The French Classical string quartet is a pretty unfamiliar genre: some thousands of quartets were in fact published in Paris between 1770 and 1800 but few are played and fewer have been recorded. The six here by Gossec (he wrote another six, Op 14) are up to a point representative. They are two-movement works, the first a sonata-allegro in four of the quartets, a Larghetto in two; the second movements are half of them minuets, half of them ‘Englese’ – whatever that may mean! There isn’t anything specially English about them but they are lively, sometimes jaunty pieces with busy inner textures.

The music in general is closer to Boccherini in style than to Haydn; there is little of the dialectical manner of the Viennese quartet but plenty of interest in varied texture and shapely line. The two opening slow movements are specially attractive: one in C minor, slightly sombre in feeling, starting with a unison statement of a theme like that of the Musical Offering, later with dramatic pauses and syncopations; the other is a tender, appealing E major movement.

The other first movements have plenty of lively ideas and much variety in their textures and are quite compact, neatly written pieces. Some of the minuets have a hint of the inward tone that distinguishes Boccherini’s, though without his vein of melancholy.These aren’t perhaps very personal works, but they make pleasant listening and sound as if they are fun to play. And they are played very well here, with sure technique and good style. The sleeve doesn’t say whether the Quatuor Ad Fontes are playing on period instruments. They use no vibrato, which produces a rather steely, even glary tone at times, and they play at modern pitch. But this is an interesting disc, well worth trying.