Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

While one could make a case for filing this under "Choral" I have taken the prompt of the sub-title, viz. "The Caville-Coll organ of St Ouen, Rouen". Yes, the Senior Girls of Romsey Abbey Choir do indeed sing on most of the pieces - and sing very well, let it be said - but the repertoire is more about the organ and, to a lesser extent, its home in one of the largest church buildings in France. The organ was built by Aristide Caville-Coll in 1890 and is considered one of the finest in the world. The magnificent sound it generates is aided by generous acoustic of the vast building and yet again we tip our hat to producer / engineer Gary Cole who helps us to hear everything in superb detail. The featured composers are all French, being Marcel Dupre (1886-1971), Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), sister of Nadia, Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968), a pupil of Dupre, and Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). All composed within the French Catholic tradition and the music chosen is all offered to or inspired by the Virgin Mary. The featured organist and indeed the driving force behind this project is Colin Walsh, Organist Laureate at Lincoln Cathedral. He plays well and brings out the richness and majesty of the instrument and collectors of organ music will appreciate what is on offer. Choir director George Richford gets a lovely sound from his 13 choristers but they are sometimes almost drowned out by the mighty organ. They shine in Boulanger's charming "Pie Jesu", showing us that they can indeed sing very well but for the rest of the programme it is, to my ears, much more about the organ.

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