This superlative disc is a splendid calling-card for the New York-based independent label Boreas. With Lance Andrews at the engineering helm and John Scott Whiteley at the screen console (of an instrument he knows better than anyone) the listener is assured a sonic and musical treat.

The disc spans some 60 years of organ repertory, the earliest music being a Mendelssohn triptych in B flat, thematically linked to the Fourth Sonata. The opening Allegro (a sweet Lied ohne Worte) and even shorter Andante alla marcia are followed by a substantial Fugue. A particular joy here is the build-up to a full organo pleno, topped off by the Solo Tuba Mirabilis.

From the relative comfort of Mendelssohn we plunge headlong into Reger’s mighty Fantasia. Whiteley effortlessly unscrambles the immense complexities of the Bavarian’s bountiful brooding. The Minster’s swirling reverberation adds to the contrapuntal blur and absorbs some of the headlong energy of the concluding fugue. The addition of the Cymbelstern brings this sparkling interpretation to a fine conclusion. Brahms’s aching A flat minor Fugue receives a flowing performance, one of the briskest in the catalogue.

John Scott Whiteley’s playing is lucid, note-perfect and an outstanding display of musicianship. The Hill/Walker/Harrison/Coffin organ does an excellent imitation of a Walcker. The reeds are carefully controlled and the primary choruses are carefully contrasted, keeping plenty of weight in reserve for the more bombastic moments in the Reger and Liszt. Full marks all round.