Carbonelli: Sonate da Camera Nos 1-6

Like so many talented Italian musicians of his generation, Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli settled in London where, around the same time as Handel, he made his mark as a performer on the city’s vibrant concert life. He also became highly successful as a wine merchant, boasting the King among his regular customers. But as a composer, his music went quickly out of favour, rather undeservedly as this attractive set of Sonata Da Camera (Nos 1-6) proves. Each has a unique energy and invention, their exhilarating freshness and virtuosic writing convincing testimony to the belief that Carbonelli studied in Italy with the great Corelli.

This is an impressive debut disc by the lustrous Illyria Consort, playing under its founder and violinist director Bojan Čičić, whose vision is to bring rare Baroque repertoire back into circulation. They’ve struck gold with Carbonelli.