Reporter: Dr Joe Dawson
Date online: 12/06/2008

This was a very special Festival Evensong to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the installation of the organ. It was fitting therefore to end this with an organ recital and who better to play it than the organist of the time who went on to become one of the North West's leading musicians - Ronald Frost.

The service itself was finely sung by the choir of St Aidan, including some choice pieces by Bruckner and Aichinger. Such a church choir is special in itself in this day and age.

The organ is a celebrated 'Father Willis' instrument and was bought at a bargain price half a century ago when the youthful Ronald Frost was organist, from 1953 to 58. He later became Director of Music at St Ann's Manchester from 1978 to the present day, where he has given nearly 750 organ recitals.

He was closely involved with the Halle for 40 years as accompanist then Chorus master and principal organist until 1996. Similarly with the RMCM (now RNCM) for 50 years as a student and tutor and has received many honours for his contributions to music.

His carefully selected programme showed off the qualities of the 2560-odd pipes and whilst the motor for the blower is loud by today's standards and some tuning is needed, the instrument has lots of character.

The English charm of Camidge's Concerto allowed the more intimate settings to speak before some solid and wholesome JS Bach.

Cor Kee's variations gave it plenty of witty twentieth century sounds to play with and it coped beautifully with the sonorous solemnity of Flor Peeters before being allowed to blossom fully and let the beams rattle with the grand Toccata in G by Dubois.

Some rebuilding has gone on but the scene would be largely unchanged from when the young maestro Frost served his time here. It was a moving commemoration of both organ and organist in their musical golden jubilee.

Ronald Frost Organ Recital
St Aidan, Sudden
22 September 2002