The organ music of Marcel Dupre has tended to be regarded with a reverence which, for many, never warmed into affection. A reputation as a father-figure among improvisers has been bequeathed to those who never heard him unfold him impromptu canvasses. Recordings of Dupre playing his own music somehow didn't come up to the quality of the legend. It seems to me that John Scott has rediscovered the essential magic of those pieces, ranging from two of the 1914 Preludes and Fugues (the B major one inscribed to Rene Vierne, Mort pour la France, and the G minor one which seems to sing the composer's name) to the Trois Esquisses of 1945 (the middle one of which uses soul-melting registration). From the pieces Dupre wrote on plainsong hymns in honour of Titelouze, we hear the short brilliant toccata which forms the work's finale—with a breathtaking swirl from the Royal Trumpets and a calm setting of the Compline hymn. The Chorale and Fugue (the latest work in the programme, dating from 1962) also takes its inspiration from plainsong. Scott's performance is a thrilling tour de force. Perhaps most exciting of all are the Noel variations, with their vivid contrasts. The whole presentation is masterly—superb playing and superb engineering, giving maximum clarity, despite the acoustic.'