The French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, unlike his near-contemporary Bach, wrote music, and much of it, that, opposing the profound, inward-looking manner of Bach,...

The French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, unlike his near-contemporary Bach, wrote music, and much of it, that, opposing the profound, inward-looking manner of Bach, exhibits a cheerful, somewhat superficial outlook very much interested in worldly matters of kings and courts. In the end, his efforts paid off handsomely, earning him today's equivalent of two million dollars during his life. His bold idea heard here, one that violated the composing precepts of his age, of scoring sonatas for two melodic instruments, are rounded off by later works of others using the same instrumentation.