{TABLE} Fugue in B minor, BWV 579 ........... Bach Pastorale, BWV 590 .................. Bach Clavierubung III (excs) ............. Bach {/TABLE} DESMOND HUNTER'S organ recital at the National Concert Hall last Friday had many of the qualities one would hope for from a scholar performer. Hunter is an authority on music written for the 16th century instrument, the virginals; but this recital, given as part of the "NCH's Bach series, showed authority with the upper echelons of late Baroque organ music.

The recital opened with two pleasing but not profound early works, the Fugue in B minor (BWV 579) after Corelli and the Pastorale (BWV 590). The rich ornamentation of the Pastorale can easily sound flippant, but in Hunter's hands it seemed purposeful. Yet his performance raised some of the central questions in historical performance practice. In the first three movements, in particular, awareness of ornamental detail seemed more important than evocation, and this in music which, like the "Pifa" from Handel's Messiah, is a representation of the Nativity. I wondered what 18th century listeners would have made of a performance style which I found too posed for such a human subject.

The upper echelons of composition were reached with the second half of Clavierubung III (from the two settings of "Vater unser" to the final fugue). Hunter's crisp articulation was all the more pleasing for being combined with steady rhythmic drive. This made the trio on "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland" (BWV 688) sparkle, while the first setting of "Aus tiefer Not" (BWV 686) had an absorbing, majestic gloom.

Earlier in this series, the first half of Clavierubung III was superbly played by Malcolm Proud. Desmond Hunter's confident and subtle playing made a fitting completion of this peerless collection.