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IF, LIKE me, you have fond memories of Camille Saint-Saëns’s , which celebrated animals in a series of musical portraits, this CD is for you.

When composer recorded the soundtrack for the 1979 BBC documentary series , he pressed fewer than 100 copies. Years later, record producer Jonny Trunk, on hearing of a copy discovered in a London charity shop, set out to track one down. When he finally found one, he was smitten.

The new album, the first time the music has been issued, is a gem. In the atmospheric orchestral music – classical with electronic touches – Williams vividly captures a vast variety of life. My favourites include the Erik Satie-inspired Gymnopodie for Jellyfish, the surprisingly beautiful Arabesque for Flatworms and the playful Duck-billed Platypus Swimming.