Famed throughout musical Europe from the 1720s onwards for his extreme prowess on the violin, Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764) bequeathed to posterity an admirable if relatively small body of work, the publication of which he himself largely oversaw following his move to Amsterdam in 1729. Here Fabio Biondi draws on it to paint a unique portrait.

Rather than immersing himself in L’arte del violino, op.3 - the best-known opus of a composer to which they already devoted an initial album in 1995 (Opus 111, OPS30-104) - Biondi and his friends in Europa Galante opt for a more intriguing Locatelli: the six Introduttioni teatrali (Theatrical Introductions) which constitute the first part of the Opus 4.

Standing at the crossroads of concerto grosso and opera sinfonia, the Introduttioni teatrali put a string ensemble under the spotlight and reveal something of a mystery. Were they written for any particular occasion? Did they form overtures for forgotten or undocumented operas? No matter. Here Locatelli forms brief little dramatic scenarios, full of surprises. In each instrumental voice of this magnificently crafted counterpoint - listen to the intoxicating second Allegro of Introduttione I, to take but one example - the composer vividly paints a gallery of characters with a consistently elegant touch and a slightly mischievous smile.

By invoking the theatre, Locatelli presents fresh evidence of his flexible approach to the genre of the concerto grosso, to which form all of Opus 4 is in fact dedicated: the second part of the collection offers six more examples, transforming the form which is the emblem of its master, Corelli.

Few recordings of the Introduttioni teatrali have been made so far. Fabio Biondi’s poetic eloquence brings fresh colours to them, even bringing to mind, at many moments of surprise (for instance, the Andante of Introduttione II), contemporaneous pieces like Mondonville’s 6 Sonates en symphonie. These curious echoes kindle the spirit of a musical Europe permeated in the middle of the 18th century by a tangled web of tastes and styles.

Equally bearing witness to this is the work with which this album ends, a Concerto in A major, one of whose two sources is found in Sweden and includes annotations in the hand of Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758), another little-known master of the 18th century, seven of whose Assagi for solo violin Biondi revived in his previous album. Pursuing his grand European tour, the ever-voracious Fabio Bondi here closes another loop - and with what a mouthwatering final act.