The notes have a life of their own; they swell and subside, surging with passion or fading away into sadness. The viola da gamba, like the human voice, can be warm or briefly rasping while the accordion, sounding here like a more intimate version of an organ, ranges from whispers to fury.
It would be difficult to overstate how delicately Marianne Muller, a grande dame in the viol world, knows how to ornament the melodic line with a fluidity of expression far beyond what many a singer can only dream of.