Tartini often prefaced movements of his later sonatas with short poetic quotations (usually from Metastasio or Tasso) indicating his expressive intent. An adherent of the fashionable theory that the role of art is to imitate nature, he showed a keen interest in folksong (perceived as closer to nature than art music). In several pieces he quotes the melody of the celebrated “Aria di Tasso”, an anonymous setting of verses from La Gerusalemme liberata, sung by Venetian gondoliers, and this forms the starting-point for Banchini’s disc, which alternates solo sonatas with some of the popular melodies that inspired the composer.

Patrizia Bovi sings these most convincingly, combining stylish ornamentation with strong projection of line and text. There’s a handsome booklet too, with texts of the songs and the poems quoted by Tartini, a little selection of 18th-century writings and paintings, and an interesting essay (by Stefano Aresi).

It’s the violin, however, that’s the main focus of attention, and Banchini plays elegantly, with great expressive freedom and, in the quicker movements, with considerable force and panache. She also ornaments liberally and imaginatively, obviously inspired by Tartini’s own examples and instructions concerning embellishment. Listeners can be assured, however, that the startling dissonances in the opening Siciliana of Sonata No 2 (in D minor, not B minor as printed) stem from Tartini’s own pen. In the way it allows us to appreciate fully the aesthetic ideals of a bygone age, this is an exceptional issue.