This album is just the thing for anyone looking for a traditional organ recital of Easter hymns for use from Psalm Sunday to Easter day.
William Neil is the organist for the
National Symphony Orchestra and the National Presbyterian Church of Washington, D.C., which houses the John Jay Hopkins Memorial Organ on which he performs here, a versatile Aeolian Skinner built in 1969. Listeners accustomed to the tradition of organ playing at the High Church end of Calvinist Protestantism (particularly the various Presbyterian denominations, but also Episcopalians and Anglicans) are likely to find the selection and performance of these hymns close to ideal.
Neil is masterful in his use of registration, which sets just the right mood for each of the hymns. His tempos are also well chosen and his use of rubato is subtle and appropriate. The introductions to the hymns are creative, but not ostentatious, as are his altered harmonizations of the final verses. The sound is clean, with just enough resonance.