The importance of Dufault in his own time (seventeenth century) has never been fully reflected in recordings of his works, precious few of which have featured in The Classical Catalogue—at the moment, none. Dufault was born in Bourges and, after two marriages, moved to London in the 1660s and may have died there. His music, mostly preserved in manuscript form, consists mainly of unmeasured preludes and dance movements, including a few pavans, then passing out of fashion. His noble Tombeau de Mr Blancrocher from the G minor Suite pays tribute to a wealthy (my first typing of his name as 'Blancricher' was an appropriate error!) amateur lutenist who inspired like tributes from Denis Gaultier, Louis Couperin and Froberger. There is considerable rhythmic flexibility in his style brise—he even indicated where rubato was to be used, but though many passages sound improvisatory they preserve a sense of discipline. Dufault did not designate his pieces in grouped sets; only those in C minor have reached us in such a way, the others in this recording have been assembled from various sources.
French baroque lute music is not the easiest kind in which to maintain interest—in long stretches it can become musical wallpaper—but Monteilhet succeeds effortlessly; his tone is warm and rounded, his fingers and musical purpose sure, he has been superbly recorded, and his performances are supported by admirable annotation. This is his first solo disc and it is not surprising to read of the distinguished early-musical company he has kept in an ensemble capacity.'