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"... beautifully captured in John Holloway's incisive playing ... what is equally remarkable here is the virtuosity of the lower parts for the dulcian ... Jane Gower commands their flights of fancy with such skill that the violin is sometimes overwhelmed, but in Castello's Sonata Decima they achieve a perfect match. Lars Ulrik Mortensen's gentle harpsichord complements discreetly." - The Guardian "... the combination of violin, dulcian and continuo evokes a powerful image of how this music might have been performed in the houses of the Venetian or Roman nobility ... Holloway’s playing is replete with the virtues we have come to expect of him: expressive freedom, surety of technique and intonation and stylistic awareness. Throughout, he seems to be having immense fun with the music ... ultrarealistic sound ... a first-class release." - Fanfare On this recording, violinist John Holloway shines the spotlight on Dario Castello and Giovanni Battista Fontana, two little known Italian composers from the turn of the 17th century. There is a number of surviving works by both men that reveal them to have been remarkable composers for the violin; Holloway has selected a number of sonatas from this body of work, some originally for violin as well as some conceived for other string or wind instruments. Along with solo violin sonatas, Holloway presents six sonatas for violin and basso continuo that can be regarded as precursors of the later trio sonata or even as early examples of that genre.