With hardly any documents relating to his life having survived, very little is known about the French guitarist, theorbist,lutenist and composer Robert de Visée. In1680 he was supposedly appointed to the court of Louis XIV – the so?called ‘Roi Soleil’– where he was admired by his benefactorsas well as the great musicians influential inVersailles (Lully and Couperin among them).He published three books for guitar duringhis lifetime, and the many contemporary manuscripts with his music written byamateurs, students and famous musicians are a sure testament to the popularity of his works.This release is dedicated to a series of guitar pieces that almost all derive from one of his first two publications, Livre de Guittarredédié au roi (1682) and Livre de Pièces pour la Guittarre (1686). The star of the show is undoubtedly the ‘Sabonari’ instrument used for the recording and hither to untouched for almost 200 years: as one of only five extant Stradivari guitars, it is a magnificent example of the sort of instrument that we can expect this music to have been performed on, with its standard tuning perfectly suited to French music of this era.From the extraordinary sonority of the Suite‘accord nouveau’, a rare example of scordatura which sees the guitar tuned a semi tone lower, to the best?known D minor Suite, this instrument delights for its deeply resonant timbres and distinctive phrasing of the musical text.Born in Mexico City, the prodigiously talented Krishnasol Jiménez – who also assisted in the restoration of the ‘Sabonari’ instrument – is the soloist on this release,his third for Brilliant Classics. The recording is a welcome addition to the label’s ever growing catalogue of guitar music, and reveals just how much this instrument was enjoyed at the French royal court.

Krishnasol Jiménez ‘Sabionari’ guitar by Stradivari