If the present collection does not compete in sheer star power, these serviceable, spirited performances demonstrate that it is not needed. Jérôme Correas leads with a slightly nasal but not unpleasant light baritone and an appropriately bluff degree of involvement for what is, after all, salon fare. Petite oiseau, by the way, appears to be a net discographic gain. The assisting artists are fresh-voiced, accomplished, and fine without exception, lending the proceedings a verisimilitudinous touch of conviviality. And Schoonderwoerd’s 1836 Pleyel—with its luminous treble and transparent bass—colors all with a quaint touch suggesting what being there might have been like for the listeners and participants of Berlioz’s day. Sound is immediate, voices forward, with only its spaciousness telling against an aura of home music-making. Alpha’s open-out cardboard sleeve, fetching reproduction of Raymond Bonheur’s Paysage Romantique, richly informed liner copy, and poems with translations confect a final elegance. Enthusiastically recommended.

FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis