Alison Crum and Laurence Cummings have created one of the most simply charming recordings of these works for viola da gamba and harpsichord that I know: their playing is sweet, relaxed and precise rhythmically. The viola da gamba sound is carefully nuanced, and Laurence Cummings's beautifully recorded harpsichord is exuberant. He certainly has the necessary technique, as we hear on the solo-harpsichord works such as the Prelude and Fugue in G, where his rapid fingerwork is breathtaking. Yet nothing in this recording distracts us fro the onward flow and basic lyricism of Bach's writing: one thinks of the virtuosity displayed here, or of Crum's unforced tone, or the sublimely matched interactions of the two musicians, almost as an afterthought. You'll find yourself singing along to this Bach disc.