Debussy’s music has proved particularly attractive to arrangers, perhaps unsurprisingly since so many of his orchestral works were collective collaborations with the likes of Büsser, Caplet, Koechlin and others. Thibault Bertin-Maghit, double-bass player for Collectif9, has an undeniable talent for recasting old works into new forms and all the Debussy works here are arranged by him, opening with a clutch of four smaller pieces from larger sets. The fourth Étude sounds so natural for string nonet that for a moment one believes this was how it was conceived; so, too, with ‘Des pas sur la neige’ from the first book of Préludes, a miniature tone poem in this quasi-string-orchestral guise. I am slightly (but only slightly) less convinced by the two movements from Suite bergamasque, though ‘Clair de lune’ is prettily done, a homage to Isao Tomita, whose transcription for Moog synthesiser achieved global renown.

La mer, Debussy’s three symphonic sketches (the late, great John McCabe regarded La mer as a symphony on two notes), concludes the programme and works extraordinarily well. Sally Beamish made a fine transcription for piano trio (Orchid, 12/14), but Bertin-Maghit’s is different again, recreating Debussy’s magical score afresh. Yes, there is a certain loss of power and depth of sound at times, offset by gains in clarity. It does not replace the original, of course, but is a fascinating examination of it.

Set between the two Debussy sets is Contact (2020-21), an original work for string nonet by Luna Pearl Woolf, a regular collaborator with Collectif9. Contact is a quietly compelling fantasia, based – as the subtitle confirms – ‘on the research of Dr Valeria Vergara on Beluga whale mother-calf contact calls and underwater Anthropocene noise, written for Collectif9’. The booklet note does not expand on this latter aspect, but the result is enthralling. Alpha’s sound is excellent.