‘Benjamin Godard (1849 – 1895) was a prolific, fluent composer in many genres, but little of his output is familiar today. A string-player (he’d been a pupil of Henri Vieuxtemps), he writes for the violin with great panache, and Chloë Hanslip is in her element, making the most of the showy passagework, enjoying finding the right tone of voice for the different styles of melody – elegiac, sensuous or graceful – and attacking with passion the dramatic recitatives that join the movements of the Concerto romantique. The orchestral writing in both concertos is full of colour, if occasionally rather brash, and is performed here with considerable dash and spirit. There are some delightful solo contributions from oboe, clarinet and viola, in dialogue with the violin, during the little “Canzonetta” that separates the slow movement and finale of the Concerto romantique. Neither concerto comes near to rivalling Bruch or Tchaikovsky, but Godard is a skilful composer; it’s music that’s formally satisfying, consistently entertaining and sometimes memorable and touching. Hanslip, who’s to be congratulated for taking on such unfamiliar repertoire, seizes on these high-spots – the second theme in Op. 131’s first movement, the moment in Op. 35’s sombre Adagio when the first turn to the major is made – and finds just the right colour to emphasise Godard’s happy thought.

Duncan Druce, Gramophone, April 2008