The instrumental pieces that flesh out the disc are played with the colorful expertise associated with Savall and his ensemble, although I felt the echo Canzon by Bastiano Chilese, yet another Venetian, might have been given rather more verve and brilliance. But the most rewarding of these tracks is not a "battle" piece but the ravishingly beautiful performance of the fantasia on "the tears of Orpheus." It is based on the plaint of Orfeo from act III of Luigi Rossi's sumptuous Orfeo, first performed in Paris in 1647, information that should have been provided with the poorly presented program details or at least in the notes. Incidentally, any lover of Baroque opera who does not own the Les Arts Florissants set of Orfeo (Harmonia Mundi) should repair the omission without delay.