The Rebels, and for that matter the Francoeurs, have yet to receive the attention they deserve. They held some of the most important positions in Paris and Versailles, and were popular composers as well as accomplished performers and musical administrators. So this recording is of particular interest, because for the first time we hear examples of their vocal music as well as some of the better-known instrumental music. And although the title of the disc focuses on the Rebels, François Francoeur seems to have had a hand in the airs and some of the dances.

The Ensemble Les Surprises chamber orchestra was founded in 2010 by the viol player Juliette Guignard and the harpsichordist Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas with the intention of exploring lesser known, large-scale works with reduced vocal and instrumental forces such as would have been used in private performances like the one in 1749 that inaugurated Madame de Pompadour’s own theatre at Versailles. Les Surprises do it with style and panache. There is some stunning solo playing sprinkled through the arrangements, in particular by the bassoonist Anaïs Ramage, and characterful singing from the soprano Juliette Perret and baritone Étienne Bazola.

While the instrumental music taken from the Rebel père’s 1715 suite Les caractères de la danse charmingly frames this debut disc programme, pictured within is a wealth of music slumbering within the theatrical music jointly composed by François Rebel le cadet and François Francoeur, a partnership that endured nearly 50 years (it is said that Rebel composed the morceaux de force and Francoeur the morceaux de sentiment). Best known and most prominently featured here is Le ballet de la paix (1738). The notes are good as far as they go but weren’t as helpful as they should have been.