Joyous and Infective Poulenc's unaccompanied choral music - heard by ROBERT ANDERSON 'There is much here to savour.'

I was completely befuddled by the first words on the booklet cover: 'Half Monk' and 'Half Rascal'. Initially I thought of them as a couple of Scandinavian participants in the recording, and it was only when reading Claus Johansen (probably also Scandinavian) on the music itself that I came across Poulenc's remark that 'A critic has said that there are both a monk and a street urchin in me. That is an accurate description of my personality.'

FRANCIS POULENC

CHORAL MUSIC

STEPHEN LAYTON