Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

First thing to note: this is a great listen. Stuart Nicholson and friends invite us to a transatlantic celebration of popular classical and film music from 20th century America, all featuring the 'Father' Willis organ at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, released appropriately on St Patrick's Day 2026. Second point to consider: this is not a specifically Christian collection. I do not and cannot pass judgment on the spirituality of the featured composers but little of the content would come under the heading of hymns or spirituals. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and the traditional Shaker melody "Simple Gifts" have had words written for them but on this recording they are instrumental. I cannot hear "Simple Gifts" without adding Sydney Carter's "The Lord Of The Dance" but perhaps that's just me. However, I am on record as saying I always enjoy a good tune and there are some crackers to be heard here. Also, I am aware that there is a market for recordings of great instruments of which the organ at St Patrick's is a fine example. It was designed by 'Father' Henry Willis in conjunction with Sir George Martin, organist at St Paul's in London, but the actual building of it in 1902 was supervised by Henry Willis Junior, son of his 'Father' and includes some pipework from the previous cathedral organ. There is a full spec list in the CD booklet for those who want to know more. In some of the items Stuart Nicholson, Director of Music at the cathedral, is joined by his organ duet partner Harry Meehan and also Victoria Green on alto saxophone and flute, Aine Balfe on flute and piccolo, and on two items by a trio of percussionists in Richard O'Donnell, Bernard Riley and Dylan Quinn. The opener is, appropriately, Copeland's "Fanfare For The Common Man" and is one that features the percussionists and in the clear acoustic of the cathedral this is suitably dramatic. There are other pieces that also brought me great pleasure, including George Gershwin's infectious "Walking The Dog" from the film Shall We Dance, and the quirky music from the Cantina scene in Star Wars by John Williams who was asked by George Lucas to "imagine several creatures in a future century finding some 1930s Benny Goodman swing band music in a time capsule or under a rock someplace - and how they might attempt to interpret it." If that does not make you want to hear more then all I can do is repeat that this release is great fun, full of great tunes and all played extremely well.

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.

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