BarrocoTout - de Croes: La Sonate Égarée - The Scotsman

Born in Belgium in 1705, Henri-Jacques de Croes occupies a chronological position between high Baroque and encroaching Classicism, and a geographical position on the periphery of the main central European action. 

As such we hear, not least in these Six Trio Sonatas Op5, a style that is free to explore and ingest wide influences, from the easygoing flamboyance of Italy’s Corelli to the structured functionality of Germany (where he worked briefly), to the lyrical dash of the French Style Galant. These performances by BarrocoTout, a period ensemble formed four years ago in Brussels and which last year won the York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, are charming. The musicality is liquidly robust, faithful to de Croes’ effortless invention, its masterful contrapuntal invention and shapely lyricism, delightful to the ear at every turn.