“The Stabat mater, an extraordinary work, in some ways, weaves a multiplicity of styles and genres – sparse recitative, solo motet, instrumental polyphony, operatic aria – into an extended meditation at once haunting and profound, sung here with exquisite purity of tone and line and restrained intensity of expression by Sandrine Piau. The D minor Casa del diavolo Symphony has plenty of drive, drama and panache, particularly in the final rondo, which effectively filches music from Gluck’s Le festin de pierre that Gluck himself reworked as the ‘Danse des furies’ in the 1774 Paris Orphée. Gaillard, of course, comes into her own (in the two concertos and sonata,) playing with great tonal warmth and directness of expression, all the while meeting Boccherini’s technical challenges with accomplished ease.”