When I reviewed Wayne Marshall’s “The Virtuoso Organist” disc (EMI, 9/90 – nla) I was torn between open-mouthed admiration for the sheer technical bravado of the playing and horror at his breathtaking speeds. As barely a week goes by without my playing this disc – and nobody was more appalled than I when EMI deleted it (although it is now available through HMV stores on their own HMV label) – it is clear which of my opinions eventually won the day.
Now we have Marshall again playing at speeds beyond the ability of any normal human being. The first movement of Widor’s Sixth Symphony is marked Allegro, a word musical dictionaries translate as “lively”. There are plenty of markings implying a faster speed. Yet it just cannot be possible to play faster than this. Listening amazed at such incredibly athletic finger- and foot-work I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Surely Widor could never have expected his works to sound quite like this – yet if he wanted his music to amaze and excite he surely can have no cause for complaint here. For while Marshall’s stunning virtuosity is certainly the main feature of this performance, he is also an astute musician who successfully treads that fine line between mere exhibitionism and musical respectability. Perhaps highest praise must go to the mighty Manchester Marcussen; certainly no Cavaille-Coll could have supported playing of this agility with such clarity.
Marshall displays the organ mostly in hefty, full-throated combinations of stops; even the tranquil opening of the lovely Roger-Ducasse Pastorale only gives passing glimpses of some of the gentler stops. Sadly, a somewhat violently waving swell pedal and a rather unfortunate piece of tuning mar the character of the lone reed stop featured in the fourth movement of the Widor. Yet this is a stunning recording of a magnificent organ and there is no denying that few organ discs on the market present quite such brilliant playing.'