Claire Diterzi en Mille Morceaux

Although similar in appearance, the viola da gamba and the cello are actually members of two distinct families of stringed instruments. Both coexisted since the early Renaissance, but it was not until the first half of the eighteenth century that the tide shifted, with the cello achieving dominance and the viol gradually fading into obscurity. This recording featuring gambist Jean-Louis Charbonnier and cellist Claire Giardelli explores this transition with solo works written for both instruments by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Following the success of 1999's thrilling Armide, Marc Minkowski and his excellent cast fully convey the power and drama of Gluck's masterpiece. They pull you into the story (based on a play by Euripides) through the emotional truth of their interpretation. The opening quiet strings create an air of mystery dispelled by a ferocious storm magnificently conveyed by these early-music specialists. Within a few phrases of Iphigénie's opening lament, Delunsch creates a believable, sympathetic character.

This isn't the first disc to couple a transcription of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata for cello with transcriptions of Schubert's lieder for cello – Mischa Maisky released a disc with a strikingly similar program a decade ago. But that's alright: it's still a great idea and while Maisky's disc was superb, so is this one by cellist Anne Gastinel. Maisky's technique may be more polished in Schubert's achingly beautiful Arpeggione Sonata, but Gastinel's technique is almost as strong and possibly more incisive. Maisky's tone may be warmer in Schubert's supremely lyrical lieder, but Gastinel's tone is nearly as warm and perhaps deeper.

Following their acclaimed collaboration in Percy Graingers Folk Music, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn turn to the Lyric Music of Edvard Grieg, an apt sequel as the elder composer befriended Grainger- who idolized the Norwegians folkloric idiom- immediately on their first encounter in London in 1906. Interspersing intimate vocal miniatures with lyrical solo piano pieces, Claire and Christopher mirror many of the programmes that Grieg and his wife Nina performed on their many recital tours together. Each of the works on Lyric Music tells a story as does the album as a whole ranging in mood from bright, youthful innocence to shades of autumnal twilight. Sung in the original Norwegian, Claires and Christophers performances are as evocative as Norways varied landscape.