This programme portrays the ‘birth’ of the flute in France in the late 17th century and the following 40 years of its life as a new and fashionable instrument. A famous patron of the arts, King Louis XIV gathered elite composers and musicians to create the refinement, elegance and good taste that was demanded at his Paris Court. From the early petites pièces to more virtuoso suites and sonatas with their ornamented lyricism and grand dance rhythms, the mellow, robust and almost husky sounds of flutes from this period blend and weave around each other like the voices of two singers.

With the emergence of historically informed performances and a dramatic increase in quality of reproduction instruments based on models from the period, there is now a firm and substantial fanbase for releases of this kind. This is a programme that includes world premiere recordings, alongside musicians whose names stand as a firm guarantee of musical excellence.