In the notes for this Naxos CD, composer Salvador Brotons, who is also the conductor of this performance, explains that his Symphony No. 5 ‘Mundus Noster’ has a form “nearer to that of a symphonic poem than to pure music.” I read these notes as I began my second...

In the time of Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764), it was common practice to substitute instruments specified in a work with others, often from different instrument families, based upon what was available. This is still done frequently today with music of this time, although the reason for the...