Recordings

Herbert Howells: Organ Music

Recorded on the Norman and Beard Organ in Dunedin Town Hall, New Zealand, April 2006

Rhapsody in E flat minor, Op. 17 No. 2
Sonata for Organ (No. 2)
Intrata (No. 2)
Partita

The works on this recording span more than 50 years, from the Second Rhapsody of 1918 to the Partita of 1971, demonstrating the importance Howells (1892-1983) attached to the organ throughout his creative life. His instinctive belief in the organ’s expressive potential led to the creation of what is arguably the most distinctive body of music for that instrument by a 20th century English composer.

"... few CDs approach the excellence of performance of this issue... It is first-class in every respect, from the choice of repertoire to the depth of understanding given to this music by Robert Costin" International Record Review, March edition 2007.

This album is available for purchase online from the following music distributors:

Marbecks Records Auckland

This album is also available for download from the following website:
ClassicsOnline.com

Organ Triumphant - Romantic Organ Classics

Recorded on the Norman and Beard organ in Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand, April 2003

Toccata (from Symphony No 5) (Widor)
Sonata No 1 in C sharp minor (Harwood)
Chorale Prelude on “Eventide” (Parry)
Rhapsody on a Ground (Statham)
Solemn Melody (Walford Davies)
Nimrod (Elgar arr. Gower)
Sonata No 3 (1st Movement) (Mendelssohn)
War March of the Priests (Mendelssohn arr. Best)
Ceremonial March (Sumsion)

An album of mainly English works, selected to highlight the essential character of the Wellington Town Hall organ. The CD includes some popular organ works, but also features rarely heard works by Basil Harwood and Heathcote Statham.

“The highlight of Robert Costin’s programme is his fine, spacious performance of Harwood’s first sonata. The Wellington organ is ideal for this and the other late 19th and early to mid-20th-century works…[he] plays with authority and the engineers have successfully captured the full range of this fine instrument.” Choir and Organ

'[A] splendid recording'
International Record Review

This album is available for purchase online from Kiwi Pacific Records


Liszt and Reubke Organ Works

Recorded on the Norman and Beard organ in Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand, April 2007

Fantasia and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam" (Franz Liszt) Sonata on the 94th Psalm (Julius Reubke)

Along with his student Reubke's Sonata, Liszt's mighty Fantasia and Fugue counts among the most important works composed for the organ after J. S. Bach and before Max Reger, representing a new aesthetic engagement with the instrument.

This recording can be purchased from Marbecks, New Zealand's leading music specialist.

This album is also available for download from the following website: ClassicsOnline.com