ASV’s Widor series seems a very piecemeal affair, previously having made use of three British organists (Jane Parker-Smith, David M Patrick and Jeremy Filsell), two English cathedral organs and a French one (Coventry, Liverpool Metropolitan and St Eustache, Paris). With this fourth volume we are introduced to a new British organist but we return to Liverpool’s glorious Walker, which is, perhaps, a bit of a shame since in my review of its previous appearance (A/01) I suggested it could ‘never be accused of providing a clearly defined aural picture’. That remains the case here, although, reprehensibly, ASV provides no details of the recording’s engineer, producer or date.

The trouble is that Joseph Nolan keeps the instrument too much under wraps. The ‘sturdy theme’ promised in the booklet-notes as opening the First Symphony sounds very insipid, and Widor’s forte markings often come out as piano. When Nolan does pull all the stops out he seems quite over-awed by the noise, and his playing becomes self-conscious and awkward. As a result we have the most laborious ‘Marche Pontificale’ imaginable (8'37" against, to cite the opposite extreme, Wayne Marshall on HMV at 6'35").

In fairness Nolan has drawn the short straw with these two symphonies, Widor’s least attractive. But while competition is thin on the ground, I could not recommend this disc even as a point of reference. For that, Pierre Pincemaille on genuine Cavaillé-Coll instruments remains unbeatable (he, too, uses Widor’s revised version of the First with its altered second movement, although, unlike Nolan, he reverts to Widor’s original for the Second with its captivating Scherzo). He offers both interpretative and communicative authority.