Few would deny that French composers have much enriched the harp repertory, or that French makers have contributed much to the instrument itself. Indeed, one of them, Gustave Lyon of the Pleyel company, perfected the cross-strung chromatic harp for which Debussy wrote his Danse sacree et danse profane in 1904, although by the time of the composer's Sonata for flute, viola and harp 11 years later it had been superseded by the pedal harp as perfected by the firm of Erard.
These are enjoyable performances by a fine harpist and Paris-based musicians: Markus Klinko and his colleagues play these pieces with affection. But Ravel's Introduction and Allegro is short of elan, and an over-close recording inevitably gives us knocks and thuds from the harp; Britten once spoke to me of its sounding like ''an old Morris changing gear''. Accordingly, we lose some of the mystery of this wonderful score, but it still works its magic. The Debussy Danses are similarly thoughtful but again don't get fully airborne; often a slightly quicker tempo would have helped. As for his heart-rending Sonata, I am old-fashioned enough not to want to hear players breathing but still like this sensitive playing of a still relatively little-known masterpiece, which despite its beauty is one of the saddest pieces I know. Hence I take issue with the booklet-note's dismissal of the composer's own description of the work as ''affreusement melancolique'' in favour of something else (''nous la dirons plutot nostalgique''). The other pieces are useful, though the transcription for flute and harp does nothing for Ravel's Pavane (that of his Habanera is more convincing). But for the Sonata and the Introduction and Allegro you will do better with the fine Melos Ensemble account, available on Decca at mid price.'