This attractive collection presents six of Telemann’s trio sonatas, but at the end of the program all the players join forces in one of the chamber concertos. In two of the trio sonatas, the harpsichord has an independent obbligato part, while in the others it is part of the continuo; only one scoring (recorder, violin and continuo) appears in more than one work.

The performances are characterised by a flexible elegance and lyricism. The players are sensitive to the rhetorical character of the music, but the phrases are shaped as much by dynamic nuance as by articulation. Their caesuras are rounded and graceful; even staccatos are gently incisive, rather than emphatic. Tempi seem conventionally moderate and steady, without ever degenerating into metronomic rigidity. The instrumental sonorities are gently sensuous, enhanced by the constant presence of the theorbo.

The recording is resonant yet crystal-clear: I have seldom heard a recording of baroque chamber music in which the harpsichord’s melodic contribution emerges so naturally as an equal strand in the texture. There are few bold gestures here, yet only on one occasion (the violin’s brilliant passages in the Concerto’s final Vivace) did I wish for a more extrovert, flamboyant approach. Even there, the players’ technical assuredness and natural musicality are never in doubt.

Throughout, they reveal a clear understanding of the music’s stylistic and affective demands, and they communicate the shape of the movements (and of individual phrases) with apparent spontaneity and captivating charm. A beautiful disc. URI GOLOMB