Both as a solo player and with the ensemble he founded, Fantasticus, the English viola da gamba player Robert Smith has won praise for expressive performances of Baroque works. Smith's studies are notable for having focused directly on the gamba. Smith released his debut solo recording, Tickle the Minikin (the minikin is the top string on a viol or lute), in 2014 on the Resonus Classics label, and he has continued to record for that imprint. Smith's albums have a scholarly flavor, but the commercial success of the viol duo recording The Excellency of Hand and of his Telemann album in 2017 seemed to mark him as a growing force on the Baroque chamber music scene. ~ James Manheim