Many of the marvelous songs found here been out of print for more than a century and a few are published here for the very first time. The comb binding creates a lay-flat book that is perfect for study and performance. The songs include: "Plaisir d'amour," the quintessential song of bittersweet love, edited from the composer's original 1784 edition Seven works by women composers, including two sisters who were divas of Romantic opera, Maria Malibran and Pauline ViardotWorks of French operatic masters such as Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Bizet, and Massenet Six songs by Gabriel Fauré and four by Claude DebussyTwo duets from contrasting historical periods Piano accompaniments are heard on the companion CD, beautifully played by Joan Thompson and expertly engineered by Grammy Award winner Matthew Snyder.