'THE ORGAN MUSIC OF SIR WALTER ALCOCK' - IMPRESSIVE NEW CD RECORDED BY DANIEL COOK, THE CATHEDRAL'S ORGANIST, AVAILABLE NOW

Daniel Cook, the cathedral’s organist, starts the new year on a high with the launch of his new CD The Organ Music of Sir Walter Alcock recorded on the famous Father Willis organ at Salisbury Cathedral by Priory Records.

Cook is very pleased with the CD. “It has been particularly satisfying to record this disc. I came up with the idea of recording a CD dedicated to Alcock’s organ music for three reasons. Firstly he was organist here having come to Salisbury direct from Westminster Abbey in 1917, which is what I did in 2005. Secondly the Father Willis organ is fundamentally the same today as it was when Alcock died in 1947 and he considered it to be the ideal organ. Thirdly, and most importantly, the music is particularly good.”

Daniel has chosen what he considers to be Alcock’s greatest organ music and, at the same time, represents the broadest possible spectrum of the different styles in which he wrote. There are 18 tracks and the running time is 75 minutes. The disc is complemented by a comprehensive booklet insert detailing Alcock’s biography and work, his life as a performer, full programme notes on the pieces performed and a section on the Father Willis organ including its complete specification.

David Halls, Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral, is impressed. “This CD reveals Alcock to be a composer of organ music of variety and genuine weight. As I listened to the recording sessions I was struck time and again by the quality of the music itself, the fine organ it was being interpreted on, and the mastery of the player himself. Alcock could not have wished for better performances.”

The CD is available from the Cathedral Shop, price £13.50, and from all leading classical CD retailers.

A review of this CD has been written by Stephen Smith on the website of Organ Recitals and to read this click here