The Florentine countertenor Filippo Mineccia presents 14 alto arias for both male and female characters drawn from nine different works, most of them written between 1725 and 1729 for Naples, Rome and Parma. Stile Galante’s occasionally uneven strings do not diminish from committed playing that always conveys the right kind of character. Mineccia’s dark-hued singing becomes forced in quick music that might have flourished with smoother elegance. Spirited simile arias comparing a character’s predicament to winds and storms always bring vibrant responses from Vinci and his latter-day interpreters, such as ‘Se soffia irato il vento’ from the Neapolitan opera Ernelinda (1726).

Mineccia sings more persuasively in gentler arias, such as Mary Magdalene’s solemn description of the tortured Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha (‘Sotto il peso tre sassi cadendo’, from the undated Neapolitan oratorio Maria dolorata), and I enjoyed his tasteful mesa di voce entry and limpid embellishments in the pathos-drenched ‘Taci, o di morte’ (from the Parmesan opera Medo, 1728). It was a shrewd plan to place the lilting duet ‘Ai lampi del tuo lume’ (featuring Francesca Cassinari) and aria ‘Chi mi priega’ featuring graceful cello obbligato from the oratorio La Vergine del Rosario (Naples, 1727) at the centre of the programme. A pair of horns arrive at an opportune moment to illustrate an acerbic complaint about love in ‘Ti calpesto, oh crudo Amore’ from Astianatte (Naples, 1725), whereas the following aria ‘Non meno risplende’ (from the Roman serenata La contesa de’ Numi) is elaborated by concertino violins. The cleverly planned recital unveils plenty of unknown Vinci arias but nothing is explained about their original dramatic contexts.