“Francis Poulenc is music itself. I know no music more direct, more simply expressed or going so unerringly to its target.” This praise from his composer friend, Darius Milhaud, is equalled only by that from Arthur Honegger, rating him a born composer, who “amid fashions, systems, prescriptions, has stayed true to himself with that rare courage which demands respect.” Poulenc himself liked saying: “To write what seems right to me, when I want to, that’s my motto as a composer.” These varied chamber works reflect that thought perfectly.