A leading interpreter of French Baroque, Reinoud Van Mechelen ventures into very different territory in his Mozart album with A Nocte Temporis, the period ensemble he co-founded in 2016 with flautist Anna Besson. Discs devoted to the tenor concert or insertion arias are relatively rare, though Van Mechelen gives us seven of them, along with ‘Se di lauri’ from Mitridate, the latter almost qualifying as an insertion aria, as it was written late in the day at the insistence of the demanding Guglielmo d’Ettore, who created the title-role at the 1770 premiere. The earliest, Va, dal furor portata, was composed in 1765, when Mozart was nine. Misero, o sogno, the last and greatest of the set, dates from 1783, and was written for Valentin Adamberger, the first Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, premiered the previous year.

Those familiar with Van Mechelen’s work in French music will, however, immediately recognise comparable qualities in his singing here. The sound is warm and bright with a slightly metallic edge to the tone, which he frequently, and often tellingly, uses for interpretative effect. Lines are admirably and unfussily clean with a notable absence of portamento, and his vocal range and dynamic control consistently impress. The wide intervals and stratospheric ascents of ‘Se di lauri’ unsurprisingly hold no terrors for one used to the haute-contre repertory, and the long, exacting phrases of Se al labbro mio non credi, written for Anton Raaff, the first Idomeneo, are all immaculately sustained and superbly shaded.

His way with words is characteristically subtle, with texts clearly projected and emotions often conveyed by the sparest and most understated of means, so the big, declamatory recitatives that open Misero! o sogno and Or che il dover prove affecting in their reined-in intensity. His coloratura, however, though accurate, inclines to aspiration rather than smoothness, which gets in the way a bit in the bravura Va, dal furor portata, though the aria’s anger and contempt really register. Place him beside Rolando Villazón in a similar but not identical programme with the LSO and Antonio Pappano (DG, 2/14) and you notice the considerable difference between the latter’s extrovert exuberance (not to mention his occasional vocal waywardness) and Van Mechelen’s more considered restraint.

He is credited as conductor here, too, without telling us quite how this feat is actually accomplished in this repertory, but A Nocte Temporis are a fine ensemble, and the playing is admirably secure and stylish, with dark strings and really vibrant horns. Besson sounds lovely in Si mostra la sorte, where flutes caressingly twine round the vocal line and where Van Mechelen is at his most elegant and persuasive.