Jean Francaix (1912-1997) is a composer I know little about.  From what
I've read, his music is neo-classical, youthful, playful, happy, frothy,
and loaded with humor.

A couple of days ago, I took a little plunge and acquired an ASV disc
containing four of his chamber works:  Quintet for flute, string trio, and
harp (1934), 5 duets for flute and harp (1975), Quintet for clarinet and
string quartet (1977), and Quintet No. 2 for flute, string trio, and harp
(1989).  After doing some listening, I am very impressed with the slower
movements which are quite lovely and radiant; I'm still trying to digest
the other music on the disc which has a "happy face" quotient very
unfamilar to my listening experiences and usual preferences.

I do have a few questions which I hope list members will answer:

1.  Are the works of Francaix neo-classical throughout his career, or did
he veer away from that style after the 1930's?

2.  What are considered the best compositions Francaix wrote?

3.  What do you think of the works on the ASV disc?

4.  What discs devoted to Francaix do you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Don Satz
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