The title refers to the Bolognese guitarist and theorbist Angelo Michele Bartolotti, whose lightweight Chaconne is included in the programme. In contextualising him, The Bach Players offer us the relatively rare opportunity to contemplate some of the lesser-known experiments in the Italian style by late-17th-century French composers. At the heart of this CD is an exploration of the remarkable variety of roles given to the bass viola da gamba by Charpentier, Clérambault, La Guerre and Rebel, which acknowledged the artistry and prestige of the great viol players of the day: Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray.

We have the italophile music collector Sébastien de Brossard to thank for the preservation of manuscript copies of Couperin’s La Pucelle and the violin sonatas of all but the Charpentier. One of the gems of this recording is the Duval Suite (1704), which includes a ‘Fantaisie pour la basse’ (tr 13); the Rebel violin sonata, with its récits for the viol, appeared in 1713. Ironically, Marais’s Prélude, included in his 1692 Pièces en trio, makes no concessions to a bowed bass instrument. The Charpentier Sonata is at once unique and quintessential: the bass viol and five-string basse de violon are placed on nearly equal footing and paired with flutes and violins respectively to represent and juxtapose the French and Italian styles, while it elegantly encapsulates the accepted principles of French chamber-music instrumentation at the time.

The Bach Players are a polished ensemble and have produced a thoughtfully crafted recital. Nicolette Moonen plays the violin sonatas with empathy and spirit, and the viol player Reiko Ichise acquits herself beautifully throughout. The recording itself lets the musicians down by allowing what can only be described as ‘continuo fog’ to creep in. Employing fewer continuo instruments, unspecified except in the Charpentier, might have alleviated this effect.