François Francœur perfected his talents as a violinist and composer in the France of the 18th century, down the years of a very full and long life (1698-1787). He was admitted to the Académie Royale de Musique as a violinist at the age of just 15. After several years of playing concerts in the great towns of Europe, he rejoined the The King's 24 Violins in 1730, before becoming a member of the Concert Spirituel, a rare and much-coveted honour. He was also Master of Music at the Opéra de Paris and then musical director of the same institution with his good friend François Rebel. Francœur found himself increasingly in favour at the court of Louis XV who would name him His Majesty's Master of Music in 1760 and ennobled him into the bargain. This was the era of the great rivalry between French and Italian music: Francœur didn't take one side, but accepted the influence of both into his instrumental music. The ten first violin sonatas on this record make up the whole of his First Book published in 1720: ten sonatas, an unusual number at a time when they were normally published by the dozen or half dozen. The writing fuses courtly elegance and rather earthier, joyful Italian energy, and Francœur gives the work a unique voice of its own. In this fresh, melodious music, both refined and robust, we hear tender songs, feverish dances, pastorales, but also a stunning virtuosity. Violinist Mitzi Meyerson chose not to perform these sonatas in the order of their publication, on the grounds that they weren't written to be performed back to back. Meyerson instead arranges them by key as harmoniously possible, and also sorts them by major musical influence: French, Italian and German too. She plays each line with a gentle inflection of the rhythms and emphases that reflects the known historical style of each national body of music. © SM/Qobuz