One of the most striking things about the theorbo works of the French composer, guitarist and theorbo player Robert de Visée (c.1660-c.1732) is an emotional weight that belies their relatively modest scale. This applies not just to the numerous tombeaux, where one would expect it; the dances that go to make up the typical baroque suite seem also to be invested with a surprising gravitas.

Lutenist Fred Jacobs is a highly regarded soloist, accompanist and continuo player. For this recital featuring some of Visée’s music for theorbo, Jacobs has chosen three complete suites and a selection of Visée’s arrangements of music by Jean Baptiste Lully, whom the former held in such high regard and whose style he strove to emulate. Also included as a moving coda is Visée’s La Plainte ou Tombeau de Mesdemoiselles de Visée, Allemande de Mr. Leur Père.

Jacobs plays a large French theorbo built by Michael Lowe, who provides a short note outlining the differences between this instrument and the more regularly encountered Italian theorbos. Chief among these differences are the more rounded back and fewer ribs in the former compared with the flatter back and greater number of ribs in the latter.

The playing is deeply expressive throughout, allowing plenty of room for the dark sonorities of the instrument to saturate Visée’s harmonies while further motivating the melodic line with tastefully applied notes inégales and agréements. The Lully arrangements are particularly successful, their operatic provenance seeming to inspire an even more expansive approach to phrasing and articulation. A superb release. WILLIAM YEOMAN