Having been assistant organist at Ely Cathedral since 1989 Jeremy Filsell is in a unique position to know what this instrument is capable of. It has an innate Frenchness, from roaring reeds to evocative string tone (have the final bars of the Vierne Cantilene ever sounded so ethereal as here?—4'52'') and pure-toned solo stops (such as the delightful Flute which so gracefully enhances the Andante sostenuto movement of the Widor). Filsell coaxes from it exactly the right sounds—never a questionable registration, never a misjudged dynamic, never any dubious balance.
I must confess surprise, having remained rather unimpressed with Herald's earlier recordings, at the excellence of the recorded sound here. I must also register a certain shock at the sheer brilliance of Jeremy Filsell's playing. Technically he is outstanding—just listen to the immaculate playing of the Allegro third movement of the Widor—but what impresses me most is his uncanny musical insight and the sheer persuasive power of his performances. Neither symphony can fairly be described as 'readily accessible'; Vierne's Third is certainly one of his most austere and formidable (in both English and French meanings of the word) compositions while the Gothic dimensions of Widor's Ninth would daunt even the most ardent admirer of St Pancras Station. Yet every musical nook and cranny is carefully illuminated. Filsell attends with infinite care to each tiny detail—nowhere more painstakingly than over the remarkably complex phrasing scheme Vierne wrote into the first page of his Symphony. He paces the music splendidly, creating a convincingly classical feel of movement in Tournemire's Suite, and choosing his tempos with unerring good judgement—listen to the astonishingly effective Intermezzo in the Vierne Symphony: note also here the athletic footwork (3'02'') and the total precision of the three and four-part pedal chords. Here is playing of the very first order on a disc which no lover of French romantic organ music should be without.'