‘Maestro Corelli’s Violins’ is an intriguing title for a recording featuring no works by Corelli, but it refers to the fact that when he conducted the Rome premiere of Handel’s La Resurrezione di nostro Signor Gesù Cristo on Easter Day in 1708, among the extra violinists he drafted in for the occasion were the three featured here. Giuseppe Valentini, Antonio Montanari and Giovanni Mossi are lesser-known names today but back then were prominent violinist-composers whose services Corelli would have been pleased to secure. Furthermore, all three wrote very differently to Corelli, so besides this programme offering under-heard repertoire under an imagination-sparking title, it also demonstrates that Corelli’s was not the only musical style on on the menu in early 18th-century Rome.

The Valentini concerto grosso is a case in point; one of his 12 Op 7 Concerti grossi of 1710, it frequently looks beyond the harmonic and textural concerto norms of the time. Then the two concertos from Mossi are different again, their own joys including the unusual sonority of Op 4 No 12 with its viola-less ripieno section. Finally we have the sixth and seventh concertos from Montanari’s Op 1, notable for already getting a second whirl in the recording studio after Ensemble Diderot and Johannes Pramsohler’s premiere recording of them last year. In fact it’ll be interesting to see just how much Montanari is floating around the recording catalogue in a decade’s time, given the degree of enthusiasm with his music is now being rediscovered.

What Collegium Musicum 90 then bring to these works is ensemble-playing to relish: crisp, lucid textures, a feeling of absolute togetherness of thought and action, and a lovely combination of excitement and respect for the music. Simon Standage himself is equally on form, bringing a wonderfully clean, wiry sweetness to the solo violin lines. So a great offering, and regarding the Montanari a different and thoroughly worthwhile alternative to Ensemble Diderot’s own Montanari disc.