Three other great recordings

Gillian Weir (organ) Deciding between Olivier Latry and Gillian Weir is a wellnigh impossible task; and if, in the end, the sound of the Paris Cavaillé-coll swings it in Latry’s favour, the magnificent Frobenius organ of Århus Cathedral reminds one that other flavours apply. Weir’s 1994 recording has scrubbed up a treat. The sound is vividly immediate, Weir’s technique is beyond reproach and her identification with the music is sovereign. The shepherds breathe ‘air from other planets’, the angels scintillate and ‘Desseins éternels’ radiates calm submission. Indispensable. (Priory PRCD921)

Olivier Messiaen (organ)

Some might suggest that Messiaen’s own 1956 recording deserves to be consigned to the ‘one to avoid’ category – the mono sound shows its age and the tuning can be distinctly bracing. But here is the composer’s vision, transmitted on the instrument for which it was conceived and in the acoustics that shaped it. And it’s far more than just an invaluable historical document or reference point. Messiaen makes even the most static music live, his arabesques float and

his epiphanies emerge unmediated. (Warner Classics 9029542817)

Jennifer Bate (organ) Messiaen himself described Bate’s performance as ‘truly perfect’ – but then he was habitually generous with his compliments. Recorded 40 years ago at Beauvais Cathedral, it enjoys not only his imprimatur but an authentically ‘French’ sound too. The climax of ‘Les enfants de Dieu’ exudes sonorous majesty diffused in a coda borne heavenwards on billowing clouds of incense. Recorded balance sometimes struggles and the acoustic swallows some of the detail in the fastest passages but, excited and exciting, ‘Dieu parmi nous’ is a visceral tour de force. (Treasure Island Music UKCD600)

And one to avoid…

Rudolf Innig is nothing if not scrupulous in his 1977 recording on the Breil organ of St Martin’s Bad Lippspringe. Some of the phrasing is a little earthbound, though, and the Virgin’s contemplation of her new-born son is more prosaic than hallowed. The major drawback, however, is the instrument itself, which isn’t always characterful enough. The pedal reeds tend to ‘parp’, and the cornet stop palls during its prolonged outing in ‘Le Verbe’.