Johann Jakob Walther was one of the most significant violinists in Germany in the generation before Johann Sebastian Bach, and Bojan Čičić believes his music should be essential listening for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of Bach’s polyphonic writing for the instrument. Having built their reputation with a series of Delphian recordings focussing on “missing link” composers, Čičić and his Illyria Consort are passionate about bringing Walther’s collection of Scherzi da violino to the wider audience it deserves. This first complete recording displays the sheer ambition of Walther’s opus, with highlights including his demonstration of the violin’s polyphonic potential in the D major Sonata (No. III); the joyful playfulness of the end of No. IV; the inventiveness of the Imitatione del cuccu; and – Bojan Čičić’s personal favourite – the dramatic melancholy of the final Aria in E minor.