The cover photograph of a snowy St George's Chapel and a programme of pieces based largely on melodies associated with Christmas give this disc a seasonal feel. But to turn to it only in the weeks leading up to Christmas and in the few days of the Christmas period would be seriously to underrate this fascinating programme and Roger Judd's vivacious - I was tempted to write 'sunny' - playing. There are some charming rarities here which Judd plays with immaculate poise: the Prelude on In dulci jubilo by one of Bach's fathers-in-law, Hollins's simple, innocuous, but utterly delightful 'Christmas Cradle Song' (with a subtle appearance of Adeste fidelis), a lovely little prelude based on the tune most of us know as Quem pastores laudavere by Helmut Walcha, and, for my money, most captivating of all, Dubois's slightly silly Marche des Rois Mages with its continually sustained top B (representing, apparently, the shining star guiding the Magi). Perhaps it is in these miniatures that the real charms of this disc are to be found. The better-known pieces, particularly the Bach chorale preludes and the movement from Messiaen's La nativite du Seigneur, receive nicely polished but otherwise unremarkable performances, while, at 10-and-a-half minutes, the longest piece on the disc, Hakim's Fantaisie, tries just a little too hard to be all things to all men and ends up sounding more like an incoherent round of experiments, each attempting to disguise the undisguisable Adeste fidelis.
Despite its title it is played on just one organ by just one organist, but the microphones have been so placed that they produce a quite remarkable 'conversational' effect between different sections of the organ. A lovely recording, nicely presented and incapable of causing offence to anyone even outside the season of goodwill.'