Byram-Wigfield takes all in his unflappable stride, the opening carefully layered, the control scrupulous throughout, though almost to a fault when the sheer lucidity refuses to surrender to the heat of the moment…deftly characterised, well recorded and with lively liner notes by Byram-Wigfield himself, this is altogether a tantalising testament to the transcriber's art.

An entire disc of overtures is a bit like enjoying a 7-course tasting menu, and here the results are well worth savouring... a tour de force.

What makes this recital particularly appealing is the clarity of texture with which the Rochdale organ is captured…[the instrument] offers all the orchestral colours and dynamics you could wish for in this repertoire, no details of which are lost…apart from Byram-Wigfield's virtuosity and fluent registrations, there are the further bonuses of his own transcription of the Prelude to Act 1 of La traviata…and the rarity of Spohr's Overture to his 1823 opera Jessonda