, the questioning, uneasy first movement, the second’s dreamy lament and best of all the playful finale with its obvious references to Romanian folk tunes (occasionally you think it might break into Dinicu’s Hora staccato). One to return to.

Saint-Saëns’s Berceuse returns us to the same world established by the opening numbers. After this, I recommend a listening break before you dive into Fauré’s intense and passionate Sonata No 2. Irène Duval’s enthusiasm for the work in her excellent booklet matches the fervour and joie de vivre she invests in her performance (she plays a violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume). Webster is closely attentive. A most attractive album from an impressive duo – and of course a nice tie in with Fauré’s centenary.