No one, to the best of my knowledge, has committed these 12 sonatas to disc since Stephen Preston recorded them for L'Oiseau-Lyre in 1978. Since then the set has been as much out of the catalogue as in so, for that reason, for the absence of any rival version and for its excellence this reissue is thrice welcome.
Twelve flute sonatas by a composer noted more for his virtuosic displays on the violin—Locatelli's own instrument—than for musical substance might, on the face of it seem too much of not such a good thing. But these sonatas are well worth becoming acquainted with. Faster movements are, admittedly, of a virtuosic disposition, but the writing is idiomatic and far from dull; there are, furthermore, occasional dance measures though not always identified by name. One of these is a Minuet (Sonata No. 10) whose variations Preston plays with incisive virtuosity.
The enduring merit of Locatelli's Op. 2, though, lies in the many graceful and well-sustained slow movements, one of the loveliest of which, a Cantabile belonging to the Eighth Sonata, has long been available in a modern edition of the work. This eloquent piece is for me the crowning glory of the set, also perhaps on account of listening to my amateur flautist father practising it night after night when I was a nipper. The attractive Sonata No. 12, by the way, is a canonic one and here Preston is joined by the flautist Nicholas McGegan. Here and throughout, the flute playing is lightly and sympathetically supported by a first-rate continuo group. Preston, himself plays an early eighteenth-century instrument, drawing from it a warm and pleasingly rounded tone.
In summary, an attractive if slightly specialized issue which is well worth exploring. The recorded sound is appropriately intimate.'