Mons Leidvin Takle: Celebration
Alexandre Guilmant: Grand Choeur in D
Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude in G BWV 541
Reynaldo Hahn: A Chloris (arr. Setchell)
Noël Goemanne: El dia de Fiesta
Enrico Bossi: Scherzo in g minor
Bonaventura Somma: Toccata in A
Louis Vierne: Romance from Symphony IV
Denis Bédard: Cats at Play
Marcel Lanquetuit: Toccata in D
Max Reger: Variations & Fugue on God Save the King
Madeleine Dring: Caribbean Dance
Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély: Andante in F
Charles-Marie Widor: Toccata in F

I don't think anyone could have come up with with a more à propos title for this new CD, as it presents the first recording of the Town Hall Organ in Christchurch, New Zealand, after the completion of its restoration in early 2019, as a result of a devastating earthquake that hit the city in 2011. It features a wide-ranging program spanning more than 300 years from J. S. Bach to Denis Bédard which takes full advantage of all of this instrument's tracker action and varied bank of stops from a 1' Scharff to a 32' Kontraposaune. And it seems that a few of the included pieces are having their very first encounter with microphones. At the soft and gentle end of the spectrum you have the beautiful arrangement by organist Martin Setchell himself of a song by Reynaldo Hahn in which a soft and mellow reed stop floats atop a cushion of flute and bourdon pipes. Or the highly whimsical Cats at Play by Canadian composer Denis Bédard which demonstrates that even an instrument as imposing as a massive pipe organ can communicate a sense of humor. And at the other end of the spectrum the Marcel Lanqhetuit Toccata in D, heard in the audio clip below, will put any organ and organist to the test, with a final chord powerful enough to assess the integrity of a church's foundation.

British concert organist Martin Setchell who now resides in New Zealand has had the privilege of studying under such masters as Peter Hurford, Marie-Claire Alain and Pierre Cochereau. There's an "animated" quality to his playing that breathes life into the music and well projects each individual piece's character, be it power and vitality or tender dolefulness. Highly recommended to any pipe organ fans, especially for its unusual and varied assortment of pieces.