Late Seventeenth Century

‘Undoubtedly the beauty of a song is not set off to good advantage when it is accompanied by an instrument which obscures the voice. The instrument ought to accompany the person singing the melody, or the treble part of an Air, for the purpose of outlining the harmonies properly. […]  If the theorbo isn’t played with moderation — if the player adds too much confusing figuration, as do most accompanists, more to demonstrate the dexterity of their fingers than to aid the person they are accompanying — it then becomes an accompaniment of the theorbe by the voice rather than the reverse.’ Bénigne de Bacilly (1668): Remarques curieuses sur l’art de bien chanter (Paris,1668); trans. Austin B. Caswell.

Future projects and recordings include: a cantata by Alessandro Scarlatti; some airs by Sebastien le Camus; a video on Style luthé (also called Style brisé); a mystery sonata by Biber.