William Jackson of Exeter (1730–1803) was a painter and writer as well as a composer, but he has been, until now, something of a hidden treasure. As Timothy Roberts writes in his introduction to this first album of Jackson’s music, ‘his songs are rooted in English traditions, and if his harmonies rarely move beyond those of Corelli and Handel, Jackson’s emphasis on sensibility also brings hints of early Romanticism’. One contemporary observed that ‘His melodies were pure and natural’, resulting in music that is both elegant and charming. This recording brings two esteemed early-music stars into the Toccata Classics catalogue: Dame Emma Kirkby and Charles Daniels.

Dame Emma Kirkby’s voice and style are recognised worldwide. Awarded a DBE in 2007, and in 2011 the Queen’s Medal for Music, she is grateful for these responses to the world of early music.

Irene Mas Salom began her musical life as a violinist but has subsequently devoted her energies to her soprano voice, which one music critic (Diario de Mallorca, 2015) has likened to that of the young Elly Ameling.

Charles Daniels is recognised as one of the world’s leading performers of Baroque music. He studied at King’s College, Cambridge, and at the Royal College of Music in London, and has a prolific recording legacy, having made over 90 recordings.

Based primarily in Bunyola, a small town next to the Sierra de Tramuntana in Mallorca, the string ensemble Ars Musicae, founded in 2003, is one of only a handful of orchestras in Spain which plays on period instruments.