When Arnold Dolmetsch brought the recorder to the attention again at the beginning of this century, he gave his concerts on an instrument by a certain "Bressan". Recorder makers all over the world have started using the Bressan type as an example for their recorders. Only in recent decades has more been learned about the identity of this Pierre Jaillard Bressan. He was born in Bourg-en-Bresse in
… 1663. He arrived in London around 1690, where he was one of the five "hautboys" who accompanied William III on his trip to Holland in 1691. The collection of the Grosvenor Museum in Chester contains six instruments by Bressan. These instruments were used for a beautiful recital of works by Purcell, played by La Simphonie du Marais conducted by Hugo Reyne. (HJ) _more
