‘The organ was on its last legs when I was here,” said former Keble organ scholar Jeremy Filsell. In due course it expired completely, to be replaced by an electronic instrument. But somehow that never seemed quite right in the vibrant, High Victorian setting of Keble Chapel, and now a brand new pipe instrument has been installed inside the original organ case, with its gaily painted front pipes. The new organ was built by Kenneth Tickell just across the county boundary in Northampton.

Filsell, now Artist-in-Residence at Washington National Cathedral D.C, returned to give the inaugural recital. He had plainly put much thought into his programme, which was designed, of course, to put the new organ through its paces, and demonstrate its every tone colour. First up was Dupré’s Prelude & Fugue in B, which immediately made it clear that the instrument, with its bright top registers and firm bass underpinning, has the power to fill this acoustically challenging building.

While the counterpoint was transparent, for me three Bach Chorale Preludes: Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr didn't quite take off, perhaps due to the late 19th-century focus of the organ’s sound design. It’ll be interesting to hear big-scale Bach on the instrument.

Sandwiched between the Chorale Preludes were two modern works. The first, Francis Pott’s Empyrean, was inspired by Ely Cathedral’s rooftop lantern — perhaps in winter, for the tone was icy. Then came John Caldwell’s Toccata, commissioned for the occasion. Starting apparently simply, the work was a triumph, scurrying off in all manner of unexpected directions, and fitting the orchestral colours of the organ like a glove. Finally, Filsell’s transcription of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances emphasised a growing feeling: Keble’s new organ is ideally equipped for silent film accompaniment — and on November 5 it will do just that, when the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera is screened in Keble Chapel.