Eloquence Classics

A rare foray for Ansermet into the Baroque era. Henri Helaerts and Roger Reversy were principal winds with the Suisse Romande and their solo work appears in many an orchestral work in his recordings. For this collection of Baroque concertos, Helaerts is soloist in two Vivaldi Bassoon Concertos recorded 16 years apart – in 1952 and 1968. Reversy’s plangent oboe graces much Ravel and Bach on the Decca recordings and here he is heard in the ‘popular’ Marcello Oboe Concerto in C minor.

Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968), the French organist who joined Ansermet on these relatively rare Handel recordings also was a distinguished composer. She even composed her own cadenzas for these two concertos. Of course these recordings depart from authenticity in her use of pedals, not to mention a large organ. A reviewer at the time of this recording’s release scoffed at her ‘Crystal Palace Handel’. There are, nonetheless, several intimate moments in these 1952 readings.