The esteem in which the recorder in England was held in the 16th to 18th centuries can be attributed mainly to foreign immigrants who greatly influenced musical life in London: Händel, Geminiani, Sammartini, Dieupart, etc.

Maurice Steger’s gift of presenting early music in a new light is demonstrated once again on his second compact disc for Claves Records: «An English Collection: Baroque Instrumental Music In The English Style». One of the recorder virtuoso’s principal interests «is the acclimatization or adaptation of ancient music to contemporary times. Our goal is not to reconstruct exactly «fossils» from the past, but to make past forms of musical experiences possible given current cultural «constraints».»

Steger and his international continuo consort (Naoki Kitaya, harpsichord, organ and direction; Yasunori Imamura and Eric Bellocq, theorbes; Guido Balestracci, viola da gamba; Roberto Sensi, violin, Irene Müller-Glasewald, harpsichord; Christian Sager, percussion) perform works by Händel, Purcell, Locke, Sammartini, Hilton, and others – early music in an expressive, vibrant style.