Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This album was recorded in the Cathedral Abbey of St Albans on the Harrison & Harrison 1962 / 2009 organ (with full details supplied in the accompanying PDF) though there is no Christian material. This is in fact the first complete recording of the organ works by the Berkeley father and son pairing of Lennox (1903-1989) and Michael (born 1948). It contains two premiere recordings, "Impromptu" by Lennox (1941) and the Sonata (1979) by Michael and both will bring pleasure to the admirers of the Berkeleys. One wonders whether they get tired of being bracketed together in this way although, to my ears at least, I find it difficult to tell their organ compositions apart so there are at least no jarring clashes in musical personality. Our organist is Tom Winpenny, here on his home pitch at St Albans where he is currently Assistant Master of the Music. He plays very well indeed and the clarity of recording (by Adam Binks) is first class. Listeners with a taste for 20th century organ music would do well to investigate further; the more general listener will find this pleasant enough but it is too specialised to give it an unreserved recommendation.

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