Louis Beydts is not a name to conjure with these days, but apart from being a good minor composer he could always be relied upon as a conductor to produce stylish, accurate and lively performances. This is the case here, and thanks to him there are opportunities to relish Messager’s command of the orchestra and his distinctive lyrical gift. The work is billed as a ‘fairy story’ and the best music is of the lighter variety. This may possibly have militated against a long run after its 1888 premiere, but more likely causes were the large number of scene changes required and the curious, not to say daft, storyline.

Unfortunately there remain, as the artistic director of this INA project explains, ‘certain technical problems which we realise may at times stand in the way of the listener’s enjoyment’. To wit, this live 1947 broadcast may have been acceptable to an audience still touched by post-war euphoria, but it is hard going for us. Anything above mf and anything involving chorus or brass is distorted, often unpleasantly so. The solo singing is mostly excellent, even if Jeanne Rolland as Isolin has one of those acidulous, paint-stripping voices that are an acquired taste. The most delectable moment comes at the beginning of the second disc in Oberon’s Romance and duet with Titania, where Willy Clément, at a low to medium dynamic level, gives a masterclass in diction and phrasing – a beautiful tone, too.

So really this recording is for buffs only. The booklet contains no libretto and only the sketchiest outline of the plot, which we have to supplement with a spoken text in rather fast French. The French Radio Archives are indeed a wonderful source of material, hidden for too long; but if INA wants to sell it abroad, then it should be careful to promote sound quality and accompanying material that will make the music truly accessible. Isoline is a lovely work and deserves better than this – either a modern recording with French forces, or else INA might dig deeper into its coffers to release one of the two later recordings that involve substantial copyright payments.