The current year's CD reviews and index to archived reviews can be found here. These are the reviews added to the website in 2003

The Organ Christmas List 2003

David Alker reviews a personal selection of the best seasonal releases of 2003. There's also a Christmas DVD from St. Mary's, Edinburgh on our DVD Reviews page.

• Nativity: Christmas music from Georgian England
  the spirit of Christmas from Georgian provincial England captured on this disc will delight all"
• Bach's Leipziger Weihnachtskantaten, by Collegium Vocale Gent
  "Christmas without Bach in the equation is a hard concept to grasp"
• Charpentier's Messe de Minuit pour Nol and Te Deum - The Aradia Ensemble
  "this will not disappoint; the soloists, choir and orchestra are truly superb and leave one wanting more"
• Gabriel's Greeting - Sinfonye
  "[a] festive incantation of medieval English carols and other yuletide music"
• Joy to the World! - Carols from Worcester Cathedral
  "A selection of 21 carols [that] are as refreshing as they are endearing"
• A Christmas Collection: The Rodolfus Choir
  "a wonderful mixed bag of auditory surprise"
• Palestrina: Music for Advent and Christmas, with the Westminster Cathedral Choir
  "Martin Baker's direction of Westminster Cathedral Choir is masterly as they explore these celebratory texts"

2003 CD Reviews from The Organ

• 15th November 2003 - Kevin Bowyer's complete Bach, volume 15
  "a recording that one could talk about until the cows come home"
• 15th November 2003 - Michael Ferguson: The Art of Fugue
  "the expansive notes that drive a lively and enlightening debate that is both entertaining and convincing"
• 15th November 2003 - David Ponsford: Bach's Clavierbung III
  "an excellent vehicle to demonstrate the qualities of Peter Collins' organ in Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh"
• 15th November 2003 - Sounds of Bach: Terence Charleston at Douai Abbey
  "it caught me by surprise the first time I heard it"
• 15th November 2003 - Sounds Exuberant: Neil Weston plays the music of Christopher Boodle
  "A disc for the devotee or curious"
• 15th November 2003 - Sounds of Humphrey Clucas, played by Robert Crowley
  "I have a feeling that these pieces may grow on one"
• 15th November 2003 - Pierre Cochereau's reconstructed improvisations, played by Franois Lombard
  "This is a recording that thrills from beginning to end"
• 15th November 2003 - Claudio Merulo's Toccate d'Intavolatura d'Organo, played by Francesco Tasini
  "I found myself more and more entranced by each piece as I became accustomed to the style"
• 15th November 2003 - August Gottfried Ritter's Four Organ Sonatas, played by Ludger Lohmann
  "For those who like Mendelssohn and Rheinberger this CD is well worth sampling"
• 15th November 2003 - Samuel Rousseau's Organ Works, played by Kurt Lueders
  "Lueder's performances are everything one could wish for"
• 15th November 2003 - Cristina Garcia Banegas plays the Arp Schnitger organ of Mariana Cathedral, Brazil
  "Such an organ deserves to be recorded - the music is interesting enough in its own right, but the marriage doesn't quite work"
• 15th November 2003 - Carlo Curley at the Peter Collins/Allen organ of Trn Kyrke
  "It is impossible to tell simply by listening which sounds are pipe and which digital"
• 15th November 2003 - Norbert Dchtel plays Barockorgeln in Neiderbayern
  "The organs are well recorded and engage the listener"
• 15th November 2003 - Danse Sacre: Jan Lehtola and Markku Mkinen at the organ of Laupa Cathedral
  "at its best this CD offers some of the most beautiful and sensuous organ music you'll ever hear"
• 15th November 2003 - English Cathedrals vol. VII: David Dunnett at the organ of Norwich Cathedral
  "It is a real delight to hear these truly English compositions played upon an unreservedly English Romantic organ"
• 15th November 2003 - Weiland Meinhold at the Compenius Organ of Michaeliskirche zu Erfurt
  "Gentle tones predominate, full organ rarely coming to the fore"
• 15th November 2003 - Calvin Bowman at the Ahrend Organ of Monash University, Melbourne
  "All the composers on this CD had some form of association with JS Bach"
• 15th November 2003 - Great European Organs no.68: Keith John at the organ of Fulda Cathedral
  "if I had to single out just one work it would be Schumann's seventh Toccata, which I thought was wonderful"
• 15th November 2003 - Orchestral Dreams: Wolfgang Rbsam at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Skinner
  "Rubsam's magnificent playing brings broad canvasses truly alive"
• 15th November 2003 - Tuba Tune: Catherine Ennis at Mnster Cathedral
  "an attractive programme of English music with the Elgar Sonata in G as the centrepiece"
• 15th November 2003 - Sounds Inspirational: Organ music for Pentecost, played by Greg Morris at Blackburn Cathedral
  "Greg Morris has perfected his control of this, one of the finest organs in the country"
• 15th November 2003 - Symphonische Festmusik: Hans Leitner at the organ of Passau Cathedral
  "Passau Cathedral has certainly produced a disc of considerable interest to music historians"
• 15th November 2003 - Romantic & Virtuoso Works for Organ played by Jane Parker-Smith
  "There is often a good case for taking a risk and on this occasion it comes off with alacrity"
• 15th August 2003 - Pieter Backer Orgel played by Jos van der Kooy
  "the impression being that this and earlier items have been recorded using only the known 1671 stops"
• 15th August 2003 - Hugh Banton plays Bach's Goldberg variations
  "perhaps rather adventurous for someone to record this work, one of Bach's most cerebral, on a digital instrument"
• 15th August 2003 - Ronald Frost: Bach's Organ Mass and Klavierbng Part 3
  "the man who essentially designed the instrument as it stands today knows precisely how it should be played"
• 15th August 2003 - The Complete Organ Works of Basil Harwood Vol.2
  "Partington plays this music so well that I don't think his interpretations will ever be surpassed"
• 15th August 2003 - Lefebure-Wely: Ausgewahlte Orgelwerke
  "supremely well played, and Kluth succeeds in communicating the improvisatory style of much of the music"
• 15th August 2003 - The Turning Year - Music of Christopher Rathbone volume 2
  "this interesting CD contains two very new works for organ along with a short cantata for three voices & piano"
• 15th August 2003 - Francis Jackson CDs - Haddo House and Samuel Wesley
  "What a joy to have two discs from Francis Jackson for review!"
• 15th August 2003 - Basilicata: A Musical Journey in the Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples
  "Tamminga's playing is as authoritative as ever"
• 15th August 2003 - Bonbons for organ 2 - Martin Setchell
  "a very eclectic programme ranging from Sousa to pieces by Paul Spicer"
• 15th August 2003 - Baroque Organ Music from Northern Germany - Mario Hospach-Martini
  "the glorious tones of ... this organ are matched by the well-nigh perfect acoustic, giving fantastic clarity"
• 15th August 2003 - Elgie in Memoriam Marcel Dupr
  "the sound of the [cello] is often reflected in [Dupr's] organ music"
• 15th August 2003 - David Poulter plays organ music from Chester
  "an eclectic programme of music by mainly English composers"
• 15th August 2003 - Peter Planyavsky plays French Romantic Organ Music
  "Planyavsky gives a good tour of the organ's many delightful colours"
• 15th August 2003 - Great European Organs 66: Graham Barber at Ripon Cathedral
  "Buy this disc - I recommend it in the highest possible terms!"
• 15th August 2003 - Great European Organs No. 67: Michael Novenko in the Czech Republic
  "Novenko's performances are skilful and sympathetic"
• 15th August 2003 - Jerusalem on High - Victorian Organ Music Based on Hymns
  "their music, if not great, is worthy of our attention"
• 15th August 2003 - Roger Fisher: Organ Music from Chichester Cathedral
  "something of a mixed bag"
• 15th August 2003 - Wolfgang Baumgratz - Organ Music from Four Centuries
  "I found the Lindner and de Klerk by far the most appealing items"
• 15th August 2003 - Paul Derrett: The Organs of Southwell Minister
  "you are bound to enjoy listening"
• 15th August 2003 - Sounds Artistic: David Briggs at Blackburn Cathedral
  "Of all the available CDs on the market I suggest that this is one that you must buy"
• 15th August 2003 - Volker Ellenberger: Stylus Phantasticus
  "a North German musicological term" ""
• 15th August 2003 - Organ Masterpieces from the Cathedral of St Patrick, New York City
  "treat yourself to his superb rendition of Widor's Toccata!"
• 15th August 2003 - Colm Carey: Music for Organ at the Tower of London
  "it is a real pleasure to welcome this new recording"
• 15th May 2003 - Gerard Bunk's Orgelwerk
  "there is ... much of beauty to be discovered in Bunk's works"
• 15th May 2003 - Lars G Fredriksson at the Katarina Church, Stockholm
  "good but reserved with cautious tempi"
• 15th May 2003 - Mendelssohn's Organ Sonatas performed by Reg Elson
  "a ground-breaking CD for a very well-establised company to make"
• 15th May 2003 - Lionel Rogg plays Lionel Rogg
  "the usual modern European ingredients ... [but] a superior brand"
• 15th May 2003 - Ave Regina Coelorum - Marian organ music with Ludwig Ruckdeschel
  "the disc contains fascinating surprises from the early 20th century German repertoire"
• 15th May 2003 - Festivals, Times and Seasons with Andrew Millington
  "a journey through the Christian year at Exeter from Advent to Trinity"
• 15th May 2003 - Great European Organs No. 64: Saint-Sulpice
  "Daniel Roth is in fine fettle"
• 15th May 2003 - Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's organ music
  "totally compelling, a completely original figure who pulls the organ into the new century"
• 15th May 2003 - Andr Marchal: Paris 1936 & 1948
  "Marchal successfully captures the rhetoric of Baroque music in his energised performances"
• 15th May 2003 - The Salisbury Sound with David Halls
  "a resounding finish on full organ with the Willis Tubas making a final and very unauthentic appearance"
• 15th May 2003 - St. Mary's Servite Priory, Fulham Road, London with Norman Harper
  "I don't hear any of the 'aggressiveness' that Grant, Degens and Bradbeer have sometimes been accused of"
• 15th May 2003 - Sounds Spectacular - Thomas Trotter at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham
  "it is the softer stops that often show an instrument's pedigree"
• 15th May 2003 - Variation - Carlton Etherington at the Milton organ of Tewkesbury Abbey
  "conjuring up a picture of sun streaming through pale glass into an incense-filled building"