Two violinists playing mid-18th-century French music without continuo? Leclair published two sets 17 years apart, of which this, the second, appeared in 1747. Whereas collections for amateur flute/recorder and treble viol players were available earlier, none approach the virtuoso writing encountered here. So what of the supposed lack of accompaniment? It has simply been transposed to the violin register and expertly interwoven into the rich array of two-part textures characterising Leclair’s music.

Florian Deuter and Mónica Waisman, both members of Harmonie Universelle, play on a pair of exquisitely matched instruments made by the modern Dutch luthier Matthieu Besseling. Theirs is a remarkable, refined collaboration, which makes the frequent interchange of roles within the music nearly impossible to discern – assuming anyone might wish to unpick the seams! This is particularly so in the moto perpetuo movements (trs 5 and 11) that feature obbligato accompaniments; the delicacy of the demanding bariolage accompaniment of the E major Largo creates a magical backdrop for the melody. Elsewhere the violinists banter, be it in syncopated passages or the expression of chromatic motifs; the high-wire badinage in the G minor finale (tr 18) is hair-raising. The oneness of their tone (note the lovely soft-edged cadences), phrasing and timing are as one might expect from a hypothetical solo virtuoso.

After patiently waiting for a recording on violins of this delightful italianate French music, we now have had two in the space of a year. Greg Ewer and Adam LaMotte released both sets (Opp 3 & 12) for Sono Luminus while in 1999 Dimitar Penkov and Johannes Flieder recorded Op 12 on violas for Gega. Never mind! This newest version is a musical delight.