Album: Torelli, The Original Brandenburg Concertos, (Signum Classics)

Composed for Sophie Charlotte, Electress of Brandenburg, Giuseppe Torelli's Opus 6 'Concerti Musicali' is among the most graceful of late 17th-century concertos.

The instrumentation is sophisticated, pairing recorders in dialogue in the C major Concerto, though Torelli's oboes and bassoon seem almost incidental to the strings in the E minor Concerto. Known to have influenced Bach, a pre-echo of both sets of Handel's 'Concerti Grossi' is evident in Charivari Agréable's sweet-toned, understated performance.

Pick of the album: The Handelian brightness of Torelli's Concerto No 11 in B-flat