Founded in 2007 by conductor Stephen Stubbs, Pacific MusicWorks presents Baroque music, dance, and theater to audiences worldwide, bringing experience gained performing with leading early music artists. On their latest album, the ensemble plays eleven works of early Baroque composers in the stylus phantasticus, or fantastic style. This colorful and emotionally-charged genre of instrumental music originated in Italy in the early 17th century. The compositions included on this recording provide prime examples of the lineage of the style from its Italian roots to its later development into an “imperial style” associated with Central Europe and the Habsburgs.