A fabulous opening from Baroque Academy Gothenburg Symphony. The scene from Riccardo Broschi’s Artaserse fizzes with life, though it’s a fire that could be better tempered in the Sinfonia to Handel’s Orlando furioso, which occasionally oversteps into unstylish brazenness. Countertenor Nicolò Balducci is on fine form. His crystalline timbre is satisfyingly shaped into unrippled streams of vibrato-less legato. Balducci conjures delightful contrasts, and the athleticism of his coloratura is enviable.

The album’s main weakness is its organisation. The Overture to Handel’s Giulio Cesare into ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ from Rinaldo is a highly awkward corner. And then an even more ridiculous decision: ‘Lascia’ is followed by ‘Ombrai mai fù’ from Serse. There’s no logic or context at these points other than ‘look how beautiful this music is’: an organisation that destroys its own purpose as the intoxicating Handel arias blur into one another. Needless to say, there’s far more inventive planning to be had than simply grouping the Handel movements together.

Yet Balducci’s ‘Lascia’ is wonderful. There’s some lovely ornamentation on the da capo repeat (though I could do without the fruitiness in the harpsichord around 2'38" that unnecessarily draws attention to itself). Clear and fun characterisation is the album’s forte. The Vivaldian aesthetic is excellently and exuberantly painted in the movement from Farnace, and the extremely fine recorder-playing from Dan Laurin is an easy-to-pick highlight.