Add yet another wonderful performance to the growing list of recordings of Arcangelo Corelli's glorious Op. 5 Violin Sonatas. In fact, this is the Accademia Bizantina's second cycle on CD (the first was recorded for Frequenz in 1990 as part of the group's complete Corelli edition), and in some respects it surpasses that otherwise excellent previous effort. For instance, violin soloist Stefano Montanari is more lucid and stylishly adept at drawing out the work's chromatic and rhythmic possibilities than the group's former director and violin soloist Carlo Chiarappa.

As with the Accademia Bizantina's earlier recording, the ensemble's conductor/harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone (who played the harpsichord as well as organ during the Frequenz sessions) has wisely chosen to opt for a full continuo (Corelli scored the sonatas for violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord, though was known to encourage the use of additional instrumentation), occasionally supplemented by a second violin, archlute, and baroque guitar. Unlike its earlier effort, the superior engineering on this Arts SACD allows us to hear the often-luxurious array of instrumental timbres with far greater clarity and sonic richness. All told, this outstanding achievement must be ranked among the top period-instrument performances of these works to date.