TOWN HALL ORGAN RECITAL

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 44, 20 February 1918, Page 3

TOWN HALL ORGAN RECITAL

Lovers of organ music are acquiring the habit of reserving Tuesday evenings for the Town Hall recitals, with the result that the audiences are improving numerically, the attendance last night being distinctly encouraging. The' City Organist (Mr. Bernard P. Page) was in great form, and presented ii very fine programme, the principal numbers being Guilmanfc's Sonata* (8. 8) in A; the Prelude, Fugue, and Variation (Op. 18) of Cesar Franck ; and a transcription of Greig's "Peer Gynt" Suite. The Sonata is new to Wellington, and probably to Australasia, and this is the more surprising as it .proved to be a work of very high calibre. The introduction and the fine Allegro Risoluto both strike a joyous note, contrasting with the plaintive beauty of the Adagio con Affetto. A torrential Scherzo follows, succeeded by a short Andante Sostenuto, and the work concludes with a sombre, almost minatory, Intermede, leading into a magnificent Allegro con Brio, which at times challenges comparison with the work of Bach.y It is to be hoped further opportunities of studying this masterpiece will be forthcoming. There is perhaps no number that Mr. Page has played in Wellington more frequently than the Franck item rendered last night, but its reappearance is invariably welcomed, owing to its surpassing beauty and wonderful charm. "Peer Gynt" also never fails to please the audience, whether in tho characteristic "Morning Mood," the dolorous "Death of Ase," the sprightly "Anitra's Dance," or the bizarr'd "Mountain King." The other works included in the programme were a melodious Andantino by Wolstenholme, and a perfect gem of originality and beauty ■—an Andante from a string quartette by Debussy. ,The next recital will be on Tuesday fortnight, x