KENNETH WALTON [Scotsman, 16 January 2006]

'MASSENET'S world is defined by song, even when nobody is singing." The author of that comment - Matthew Boyden in his excellent book, The Rough Guide to Opera - captures in a nutshell the essence of the pivotal French opera composer, whose best-known work these days is undoubtedly, and perhaps misleadingly, the famous Meditation for violin and orchestra.