Our July Recording of the Month is Malcolm Martineau’s superbly cast survey of the complete songs of Maurice Ravel, the latest celebration of the composer’s 150th birthday (Signum SIGCD870).

The notoriously fastidious Frenchman composed mélodies across his full career and Martineau’s chronological approach allows us to hear his development over a 30-year span. It opens with Ballade de la reine morte d’aimer, a ravishing piece of faux medievalism. Martineau’s subtle and sensitive hands are firmly on the tiller and the singer is Sarah Dufresne, a radiant Canadian soprano clearly going places.

She sets the tone for the rest of the recital, each singer – many of them young or youngish, and all of them fresh-voiced – placing their individual stamp on a handful of songs. With Martineau as the common factor, this new set has a tightness and cohesion that older and starrier collections lack.

Standout vocalists include Lorna Anderson, the irrepressible Nicky Spence, Paula Murrihy, whose glowing mezzo suits the voluptuous curves of Shéhérazade, and Simon Keenlyside, who brings an abundance of character to the musical bestiary of Histoires naturelles.

Ludovic Morlot, meanwhile, has embarked...