The mandolin, originally a folk music instrument, came into vogue in 18th century Paris, where the nobility and middle class became fond of the charming, modest but melodious qualities of this plucked instrument. With some moderate skill it was even possible for amateur players to reach a satisfactory result.

This CD presents an exquisite bouquet of works written for the mandolin: genre pieces, sonatas and arias written by composers mostly forgotten nowadays, but highly fashionable in their time.

The ensemble Artemandoline did extensive research into this genre, taking painstaking efforts to recreate this perfumed era of the Stile Galante, playing period instruments.

Contains detailed notes on the composers and artist biographies.

New recording (August 2012)