Generations of British organists will know of Gustav Merkel through the countless collections of very short and simple organ music edited by C. H. Trevor. My experience from these was that even in a few bars Merkel could be a champion bore. I was not, therefore, relishing the prospect of sitting through two CDs of works which, by definition, are substantially extended. However, I can report that Merkel at length is more stimulating than Merkel in brief; although stimulating is hardly le mot juste. Adrian Partington has to be commended for bringing to a wider audience these forgotten works in neat, elegantly paced performances.
I am strongly reminded of Rheinberger in the way Merkel compensates for a paucity of musical ideas through assiduous formal and structural organization. As with the Rheinberger sonatas there are occasional movements of real musical interest (as in the sturdy Fugue which closes Sonata No. 5) but between these there is little to set the soul on fire – although Merkel certainly avoids the long bouts of aching turgidity which so frequently affected his Lichtensteinian contemporary. The only sonata which has achieved any measure of popularity (and the only one so far featured on the Gramophone Database) is Op. 30; merely, I would imagine, for being one of the very few works for organ duet (it gets a nicely disciplined performance here from Partington and Mark Shepherd).
Beyond the sonatas there is a beautifully crafted set of Variations on a theme of Beethoven and a fine, very Mendelssohnian Fantasia and Fugue, which ends gloriously – giving us a thrilling taste of the Peterborough organ at its meatiest. The first disc shows this to be a very fine instrument making a lovely, full-bodied sound. The second disc shows it to be dull, characterless and overblown. Why the difference? Well, Priory in their wisdom have experimented with various microphone positions in these recordings and have invited purchasers to write in to express their preference. I think I’ve made it clear which way my vote will go; but does it matter since the next two discs in the series will be recorded in Nottingham and Dresden respectively?'