For Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, as for most French composers of his day, life took a turn for the better the day he left his native town and moved to Paris.

In the capital he found employment as a music teacher for the Prince of Vaudémont, who took him along on a trip to Italy where Montéclair perfected his study of the double bass, an instrument in which he was quite proficient, becoming, once back in Paris, a member of the orchestra of the Opéra.

Montéclair died on 22 November 1737. He has left us a considerable number of compositions, both vocal and instrumental, among them the six Concerts pour la flute traversière avec la basse chifrée, published in 1724/25, which include the four Concerts featured on this CD.

It ought to be said that the term Concert had for Montéclair a different meaning than it would have had for an Italian (or a German) composer of his day; in this connotation, though, we frequently find it used by 17th- and 18th-century French composers.

The Concerts pour la flute traversière avec la basse chifrée, as its title specifies, consists of six concertos for German (transverse) flute, the instrument that was then beginning to oust the recorder from the favours of amateur musicians. They are ample collections of pieces that are often very different in character from one another.

Track Listing:
Cinquieme Concert ”La Guerre”
- Marche
- Arrivée au champ
- Mélange des trompettes
- Concert sous la tente du General
- Air
- Sarabande
- Fugue (Légèrement)
- Boute-selle
- La Charge
- Le canon et la musqueterie
- Combat des armes blanches
- La mêlée générale
- La Victoire
- La marche pour le retour de l’Armée

Quatrieme Concert
- La Mélancolique
- La Joyeuse
- Les Ondes
- Les Nayades
- La Ténébreuse
- Sarabande
- Allemande (Gayement) avec Double
- Courante
- I Folette
- II Folette
- Chaconne
- Fugue

Troisieme Concert
- Ouverture
- I Menuet
- II Menuet
- Pastourelle
- La Bolougnoise
- Musette des Festes de l’Eté
- II Musette
- Menuet
- Villanelle
- Menuet
- Air des Festes de l’Eté
- I Pastourelle des Festes de l’Eté
- II Pastourelle des Festes de l’Eté
- Sarabande des Festes de l’Eté
- Sarabande nouvelle
- Marche des Bergers des Festes de l’Eté
- Rigaudon des Festes de l’Eté
- Contredance des Festes de l’Eté
- La Champenoise des Festes de l’Eté
- La Chasse des Festes de l’Eté

Sixieme Concert ”La Paix”
- Rondeau
- Mélange des Fifres et Tambours
- Nopce de Village ”La Serenade”
- Légèrement
- Air en Rondeu (Gay)
- Air par imitation (Lentement)
- Branle en Rondeau
- Sommeil (Gratieusement)
- Le Réveil Matin (Rondeau)
- Carillon du Moutier
- Marche des Mariés au Moutier (Gay)
- Le Retour du Moutier (Plus Gay)
- Menuet des Mariés
- I Pastourelle
- II Pastourelle
- Gavotte
- Musette
- Contredance

Artists:
- Cassone Gabriele: natural trumpet
- Frigé Antonio: harpsichord
- Marzana Luca: natural trumpet
- Pia Jonathan: natural trumpet
- Bernasconi Paolo: natural trumpet