I have never done a crit of a recital on a digital organ before, so I am rather looking forward to doing so.

May I begin with the organ? It is a medium size Makin divided over three Manuals. Like many modern organs, it leans once more to the romantic tradition, the third manual being a Solo Organ. This is a trend which I welcome; the romantic touch being far more useful for accompaniment than the ability to authentically play Buxtehude and Pachelbel, which bores congregations stiff and who would much rather listen to a rousing Toccata at the end of a service.

Makin's philosophy is fewer stops but vastly more speakers and amplifiers. There is nothing worse than being faced with vast numbers of stops of which the more you add the less they seem to do. The Kinoull organ has many beautiful soft sounds and solo stops. But the tuttis, for reasons I have explained, are really grand. There is an enormous advantage of having a Great Posaune, plus a really exciting Grand Trumpet on the Solo. This stop has the power of a Tuba, but a much more exciting sound. Full Pedal, with a 32' stop and a wonderful Trombone is really thrilling by any standards.

Professor Tracey tends not to play a great deal outside his native Liverpool, where he is the third organist in the Anglican Cathedral's entire history. A friend of mine described him as the best kept secret in the organ world, because those of us in the know have regarded him for years as one of the finest players in Britain. I won't go through his entire programme, but the rarely played pieces by Pierne stood out as far too neglected. Whitlock's Plymouth Suite, which Ian introduced with great wit, as he did all the music he played, stood out. The Toccata, quite difficult to play on a three manual organ, was really exciting. Elgar's Larghetto had haunting Diapason sounds. Mendelsson's Scherzo, arranged by Ian, was played with such dexterity it sounded the easiest piece in the world and was stunning. I missed the Ophicleide, originally scored by Mendelssohn, however. The final piece was the utterly convincing Tu es Petra - "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against thee" - was quite staggering in its impact.

This was one the most splendid recitals I have heard for some time, though Francis Jackson in the Caird Hall not long before had to be heard to believed. It is wonderful that such players of different generations exist, and that the modern digital organ is not to be feared.

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What do you do if you're a Congregational Board or Vestry that's having difficulty recruiting an organist? Forfar St John's were in just that position some time ago and devised a highly imaginative solution that churches in a similar position could do well to copy. They identified a local secondary school pupil who already had some keyboard skills, and they sponsored organ lessons in return for his services at the console on Sundays. Neil Smeaton has now been the regular organist of the church for a number of years. In his recital on 28 June, given as part of the town's Gala Week, Neil ably demonstrated that the church's investment had paid off handsomely.

The programme began with Christopher Tambling's Saints Triumphant, a working of the unlikely combination of For all the Saints and the Skye Boat Song. Neil, who had given the premiere performance of this work, was able to explain that it had been composed for a local clergyman who was moving to the Hebrides!

John Stanley's Voluntary VII in E minor followed, played with smooth legato in the Adagio and neat rhythmic precision in the Allegro.

Rheinberger's 10th Organ Sonata was an ambitious choice of centrepiece for a Saturday lunchtime recital, with challenges for both player and listeners. It's a big work, with influences of Bach and Mendelssohn in the first and last movements, lightened by some tuneful romantic lyricism in the Theme and variations of the middle movement. Neil gave a confident account of the complexities of the sonata, demonstrating his familiarity with all the colours of the fine Conacher (though much rebuilt) organ.

This versatile young musician now changed instruments and played four pieces on the cornet, accompanied by his organ teacher, Robert Lightband. There was excellent smooth phrasing of the solo line in arrangements for trumpet of Schubert's Ave Maria and Faure's Après un Rêve. Purcell's stately Trumpet Tune is often played far too fast and jauntily, but on this occasion it was taken at a pace that was more grave even than largo, and suffered as a result. Stanley's Trumpet Voluntary, on the other hand, was well judged in every respect.

Neil returned to the console and concluded his recital with two items that were exactly appropriate for a Gala Week lunchtime event. He handled the irregular rhythms of Derek Bourgeois' Serenade with a confident swagger and ended with a perfectly-paced fresh account of the Toccata from Widor's 5th Symphony that let through detail that is so often sacrificed in misjudged attempts at showmanship.