Never heard of Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht? Don't worry, you're not the only one. Very few recordings of his music can be found, and any online information about this composer is extremely scant and bare-bones. As a matter of fact, the Trio Sonatas on this CD, are presented here as world premiere recordings. As the booklet notes point out, these shortcomings are "due less to an injustice on the part of the history of music or to the overshadowing genius of his contemporaries Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn than to the vagaries of history and the cultural context then in upheaval."

German flutist and composer Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht (1722-1794) lived during the interim years that witnessed the transition from the late baroque music era to the early classical music period. It's sometimes difficult to tell on which side of the fence he stood, but by the 1760s when he had written these Sonatas, it's clear that he had crossed to the other side. His music is highly refined, elegant, and yet fresh, inventive, and projects a sunny outlook. Only one out of the five Sonatas is in a minor key.

Miho Shirai and Zsuzsa Csige (Transverse Flutes), Marie Colombat (Baroque Cello) and Niklas Heineke (Harpsichord), the musicians of the baroque music ensemble La Cantonnade, meld together well the music's stately classical demeanor with its baroque vitality. Tasteful and sober, and yet highly spirited and vibrant. The dynamic balance between the four instruments is polished, and the two flutes never dominate the soundscape. Imagine the music of Mozart infused with baroque temper and you get a clear image of the music of Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht. For those of you who enjoy music from that period, here's a chance to hear some fresh material.