In 2018, four friends who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London decided to form an ensemble they called Théodora. Mariamielle Lamagat (soprano), Louise Ayrton (baroque violin), Lucie Chabard (harpsichord) and Alice Trocellier (viola da gamba) are dedicated to French baroque music and its influences on musical development.

For their first recording, which is part of the "Baroque Stories" series on the Alpha Classics label, they decided to trace the French style in 18th century Germany - where the dance forms, dotted rhythms, modulations and harmonies fashionable at the court of Louis XIV inspired composers to create numerous transcriptions, their own works and new instrumental practices. Johann Fischer and Johann Philipp Krieger made no secret of their admiration for Campra and Lully, whose music was so successful on the other side of the Rhine.

The program includes the magnificent "Duo de la paix et de la félicité" (Duet of Peace and Bliss) in a version that has survived from Berlin, which can be heard here with the participation of mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet. Of course, Bach is not to be missed: He appreciated the French organ school, especially Jacques Boyvin, whose wonderful Récit tendre from the Second Livre d'Orgue (1700) Théodora transcribed for violin, viola da gamba and basso continuo.