In the early 1990s there was a rash of discs of little-known Baroque instrumental music issued on mainstream labels, either for the sake of academic study or for the unmasking of obscurity. Thankfully that quietly and quickly went out of fashion, but one could be forgiven for thinking that this release of chamber airs by Richard Jones (d1744) might be an unwelcome revisitation of that practice. Far from another recording of Baroque wallpaper, however, Jones’s unpredictable leaps and intervals (as well as the lyrical beauty of his melodic lines and the slow Preludio of each sonata) are a wizard’s brew of Corelli trio sonatas and Vivaldi concertos underpinned by a sinuous Handelian humour that makes it not just unique, but that rare beast in this genre: music actually engaging enough to bear repeated listening.

Mitzi Meyerson is the disc’s driving force – her study into Jones was first documented in her 2010 recording of his Sets of Lessons for the Harpsichord – and it is her trademark joyful energy which guides this beautifully homogeneous ensemble, keeping you engaged by way of variation of tone, style and mood that, looking at the scores of the music, one realises is purely down to the group’s own interpretation. There is very little on the page to indicate how this music can sound in the right hands, and this disc is an electric reminder that this sort of music, when played sympathetically, can take on a life of its own and lead its players into an improvisational spirit that makes it live and breathe on a different level.