This is a concept album that Amos has described as "a 21st century song cycle inspired by classical music themes spanning over 400 years." She pays tribute to classical composers such as Charles-Valentin Alkan, Johann .S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie and Franz Schubert, taking inspiration from their original compositions to create new, independent songs. With an often sparse backing of piano and an octet of orchestral instruments (strings and woodwind), much of the album is carried, quite ably, by Tori's vocals (and also those of her then ten-year old daughter Natashya) and, whilst this is a much more demanding album to listen to, the more time you really get to know this music, the more likely you are to gain appreciation and enjoyment from it.