A surprising record altogether. It is unexpected but marvellous that Michael Woodward has turned his mircrophone in the direction of a small classical organ by a modern builder in the pewladen acoustic of a suburban Victorian church. The fruit of the enterprise, polisehed and presented by Catherine Ennis, is both aried and delicious. Her resourceful use of the available colours should stir the imagination of any young organist whose palette is similarly limited. Mind you, she had the great advantage of a Cymbal Star to add its tinkling jet to her propulsion of Nun freut euch, but I listened in vain for the Nightingale mentioned in the stop list. Only one of the three Bach preludes could be faulted: Wir glauben all' chugs along with beautiful regularity, and all would be well but for the unresponsive acoustic which could perhaps be assuaged by a little elasticity.
The specification doesn't look too promising for Saint-Saens but with consummate skill Ennis makes it sound as though the composer wrote for this instrument. The Walther concerto is ideal material, the clean lines of its contrasting choruses sounding out bright and clear. Mendelssohn's Andante brings in the warmth of strings and flutes. Wesley's long and twisting voluntary is kept aboiling with an accurate focus on its part-writing. The build-up of excitement in the Gigout Toccata is an object lesson in how to manage with very few mechanical aids. I didn't hear the Heraldic Trumpet (unless it was coupled to the Pedals for a moment at the end of the Gigout). It would have been nice to have a splash. Nevertheless, this is a fine record.'