Until about 1960, Francois Devienne was one of the best-kept secrets of French music history. Celebrated in late-eighteenth-century France as a bassoonist, flautist and composer,...

Until about 1960, Francois Devienne was one of the best-kept secrets of French music history. Celebrated in late-eighteenth-century France as a bassoonist, flautist and composer, his legacy was overshadowed by his Austrian contemporaries Haydn and Mozart. Forgotten to time were no less than seven symphonies, nineteen concertos, forty-six trios, sixty-seven sonatas, a dozen comic operas and fifty songs - all composed before the age of forty-three. On this release, the ensemble Musica Reale performs a selection of Devienne's Flute Quartets and Bassoon Quartets.