These five sonatas which form the Armonico Tributo make the best possible case for Georg Muffat as a composer of the first rank. He apparently drew together the French, German and Italian styles in a way that was unprecedented, and the result is surprisingly moving and brilliant, likely to make new listeners wonder: Muffat where have you been all of my life? In fact it is deeply seductive, often with beautiful harmonies and exquisite grace notes that really get under the skin in this fantastic ambiance. They are in effect like double violin sonatas with a small chamber accompaniment in which each part is taken by one instrument. Roy Goodman leads with aplomb in a period style that has no lack of emotional weight, and contributes a useful note that puts this neglected name into the context of his time, being born 40 years before Bach.

There's no grand, large-scale music on this exceptional disc–only psalms and hymns for soprano, tenor, bass and strings in various combinations. Typical of the music are three settings of "Confitebor tibi, Domine" (Psalm 110): a jaunty but graceful setting for soprano and tenor, with athletic runs and a gorgeous slow ending; a moderate but charged setting for three voices, each singer delivering a verse in turn before joining dramatically at "sanctum et terribile" ("holy and terrible"); and a setting for soprano and strings combining enchanting delicacy with astonishing virtuosity. That description fits the singing of Emma Kirkby perfectly here; Ian Partridge and David Thomas make ideal partners. After fifteen years in release, this remains one of the best Monteverdi records in the catalog.

Artaxerxes, premiered in London in 1762, was the first full-length opera seria sung in English. It proved a great success and helped to revive the fortunes of Thomas Arne, whose career had been in the doldrums. The opera featured his new protégée and mistress Charlotte Brent in the role of Mandane and Arne lavished attention on her music. Mandane’s arias and those of the hero Arbaces provide many of the opera’s high points, with their rich orchestrations, virtuoso vocal parts and captivating tunes. Though based on the Handelian model, Artaxerxes shows both Arne’s talent at the later galant style and his penchant for folk-like, pastoral airs. The results are mostly a delight (if a tad lightweight for the libretto’s blood ’n’ thunder deeds), with a variety of attractive arias further enhanced by Arne’s deft use of woodwind. Christopher Robson in the title role and Catherine Bott, thrilling as Mandane, head a fine team of singers: my only complaint is that Patricia Spence’s forceful Arbaces too often slips into shrill and strident mode.

Absolutely admirable. I never tire of going back to this gem of a recording and can't think of a better introduction to the music of William Boyce.

All these works were published within 18 months of Purcell's death. The 13 suites of choice movements from plays and semi-operas, entitled A Collection of Ayres, compos'd for theTheatre, and upon other occasions, may well have been the editing work of Purcell's brother, Daniel.

Praetorius devoted most of his life to church music: he published more than twenty collections, mostly of settings of Lutheran chorales, and a number of others are known to have existed in manuscript. He also planned a series of collections of secular music named after the various Greek muses, including Euterpe (Italian and English dances), Thalia (toccatas and canzonas) and Erato (German secular songs). Unfortunately, in the event he managed to publish only one, Terpsichore, musarum aoniarum quinta (1612), consisting of 312 dances in four, five and six parts.

Handel arrived in Hamburg in 1703, aged eighteen. He spent four years in the city and wrote several works for the town's opera house. Hamburg opera was a rather eclectic beast at the time, drawing on Italian and French language and instrumental style alongside the native German. Handel fell happily into this genre; this CD brings together a selection of the delightful orchestral music (which tends to be in the French style) that Handel wrote there, some of it recorded for the first time.

Peter Holman is a conductor known particularly for his interpretations of post-Renaissance English music, but he has also received acclaim for his performances of the works of European masters of the Baroque period, including Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi. He has recorded extensively for the English label Hyperion and has established parallel careers as a harpsichordist, organist, teacher (Royal Academy of Music and Colchester Institute), and music journalist.

Matthew Locke, England's leading composer in the 17th century, was also one of the busiest, writing for court, theater, and church. Surprisingly little of his music has been recorded, but this excellent recording helps correct this. The music has a strong emotional character, with dramatic, often pictorial harmonic effects that are less favored by today's choirs, but the quality of these works only makes us wonder why Locke is not better known.