Pierre Jaillard Bressan (1663-1731) was born in France and later worked in England as a woodwind maker, producing traverso and oboe in addition to recorders. Originally active in Paris, he moved to London in 1688. It is said that this trip to England was probably invited by recorder player J. Paisible.
There are 77 recorders left, which is the largest number of the surviving original recorders whose the maker have been revealed. There is also a record that the T.Stanesby Sr.’s workshop, which was active in London at the same time, had a year-round tax valuation of £ 9, while Bressan was £ 60. From the number of surviving recorders and document at that time, it can be seen that his workshop would have been very prosperous.
At our workshop, we make based on the original alto in F in Ueno Gakuen, Tokyo. The original pitch is about a'= 410Hz. We achieve a'= 415Hz by shortening the middle joint. In addition, it seems that Bressan allows to change the pitch without significantly damaging the character. Therefore, we also prepare an enlarged model to a'= 392Hz and a scale-down model to a'= 442Hz.
It is a typical model of English recorder, and the tone is fresh and deep, and the intonation and pronunciation are also good.
Concerto in a minor TWV 52:a2 for two recorders ／ G.Ph.Telemann
Instrument Used：Bressan Alto, a’=415Hz（by Seiji Hirao）
played by Seiko Tanaka, Daniele Bragetti
Sonata in D minor arranged from Concerto Grosso Op.6-3 ／ Arcangelo Corelli, arr. J.C.Schickhardt
Instrument Used：Stanesby Jr. Alto, Bressan Alto, a’=415Hz（by Shigeharu Hirao-Yamaoka）
played by Shigeharu Hirao-Yamaoka, Mitsuko Ota
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