Bach’s six flute sonatas (three with obbligato keyboard, the rest with continuo) come down to us with varied pedigrees, lucidly set out in notes by Nicholas Anderson. Dating from the Leipzig period, they present a stylistic dilemma: whether to play them all as if by JS Bach or, in those not considered definitely to be solely his work, to incorporate practices of the next generation, and in particular those of his son CPE Bach (b1714). BWV1033 in C (early 1730s) survives in the hand of the son, and the E flat (BWV1031) and G minor (BWV1020) may have been the fruit of composition lessons between father and son.

This recording, by the highly regarded Italian flautist Andrea Oliva and distinguished modern Bach interpreter Angela Hewitt, follows a succession of superb period-instrument releases since the 1970s by artists including Barthold Kuijken, Stephen Preston, Lisa Beznosiuk, Janet See and Emmanuel Pahud. Oliva is alert to the stylistic nuances, both Baroque and galant, inherent in these works. And, together with Hewitt, he seemingly effortlessly responds to the constantly changing roles between the instruments sometimes embodied within single movements and the possibilities for subtle chiaroscuro dynamic effects, especially in the later E major (BWV1035) and B minor (BWV1030) works. Hewitt proves herself at every point a sensitive, lively collaborator. What makes this recording stand out is Oliva and Hewitt’s consummate musicality and palpable sense of ease, whatever the demands of the music.