FIREBIRD – VIRTUOSO ORGAN DUETS

This is a really fine debut recording for the organ partnership of Benedict Lewis-Smith and Julian Collings. While Guy Bovet’s transcription of Stravinsky’s The Firebird is the main attraction, the Duo’s performance of Ravel’s Boléro is equally impressive, both in terms of the stamina of maintaining such repetitive rhythmic pression for nearly 17 minutes and the incredibly imaginative range of sounds gathered from the Blackburn organ. The vibrant combination of organists and instrument in the rich expanse of this cathedral makes it all compelling listening. To complete the album is Stephen Paulus’s boisterous duet Paean. Highly commended.

RUPERT GOUGH Read the full review on Agora Classica