When Marc Rochester reviewed a Lichfield Cathedral organ recital by Jonathan Rees-Williams in April 1991 it was not the items by Bach, Buxtehude or Stanford that he considered the star of the show, but Jesús Guridi’s Triptico del Buen Pastor. ‘A most inspired and original work,’ he declared, and the wider airing he advocated seems to have come about since. Now this first of two volumes that will present Guridi’s complete organ output gives us the widest perspective yet on the Basque composer’s dedication to the instrument.

It reveals at once that, though the ‘Good Shepherd Triptych’ may be his best-known work, others are equally impressive. The recital opens with the Final para gran órgano, which Guridi completed shortly before his death in 1961, and its magnificent exploitation of the might of the organ makes it a fitting conclusion to his life’s work. If that lies firmly in the tradition of the French masters, the Variaciones sobre un tema vasca are pure Guridi – notable less for their exploitation of the organ than as a counterpart of his major orchestral work, the Diez melodías vascas.

The other items date from earlier years. The melancholy Interludio of 1909 shows clearly the influence of his teacher Joseph Jongen, while the Preludio y Fantasía of 1917 ooze with charm. The music is splendidly performed, and engineering and documentation are equally excellent. Coming on top of Naxos’s revelatory collection of his orchestral music, this confirms Guridi as a versatile and inspired composer who should indeed be far better known.