Francesco Geminiani studied in Rome with Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti, and in 1711 became leader of the opera orchestra in Naples. Settling in London in 1714, he earned instant success as a violin virtuoso and became one of the most influential teachers of violin and composition.

Geminiani's principal works are the solo sonatas and concerti grossi. His model was Corelli, but he composed for a wider range of solo instruments using a more sonorous and chromatic idiom, although still contrapuntal. The expressive force of this music makes it the most important collection of cello sonatas of its time.

Gaetano Nasilio studied viola da gamba at the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis, where his teacher was Paolo Pandolfo. He makes regular solo appearances in Europe and in North and South America with such well-known European ensembles as the Ensemble 415, René Jacobs’ Concerto Vocale and Jordi Savall’s Le Concert des Nations.

Recorded: 2000