the late Andrew Davis is in good company orchestrating Bach's organ works. He was his own man though, combining a little of the didacticism of Schoenberg and Webern, the ebullience of Walton, the grandeur of Elgar and, sparingly, the showmanship of Stokowski. And it's all done with evident affection.

If you love your Bach and your romantic orchestra, this album, stunningly executed by the BBC PO under Brabbins's sure hand, will always be a captivating encounter.

Writing about his arrangement of Messiah, Davis commented that "everything I have done instrumentally stems from the enormous respect, even awe, which I feel towards this supreme masterpiece", and it's abundantly clear that the same level of appreciation and esteem exists for these great organ works by Bach. The key principle behind all of Davis's choices lies in illuminating the majesty of Bach's music, and indeed the entire album makes for a fitting tribute to not only a fine conductor but also a master orchestrator.

Modest these pieces may be, but they are a touching memorial to a fine, much missed conductor.

The delights of Davis’s transcriptions extend much further than surface attractions...Full of tenderness, grandeur, sparkle and joy, these are transcriptions by someone who understood Bach and the organ equally well. And, of course, the orchestra. Highly recommended.