Having played the Saint-Saëns ‘Organ’ Symphony in the afternoon and accompanied the MSO Chorus for Duruflé’s Requiem the previous night, Joseph Nolan brought the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Grand Organ Festival to a triumphal close with a solo recital.

Nolan is an acknowledged French music specialist, so his choice of Guilmant and Widor was hardly a surprise, given the heavy French leaning of the rest of the festival’s program. But, given his own comment that the Town Hall organ is only suitable for French repertoire ‘so long as you’re choosing the right stops,’ I had hoped for a more varied program. Unfortunate, too, that the program contained no details of the organ itself.

Nonetheless, the enthusiastic audience was treated to a concert of fine, full-bodied, and at times fiery playing. Those present for Nolan’s previous residencies on this organ – his 2017 complete Widor symphonies in 2017 and all the Vierne symphonies in 2023 – knew they were in for a treat: technical mastery coupled with nuanced musical insight. Both were on prominent display, unlike Nolan’s hands and feet, which remained hidden.