The Houghton Chapel of Wellesley College is nowhere near as resonantly spacious as the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, but its relative intimacy does not rob the organ—by Charles Fisk, one of the few great modern builders in historic style—of its natural resonance and tonal beauty. James David Christie presents what is, in effect, a most satisfactory re-creation of one of Sweelinck's organ recitals, given daily between 1580 and 1621, for the burghers of Amsterdam. One hopes they were properly appreciative of the most consistently witty and generous-spirited keyboard music before the era of Buxtehude, Couperin and Bach. It certainly remains organ music for Everyman: try the vivacious Onder een linde groen variations (track 7) for example.
While Christie—a former winner of the Bruges Organ Competition—may not possess the lyricism of a Leonhardt, the humane warmth of a Piet Kee or the mercurial whimsy of a Koopman, he is, in his own right, a bold, stylish, unhasty player, clearly thoroughly versed in early performance practice, with an incisive technique disclosing musical intelligence and common sense. He is particularly successful in the five major variation sets here, relishing the variety of decorative motifs but still conveying an impression of structural coherence and unity. Just occasionally I felt that his articulation might have worked better in a some-what larger acoustic: at times a more obviously singing touch might have suggested greater tenderness in quieter moments and more ample majesty in louder ones.
Nevertheless, with appealing registrations, an almost ideal choice of programme, good notes and undistractingly natural recording, Naxos have produced a single-CD anthology of this most companionable of organ composers that merits general recommendation, particularly at super bargain price. The only grumble is the lack of documentation on the instrument: Naxos would be well advised to provide this as a matter of course for their future organ issues, which I understand will systematically cover the major organ repertory.'