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Lovers of Early Music are in for a huge treat with Ignacio Jerusalem's Galant Music from Mexico City, a tribute commemorating the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. The little-known, Italian-born, galant creator, who spent much of his colorful life in Mexico, receives long-deserved attention from the Chicago Arts Orchestra under the baton of Mexican-American conductor Javier José Mendoza. Considered the most influential composer of galant music in the Americas, Ignacio Jerusalem (1707-1769) might not be as well-known as his European counterparts: but the reason for his limited renown has more to do with a geographical disadvantage, rather than lack of musical ability. The works presented on this album were largely composed towards the end of the emigre's life, in the 1760s, and they bear all of the hallmarks one would expect from a European-born composer of the era. There is plenty of zest, liveliness, spirit, drive; but also a distinctly Italian take on Catholic piety, spiritual reflection and faith. One might be forgiven to view Jerusalem as a ready-made, run-of-the-mill church composer, considering that most of Jerusalem's oeuvre consists of liturgical works – after all, he spent the last two decades of his life as chapel master of the Catedral de México, which had commissioned plenty of works by him even before his official tenure. Doing so, of course, would mean doing injustice to his delightful secular compositions, such as "Al Combate" which was previously recorded by the Chicago Arts Orchestra and released on Navona Records. Furthermore, one cannot disregard the composers non-liturgical sacred works, such as the charming duet Pedro Amado or the magnificent Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae, which are anything but run-of-the-mill. Galant Music from Mexico City is a solid attempt at shining a light on a composer whose legacy unjustly suffered from his relative isolation and lack of peerage. It is a well-deserved tribute, and one that will indubitably please the ear as well as the soul – just as the master intended.