Organ Dreams, Vol. 4 - St Nikolai, Halmstad, Sweden

The fourth volume in our ‘Organ Dreams’ series finds Christopher Herrick at the helm of the Pels & van Leeuwen organ of St Nikolai, Halmstad, in Sweden, and this instrument – built in 2003 – turns out to be a perfect vehicle for the repertoire.

Starting with Charles-Marie Widor’s ‘Wachet auf!’ arrangement, the programme embraces a further four Parisian organists – César Franck, Maurice Duruflé, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Alexandre Guilmant – and three masters from the English Cathedral tradition – Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Harvey Grace and Herbert Sumsion. The triumphant conclusion to the recital is Franz Liszt’s epic ‘Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen’ variations, neatly returning us to our starting-point and the sanctity of Bach’s dominance in the world of organ composition.

CDA67436 77 minutes 33 seconds

‘Whether your dreams are of the nocturnal or day variety there is plenty to enjoy on this fastidiously engineered disc; Herrick's playing is strong on communication and conviction. Most refreshing’ (G ...
‘As ever, an enterprisingly devised selection of music, excellently performed on a pristine instrument. And, by the way, the quality of the recording is very good, too’ (International Record Review)