We’ve had a bumper crop of historically informed recordings of the Brahms symphonies over the past quarter of a century but precious few on period instruments. Unfortunately, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie – founded by conductor Jérémie Rhorer in 2005 – aren’t quite up to the task here. In addition to moments of shaky ensemble, the strings sound thin and the violins in particular take on an unpleasant edginess in high-lying passages. This is a pity as, for the most part, Rhorer’s interpretation is attractive; and while it seems from the information in the booklet note that the recording was made without an audience present, there’s often the frisson of a live performance. Listen, for instance, at 8'30" in the opening movement of the First Symphony, where Rhorer and his orchestra provide a heady mixture of rhythmic grit and lyrical sweep. His pacing in the finale is surely paced and often generates considerable excitement, too; and if the Andante sostenuto can be ungainly – note, say, how the cellos and basses land with an inelegant splat on their first forte in the sixth bar – many of the woodwind solos are tenderly expressive.

Stéphanie-Marie Degand’s playing in the Violin Concerto is also a mixed bag. Her wiry tone made me wince more than once and some of the more intricate passagework sounds effortful in her hands, but at her best – as in the impassioned tune at 6'31" in the first movement – her singing tone warmed my heart. I don’t think the engineering does either Degand or the orchestra any favours, unfortunately, for not only is the sound often shrill in general but there are moments of congestion, as if the recording was made from an FM radio broadcast.

If you really must have the First Symphony on period instruments, stick with Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (SDG, 10/08).