Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Francis Jackson is now the elder statesman of English cathedral organists. He was born in Yorkshire in 1917, was a chorister at York Minster from 1929 to 1933 and later a pupil of and assistant to the Minster organist, the great Sir Edward Bairstow. In 1946 Jackson succeeded Bairstow as organist and master of the choristers at York and remained in post until his retirement in 1982. Jackson's retirement has been an active one, as this disc shows. Two of the pieces were written for the Exon Singers' annual Festival. There is a motet from 2004 entitled "A Hymn To God The Father" using a poem by John Donne and from the next year an "Evening Service In B Flat." The Exon Singers obviously know and love the work of Francis Jackson and on this disc they do him proud. The recording was made in Wells Cathedral and is produced by Paul Baxter who has given us a near-perfect soundscape, allowing the beauty of the music full flight in the excellent acoustic of the building. All 11 works on this disc are first recordings and are full of colour, emotional depth and attention to structural detail. The composer was present at the recording and must be delighted with the end result.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.