John Adams starts off full of energy and has the orchestra swing feverishly with forward-moving, repetitive beats and spectacular jazzy arrangements. In The Chairman Dances, Adams saw before his eyes how a young Mao Zedong danced the foxtrot with his lover – until, exhausted, they lay down and were overcome by sleep.

Their eyes closed, Henri Dutilleux immediately takes over: his L’Arbre des songes winds confidently inwards, like a tree whose every branch blossoms into a different dream – now surprisingly, now sweetly and softly. Whatever the dream that glides past, they restlessly thwart deep sleep.

The journey continues, to a distant dream world that Toru Takemitsu discovered thanks to the ancient myths of the Australian aboriginal peoples: a time when ancient spirits walked the earth instead of humans. Misty sounds ripple intangibly away, emerging barely at the surface of consciousness …

In that place where we have the deepest dreams, the wonderful gems George Benjamin’s Dream of the Song come forward one by one to show forth their imaginary beauty. The countertenor - “mysteriously sensual and sensually strange” – is embraced by the veiled sounds of a women’s choir and the orchestra. Moonshine, the night-time firmament, the gossamer-like dreams of a gazelle, a harp, a flute: images of bliss and wonderment – peace, at last.