At the start of the 19th century, the guitar repertoire was dominated by the melodic and virtuoso works of Italian composers. For his first album on the Analekta label, Napoli 1810 - Italian Romantic Music, Pascal Valois looks to revive the excitement and wonder sparked by the guitar during that era. “This album is the culmination of many years dedicated to the interpretation of Italian music. This music is inseparable from the bel canto tradition (with its legato, flexibility and agility) in addition to ornamentation and improvised phrases. I incorporated all these elements into my playing and in my new album" says Pascal Valois. The album's repertoire, played on a Cabasse-Bernard guitar (c.1820), consists of magnificent works such as the Grand Sonata for Guitar, M.S.3 by Niccolò Paganini, a major work in the guitar repertoire, the Guitar Sonata, Op. 15 by Mauro Giuliani and three works by composer Ferdinando Carulli, including the World Premiere recordings of the Guitar Sonatina, Op. 59, No. 1 and the Guitar Sonata, Op. 159, No. 1. To use the words of Guitare Classique magazine in its description of Pascal Valois' playing, "The romantic guitar in all its splendor"!