Elephants in elfish roundels and turtles doing the can-can: Camille Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" is a musical jewel and a divine practical joke item. It even contains an ironic bow to Rambeau, who Saint-Saëns considered to be France's greatest musical genius. He promoted his idol's rediscovery by younger composers. Francis Poulenc was inspired by both Rameau and Couperin as well as by cabaret and music halls and was playfully unselfconscious when creating a musical language filled with esprit and stubbornness: one of the 20th century's most distinctive voices. As always the original musical instruments, carefully chosen by Anima Eterna, are perfectly pitched to the music lending interpretations by the Belgian top ensemble their unique flair.