How very good to hear Ansseau again: the rekindling of an old affection, recognition of the distinctive timbre, the conviction of his involvement with the drama, the soundness of his method despite a tightness or lack of free ring in some of the upper notes. The selection is a good one too with, quite rightly, a predominance of electrical recordings, these catching the body and resonance of his voice which was slightly dulled and constricted by the acoustic process. Yet having said that, I would still like to have had one or two of his earliest recordings, from 1919, when he first came to Covent Garden. And perhaps his ''J'ai perdu mon Eurydice'' (''Che faro'') might have been included as a reminder of one of the major events of his career, singing the tenor version of Orphee at the Opera-Comique in 1921. Something, perhaps, of his Samson, the Dream song from Manon, the splendid Herodiade, the Werther duet.... But then, what that is really saying is that we look forward to Vol. 2.
Meanwhile here is much of the best of him. Most is from the French repertoire, but there are also the fine Lohengrin solos, scrupulously lyrical, tender and severe in expression as the mood changes. Of the Italian arias, the Pagliacci excerpts keep the ear fully occupied, while the Tosca coupling (the last record of Ansseau to retain its place in the old catalogue) is not quite the authentic ripe Italian fruit, just a little dry. The ''O paradis!'' is an impressive example of impeccable legato singing; fine, too, is his lightening of Don Jose's line in the Carmen duet. He has complete mastery of the idiom in Werther, and possibly best of all are the rare Monna Vanna solos, which he sings with so much feeling and with a wealth of tone. These early electricals are of course from the diabolical period when the noisiest shellac was used. There's a good old fry-up towards the end of ''Vesti la giubba'' and it's raining on the battlements of Castel Sant'Angelo at the start of ''E lucevan le stelle''. But on the whole Preiser have done remarkably well in their transfers, the voice emerging with perfect clarity and fidelity.'