The soloist on this new recording, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, has been the harpist of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1993 and is a pupil of three distinguished French harpists: Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, Jacqueline Borot and Lily Laskine.

It seems likely that Handel’s great B flat Harp Concerto was the one first performed on February 19, 1736, along with the Organ Concerto Op 4 No 1 at the premiere of Alexander’s Feast. Handel, an inveterate self-plagiarist, then included it as the sixth and final work of his Op 4 Organ Concertos. It works well on either instrument. Partnered by a light, airy string ensemble formed by Langlamet’s colleagues, she is one of those who joins in the tuttis. It’s a matter of personal taste, but in a concerto like this I prefer a defined dialogue with the orchestra, sometimes agreeing with it, sometimes in opposition. With the soft-spoken harp, this contrast is diluted. What I did not like in the opening pages was Langlamet’s fussy rubato and ornamentation (surely embellishments should be reserved for the repeats). Perhaps that view is coloured by your reviewer’s introduction to the harp version back in 1980 through Nicanor Zabaleta with the English Chamber Orchestra under García Navarro (DG). They keep the pace chugging along to more exhilarating effect. The affecting Larghetto movement, however, is beautifully achieved by Langlamet, who in the finale is much less inclined to expressive exaggeration.

The Handel is followed by the less familiar Tailleferre Harp Concerto (another recorded authoritatively by Zabaleta – 1/71). In a 1976 interview, Tailleferre described what mattered to her (and the other members of Les Six): ‘Today’s music is without élan; it’s highly deliberated and artificial. I find that very interesting but it affords me no pleasure; it brings me no joie de vivre … We wanted to write music that was gay, that sparkled!’ Her concerto certainly does that. Gallic charm and wit infused with a touch of Stravinsky is how I’d describe it. Langlamet and her Berliners (now with additional woodwind, brass and, very briefly, percussion) offer a performance that will make you wonder why it is not heard more often, its atmospheric slow movement topped by a rustic rondo earworm.