After a series of performances at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1892, Jérusalem does not appear to have been shown for another 70 years on any other stage. It was not until 1963 that the conductor Gianandrea Gavazzeni committed himself to rediscovering the opera and produced it in Italian at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. In 1975 the RAI Turin presented the still rarely performed work in concert-form with a distinguished cast (Katia Ricciarelli and José Carreras) – this time in its original French. All later theatre and record productions are based on the material used for the RAI performance, although this in no way combined the Paris Escudier score score-critically with the Italian arrangements.

Milhaud was so prolific and also so uneven that few of us stray far beyond the handful of works which have stayed in the repertoire. The last work of his that I heard, Le train bleu, a ballet for Diaghilev which I had long wanted to hear, was typical: it was pleasant, competent and forgettable. So when it comes to his twelve numbered symphonies I wonder whether to take the plunge. Here we have an opportunity to sample his work in the most demanding of genres. This disc of the first two symphonies was a product of Plasson’s short-lived contract with DG.