STYLE: Classical RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 11462- LABEL: Regent REGCD200 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Steven Whitehead
Timothy Byram-Wigfield took up the appointment of Director of Music at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle at the start of 2004 and this recording is his first from his new home. As we have come to expect from the producer, Gary Cole, the sound quality is excellent. The instrument has a long and complicated history, the details of which may be found in the informative CD booklet. Suffice to say, it sounds good and the playing is superlative. The content is varied and includes many popular pieces from across the centuries with some imaginative twists. The finale is a coupling of Walton's "Popular Song" from 'Façade` with Reger's "Fantasia" and "Fugue" from 'Hallelujah, Gott zu loben`. It shouldn't work but does and is an appropriate conclusion to a recital that opens with Tchaikovsky's "Coronation March" and Bach's "Prelude and Fugue in G". Other composers featured are Böhm, Mendelssohn, Franck, Duruflé, Mulet, Alcock, and Howells. This could have produced a curate's egg but it would be more accurate to observe that it is an eclectic programme with some delightful surprises.
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I think that Byram-Wigfield plays so the music sounds like a drop from heaven
Superb and sheer beauty