Reviewing period instrument performances is often an arduous and difficult task; although there are no end of contemporary treatises that discuss aspects of performance practice, we can also be fairly certain that these represent only the views of a particular individual at a specific point in time, and that they are not always applicable to a range of other composers or genres. Thus, we can only make educated guesses regarding some composers' intentions and making them is, to say the least, difficult: where we are certain, we need still to retain a degree of musicality that we cannot allow to be swamped with scholarship, since carrying out the instructions of treatises to the nth degree can often result in a musically dull and unworthy performance. Yet this is where a dichotomy arises, since the whole period instrument business revolves around the need to play music in a stylistically correct manner.

Upbeat Classics' Priest on the Run is an extraordinary disc that prominently features Piers Adams and Julia Bishop, both virtuosos in their own right. One is left breathless by their playing, intonation and sense of enjoyment - they positively revel in the music - but one is also certain that their playing is more a result of instinct rather than any scholarly influence, and is therefore left wondering if, in an attempt to establish virtuosity, a little musicality has been swept under the carpet. Some tracks on the disc are astounding, particularly Castello's Sonata Terza which opens the programme, where Adams' playing takes the listener on a cascade of driving and imaginatively-executed passagework that is true to the ideals of the stylus phantasticus, but his approach is not as relevant to other items on the disc, such as Telemann's Gypsy Sonata in A major. This is neither sensitive nor stylish and, in an attempt to provide that 'little extra', we are bombarded with some very tasteless playing, especially from harpsichordist Julian Rhodes, whose continuo style is intrusive and, to be frank, unnecessary. His solo playing is, in places, almost beautiful, but even here he has an infuriating tendency to ruin textures with unnecessary appoggiaturas, musical aggression and over-the-top arpeggiandi. It is a relief, therefore, when Julia Bishop takes centre stage for Salverde's Canzona d'Espagne No 1. Her playing is stylistically accurate, and is sensitive and musical. One feels that Red Priest would benefit much from her artistic direction, but this seems not to be the case. This is not to say that Adams has it wrong, he's just a little wayward in interpretation and, of the pair, shows a lesser maturity. However, there are some tracks that show another side to Adams' playing - when not being a virtuoso for the sake of it, he plays with a remarkable sensitivity.

Angela East's Telemann solo fantasia is also well executed, and great musicianship is combined with a sense of structure and affekt that is rarely heard with such conviction elsewhere. Similarly, when she takes a more back-seat role as a continuo player, we are treated to a different, although just as refined, set of skills.

A bit of a mixed bag then! I could listen to most of the soloists all day long, but when combined, I feel that Red Priest lacks a few musical qualities for which they try to compensate with speed and agility. If you like your virtuosos to be truly virtuosic, you will not be disappointed. If, however, you prefer a little more substance, head for the solos tracks alone… they are still worthy of a good audition!

John Woodford