Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray represent the two leading figures from the world of the French viola da gamba with – in the opinion of a contemporary in Hubert Le Blanc – the former playing like an angel and the latter like a devil. And fiendishly difficult to play, of course, are many of the pieces brought together in the volume prepared by Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (‘le fils’) in 1747, two years after the death of his father, and drawn from sketches and memories. These Pièces de viole avec la basse continuë, dedicated to Princess Henriette of France (the younger of Louis XV’s twin daughters), serve as a final and grand homage to an instrument, which after 70 years of an absolute rule was by that time starting to cede territory to the cello...

Glossa now bring back into circulation, in a newly-prepared edition, the recording which introduced Paolo Pandolfo to the label, where he was joined by a starry group of fellow performers in Guido Balestracci, Rolf Lislevand, Eduardo Egüez and Guido Morini. The exemplary texts of Edmond Lemaître and Pierre Jaquier further enhance a legendary album, one which confirmed Pandolfo, now some 15 years ago, as one of the greatest viola da gambists of our own present time.