Žibuoklė Martinaitytė 
Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė. Photo © Tomas Terekas

What's new on disc

From Montéclair to Martinů, lesser-known works are much in vogue as the new year gets into its stride

Casting an eye over the latest batch of new releases it’s another month where the novel and the new excites our reviewers more than the familiar. Early music, of course, is an area where exciting discoveries are being unearthed every day and one of my two top tips is an opera by a name I’d never heard before: Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667–1737). Jephté, based on the Old Testament story of the Israelite general who vows to sacrifice the first person he sees in exchange for victory only for it...