1} Pierre Cochereau - Scherzo symphonique
2} Sigfrid Karg-Elert - Harmonies du soir, Op 72, No. 1
3} Anton Heiller - Tanz-Toccata
4} César Franck - Deuxième Choral en si mineur, M. 39
5} David Ashley White - Come, Pure Hearts: Introduction, Theme, and Variations
6} Jean-François Dandrieu - Offertoire pour le Jour de Pâques: O filii et filiae
7} Johann Sebastian Bach - Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr', BWV 676
8} Johann Sebastian Bach - Wir glauben all' an einen Gott, BWV 680
9} Franz Liszt - Prelude and Fugue on BACH, S. 260

Instructions on how to play this CD: 1) Close all your windows and doors. 2) Check your house for structural issues. 3) Alert local seismologists about your plans. 4) Crank up the volume and gasp in amazement at organist Daryl Robinson's flawless technique and solid musicianship, and bask in this magnificent instrument's power. 5) Go around your house and check all the windows for cracks. 6) Look outside to see if your neighbours have moved away.

The disc opens with the impressive Scherzo symphonique by Pierre Cochereau, one of those rare pieces that imposes severe demands on the performer's technique and stamina, whilst maintaining an extremely musical momentum and dénouement. It also brings out a pipe organ's character by alternating between full stops to only one or two. It's easy to understand why Daryl Robinson won first prize in the 2012 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance when you hear his thrilling reading of this work of gargantuan proportions. And at the other end of the sonic spectrum lies Sigfrid Karg-Elert's Harmonies du soir which highlights this versatile instrument's gentler side. I've heard thousands of recordings in my life, and very rarely have I heard anything as beautiful as the quality of sound this pipe organ produces on the soft, goosebump inducing, final chord of this work. The Tanz-Toccata again allows you to marvel at Robinson's agilities, while the piece by Jean-François Dandrieu brings out his attention to style and period performance. And if you thought that you had heard this organ's full force in the Cochereau, wait 'til you hear the "monster" exposed during the Prelude and Fugue on BACH by Franz Liszt. The final chords alone will make you glad to be alive.

The recording engineers at Pro Organo have very well captured this organ's power as well as the space it occupies. With impressive stops including a 32' Contre Bombarde, this instrument moves great volumes of air. Enjoy! Hope you're on good terms with your neighbours.

Jean-Yves Duperron - February 2014