Much the same music here as from Robert Silverman last June. But instead of that Canadian pianist's group of 11 miniatures, Paul Crossley plays just the Danse lente, completing the disc with his own transcription of the third organ Choral. As both players take things to heart as well as enjoying pleasingly natural tonal reproduction, final choice is difficult. But in that indisputable masterpiece, the Prelude, Choral et Fugue, my own preference is for Silverman. With his slightly faster tempo and scrupulous respect for the composer's own expressive markings, all three movements find a more serene and shapely natural flow. Crossley too consciously tries to interpret, exaggerating the many rallentandos in the Prelude, introducing rather mannered-sounding hesitations in the Choral, and not sustaining as purposeful a sense of direction as Silverman in the Fugue. Honours are more equally divided in the (to my mind) less personally motivated Prelude, Aria et Final, and Bauer's transcription of the melting, early Prelude Fugue et Variation for organ. In the latter I preferred Crossley's more flowing Fugue, while in the unpianistically complex textures of the closing movement of the Prelude, Aria et Final it is Silverman who more clearly directs your ear to where it ought to be. As for the Danse lente, I think the ideal performance would lie midway between Crossley's gravity and Silverman's reminder of its alla breve time-signature. Finally, the aptly chosen Choral No. 3, dating from the year of Franck's death. Here, Crossley revels in its spacious, organ-inspired contrasts of sonority.'