Inaugural Concert

   in Choir & Organ (Nov, 2015)
Completed in 2009, the new Klais organ at Auckland Town Hall deliberately sets out to recre- ate, on a grand scale, the spirit and soundworld of the 1911 Norman & Beard instrument lost to a disastrous rebuild in 1970. The fact that just 20 per cent of the pipework is from the original instrument renders Klais’s achievement rather extraordinary; they have clearly succeeded in their goal and, as a large concert hall instrument accompanying massed choirs and working alongside a symphony orchestra, it positively glows with a presence and relevance its comparatively anodyne cousin in Birmingham lacks. The highlight of this disc, drawn from the performances around the organ’s opening in …