Jean-Marc Fessard,  (clarinet), Frédéric Pélassy (violin), Eliane Reyes (piano) Naxos 8.572278 ***

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) was once the posterboy for the fad of bi-tonality (tunes in one key, accompaniments in another). What once sounded daring now often seems like a spicing of the main dish; Milhaud's main offering is a prolific melodic gift. The lightest selections here – the Suitefor clarinet, violin and piano, and Scaramouche in the version for clarinet and piano – are straightforwardly tuneful. The Cinéma-Fantaisieafter the ballet Le boeuf sur le toit, for violin and piano, is like an off-colour music-hall, with Milhaud borrowing from the popular songs of Brazil, where he had worked as secretary to the French ambassador, the poet Paul Claudel. The Second Violin Sonatashows romantic turns, the Clarinet Sonatinaexplores rather harsher modernist avenues. The performances are plain but effective.

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