Jean Roger-Ducasse was a close friend of Debussy and a composer of considerable reputation in his day, one critic declaring that “all the best qualities of the French musician are combined in him—an abundantly rich imagination, clear and deep thought… and unerring taste.” These qualities are found in piano works that range from exquisitely colourful wartime pieces such as Sonorités, the playfully virtuosic Rythmes, the alternately dreamy and dramatic Barcarolles, to a final, innovative Romance that seems constantly on the brink of wandering away from tonal harmony.