The Danican Philidor family was a musical one, with close ties, spanning several generations, to the royal house of France. Several members of the family wrote music for wind instruments, including the newly fashionable flûte traversière.

This newly recorded 2-CD set contains the complete Suites for Flute and Basso Continuo by Pierre Danican Philidor. The twelve suites, published in three separate books, are partly for two flutes without bass and partly for flute solo and basso continuo.

Philidor's sophisticated harmonies and unusual turns of phrase make these works stand out against the beloved and beautiful, but less adventurous compositions of Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, Michel de la Barre or even Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. Moreover, Philidor's detailed notation of ornaments that were conventionally left to the player's discretion, like his (for us today) surprisingly frequent indications for vibrato (flattement), make these three books of suites a treasure trove for historically informed performers.

Performed by the prestigious Early Music group Musica ad Rhenum, whose leader and flute player Jed Wentz is a pioneer in the performance practice of notably French Baroque music for his instrument. His many recordings for Brilliant Classics (J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach, Blavet, Couperin, Boismortier, Braun, Roman) have established him as one of the foremost interpreters in this field. He is seconded by Cassandra Luckhardt (viola da gamba) and Michael Borgstede (harpsichord).