David Hill at Westminster Cathedral and John Porter at St George's Chapel Windsor
PRIORY PRCD 913 A/B (ADD)
102' 85"
www.prioryrecords.co.uk

For some time, Priory have been making their back catalogue of deleted CD recordings available to special order - now they have decided to re-issue some of their earlier LP recordings on CD: a very worthy commercial decision.

David Hill's 1986 recording at Westminster is of works by Healey Willan and Liszt; very suitable works for what is considered by many (myself included) the finest organ in London. Willan's Reger-esque Introduction, Passacaglia & Fugue receives a fine performance, but more so I would point out an excellent performance of Liszt's Fantasia on Ad nos ad saulutarem undam - nice to see a note by David Hill that newer scholarship has revised his performance of this piece, but this recording needs no apologies.

At Windsor, John Porter (who died soon after making the original LP) started his 1983 recital with a handful of works by former organist of St George's, Sydney Campbell. These slight but useful pieces are followed by items by William Harris, Bach, Walond, Rheinberger & Jongen, along with an excellent performance of Langlais' Incantation pour un Jour Saint.

Both transfers from LP work very well - as indicated in the notes, only minimal cleaning up of the sound was done. Apart from that, the liner notes are excellent with full details of recording, performer, works and organ. If future re-issues continue like this, Priory will have done us all a service.

DW