Available in Stereo and 5.1 Channel Surround Sound DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD plus Stereo DSD 512 from the Edit Master Source!

Hexham Abbey: The Lawrence Phelps Organ presents a richly conceived recital performed by Michael Haynes on the celebrated Lawrence Phelps organ at Hexham Abbey — an instrument admired for its tonal clarity, responsive mechanical action, and commanding presence within the Abbey’s historic space. Built by Lawrence Phelps in Pennsylvania, USA, the instrument occupies a unique position in Europe, bringing an American organ-building voice into a British ecclesiastical setting. The program unfolds naturally from Bach’s architectural clarity toward the harmonic richness of later Romantic writing, allowing color, resonance, and long musical lines to be shaped by the Abbey’s acoustic character.

Recorded in high-resolution DXD using a nine-microphone surround-sound array, the production is designed to accurately capture the acoustics of the space, from the immediacy of the organ’s speech to the spatial relationships within the building itself. Rather than emphasizing reverberant effect, the microphone layout preserves clarity, scale, and perspective, presenting the organ as it is heard in the Abbey. This is a recording best approached as focused, immersive listening rather than background play — one that rewards patience, attention, and curiosity.

Michael Haynes, Organ