This disc from Poland consists of a pleasant mixture of French cantatas and instrumental pieces which can be enjoyed as a straightforward concert. They date from the first three decades of the 18th century, the period between the death of Lully and the rise of Rameau, which is perhaps still under-appreciated. The earliest is Le retour de la paix; exhorting mortals not to seek ‘futile glory’, it would not have gone down well with the warlike Louis XIV. Montéclair employs a flute to illustrate the possibility of peace and, paradoxically, a trumpet to celebrate its achievement. Le berger fidèle is a foretaste of the opera composer that Rameau was to become. Clérambault’s La muse de l’opéra is, not surprisingly, equally dramatic. Rushing scales on the violin illustrate a storm; a sleep scene calls up violin and flute in unison; while birdsong is airily represented by voice and flute with no continuo bass. Natalia Kawaek, more soprano than mezzo, sings all three cantatas with bright, clear tone.

The Marais sonata is a passacaglia where the violin and gamba disport themselves over a three-note bell-like phrase. It’s mesmerisingly played by Stefan Plewniak and Lucia Krommer, though the latter sounds rather distant. Plewniak is joined by Enrique Gómez-Cabrero Fernández for Couperin’s two-violin Apotheosis of Corelli. This is beautifully done, especially the well-sprung rhythms of the second movement and the flowing quavers of the third.

The presentation is a disaster. You are lured into the cardboard folder and the booklet by a picture of scrumptious-looking macaroons. After that comes a farrago of misspellings, typos, mistranslations and sheer gibberish. The translations are printed separately from the text, and no timings are given. O my, O my.