The young composer Teobaldo de Gatti left Italy around 1670, driven by his admiration for the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, whom he considered a great master, with the firm intention of meeting him. On his arrival in France, Gatti was hired as a viola da gamba player in the orchestra of the Académie Royale de Musique, a position he held until his death in 1727. At the end of the 17th century, Gatti’s music offers a fine and varied overview of the Italian vocal chamber repertoire, representing a veritable attempt at "goûts réunis" (mixed styles). In the preface to the original edition, he talks about the reasons that encouraged him to make his Italian arias known in France: "I noticed in the ladies all the capacity for Italian song, which requires a lot of spirit and a heart capable of tenderness; the Italian language seems to be the language of love; Italian song has ornaments that go straight to the heart; so I thought I could do no better for the glory of my homeland than to entrust its most touching aspect to the most amiable people in the world. I composed Italian airs that were soon known by honest people; the result was so beautiful that His Majesty wanted to hear them, and was kind enough to approve them". This new publication from the Éditions du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles launches a new series focusing on Italian composers who, like Gatti, came to the French court to practise their art.