The dramatic cantata Apollo e Dafne is an obvious choice for Ensemble Marsyas’s first venture into vocal music. It oozes the sort of vibrant woodwind writing that is meat and drink to bassoonist Peter Whelan’s crack band created in 2011 to champion virtuoso 18th-century wind music…Whelan directs with a stylish verve that never once takes its eye off the dramatic ball

This is an orchestra of soloists…they make showstopers of the ‘warm up’ instrumental numbers…Callum Thorpe – that rarest and most exciting of things, a genuine young bass…is a little outsung by Mhairi Lawson’s Dafne…her exquisite entrance aria ‘Felicisima quest’alma’, barely touches the ground, so lightly spun are the phrases

it’s the instrumental playing that stands out: pert, shapely, spicy, full of drama...Whelan is directing from the harpsichord – and turns out he’s pretty good at that, too...And as you’d expect from a conductor who spends his life playing bass lines, proper attention is paid to ensuring a robust bottom end to the ensemble.