Alain: Le Jardin suspendu, AWV63

“Birkeland's survey is more comprehensive than most and includes several rarely-heard little pieces. But he opens with the best-known of all his works, Litanies, in a disciplined performance that shows him to be an elegant player with secure technique...Even though a more snarling French instrument might be desirable, the organ in Oslo's Fagerborg Church has a crispness that suits this music well.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****

“If the essence of Alain's obsessive music is rhythmic vitality, novel chord progressions, magical sounds and religious incantation, Whitehead distils it even further by highlighting the seam of dance which runs through the output… A pleasing novelty… Whitehead's own arrangement of the second of Duruflé's orchestral Three Dances Op. ...Whitefield's compelling playing represents advocacy of a high order.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2005 *****

“With its futuristic console and its aurally shattering battery of chamade reeds, this astonishing 1986-built Oberthür organ is the perfect vehicle for this programme.
One is acutely aware of the terrible loss to French music when Jehan Alain was killed by a German sniper at the Battle of Saumur in 1940.
His best known organ pieces are all here, including Litanies, Le jardin suspendu and the masterful Trois danses, completed just before his death.
With his fondness for ostinati, Easterninfluenced modes and irregular rhythms, Alain is almost a proto-minimalist. The little-known Aria is a gem worthy of greater exposure. Although the recordings of the composer's sister, Marie-Claire Alain, have long remained the benchmark, Whitehead's more spacious approach reveals greater clarity. His sense of rhythmic bounce, coupled with a fastidious choice of colour, creates a strongly atmospheric performance. The recording, too, is outstanding.
Duruflé's music, while less experimental, is just as compelling. Whitehead's transcription of the Danse lente works well and should become a repertoire regular. The final track, the memorial Prélude et fugue sur le nom d'Alain bobs and weaves with a dramatic fervour. A winning disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This valuable addition to the catalogue deserves a place on the shelves of all organ music devotees.” Gramophone Magazine

“Kevin Bowyer has nothing to fear from comparisons with either Eric Lebrun or Marie-Claire Alain. His speeds are closer to those adopted by the composer’s sister than to those of Lebrun. Presumably she, if anybody, knows how the music should go...If you like the sound of a naturally recessed church acoustic, then Bowyer is probably your choice for these works.” MusicWeb International, August 2012