This recording covers more than 60 years of compositions and contains some of the very best French music for bassoon and piano. All but two of the composers were born in France and the two that were not (Tansman and Mihalovici) were profoundly influenced by French music and lived the majority of their lives in France. Bassoonist Timothy McGovern is on the faculty at the University of Illinois, in addition to serving as principal bassoon of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Chamber Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, as well as being a member of the Prairie Winds Woodwind Quintet. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, McGovern's discography includes more than 30 recordings of orchestral, chamber music, and solo repertoire. Pianist Cara Chowning is on the faculty at Ball State University and has a very active career as a pianist and music director.