Indra Hughes at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

By WILLIAM DART

The occasion had all the makings of a post-Halloween treat. Lightning was flashing through the stained-glass windows of the Holy Sepulchre and there, on the Powerpoint screen before us, was the leering face of Hannibal Lecter.

The connection with Bach's Goldberg Variations, Indra Hughes informed us in a whimsical aside during his pre-concert talk, was that Bach's theme happened to be one of Lecter's favourite pieces of dinner music.

The voluble Hughes chatted through his theories on how the work got its name (a reward of gold coins rather than having anything to do with a court harpsichordist named Goldberg).

And he justified playing the piece on an organ - "Why not?"

After enough numerological tallying to make my non-mathematical brain fret, and some generous interval libations, we were primed for experiencing this Bachian monument.

Monumental it was, too, with most of the repeats being observed, although Hughes' interpretation was fairly kosher alongside jazzman Uri Caine's deconstruction of the piece, or any of the Glenn Gould piano recordings.

The occasional untidiness - after all, this was something of a first run for the organist - didn't detract from the overall performance with its welcoming, leisurely pacings and crisp ornamentation.

The 106-year old Brindley & Foster organ is a beauty.

The flute stops in Variation 7 made me wonder if there were some hardy songbirds braving the thunderstorm outside, while Variation 21 was appropriately tremulous.

Variation 19 bubbled away like a self-possessed music box, and the French Overture of Variation 16 was suitably grand.

Occasionally the organ left one wanting a little more skip in the step, Variation 20 being a particular case in point.

And when it came to the languorous Black Pearl (Variation 25) one longed for the tonal expressivity and subtlety of the piano.

This well-patronised event happened through the initiative of a new organisation, Kokako Concerts, which has recently been giving many young musicians the chance to perform.

Kokako is branching out: among plans for next year is the New Zealand premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke.

And if you missed Hughes' Goldberg experience this time round, there's always next year's touring show.