American Record Guide (January/February 2006)

Except for the concertos, this set of five chamber sonatas probably constitutes the best known part of Georg Muffat's work. Musicologists are still speculating about the German-born Muffat and Corelli just who influenced whom. These sonatas were published in 1682, while Corelli's sonatas weren't published until after 1681. Certainly we know that the two men met each other and that Muffat's sonatas had trial performances in Corelli's house.
I have reviewed two other recordings of Muffat's Armonico Tributo, the first from Symphonia (J/F 2002) and the second from Helios (S/O 2005). Both are excellent renditions, and another reviewed by Mr Loewen was characterized as « gorgeous » (J/F 2005). This new release is gorgeous, too, and a little different from the first two I reviewed. Those are both done by small ensembles, as indicated in the original scoring of the sonatas: two violins, two violas, and basso continuo. Mr Loewen doesn't indicate how big the ensemble is on the Albe release, but Les Muffatti here is quite good sized, with six violins, two violas, two cellos, a double bass, and harpsichord, organ, and guitar or theorbo. The sound is very full, and it adds a new dimension to these delightful sonatas. They stand up very well to a larger ensemble; indeed, once one hears them played this way, it's hard to imagine them without such full sound. Their oft-noted resemblance to Corelli's concertos is even more marked with the larger ensemble.
Les Muffatti is a new orchestra, having made its debut in Brussels in June 2004. The orchestra plans to major in compositions for strings orchestra in the late 17^th and early 18^th Century.

Crawford