MR GALWAY’S RECITAL

Evening Star, Issue 18043, 10 August 1922, Page 9

MR GALWAY’S RECITAL

Given an instrument such as that which Is in First Church,Wd a player as capable as Mr Victor Galway, an organ recital in ! a place of worship may be made a corrective to the impatient and a consolation to tho vexed. The only further requirement is that 1 the performer shall bo in form. 1 And that was the happy experience last night of a small congregation. Maybe the threat of rain kept some folk from attending, for what is a mero sprinkle when one is going to the theatre is a deluge when he is thinking of going to church; but more likely the cause of the sparse attend- , anco wris that music-lovers have during i the past few nights had rather many outings. Whatever the cause, the result is to bo deplored, for absentees missed; a good recital, and Mr Galway, for once in a ■way, had not the satisfaction of playing to a crowd. That fact, However, did not beguile him into indifference. Ho gave of his best. One of bis happiest contributions was G oilmant’s ‘ Allegretto in B Minor,’ the imitations and conversational episodes being brought out effectively in Various contybbiatiotis, particularly the. passage for flute afid oboe. Iho two andante movements of Mendelssohn s < Sonata in D Minor ’ also found much favor with the audience. In one of these a bass stop of tlie clarinet quality was used with charming results; the other andante was choicely sung on the instrument, and its hymn-like harmony was made a great treat. Tho ‘ Romance ,in G, by Beethoven was another good_ thing. It and the adagio of the i Moonlight 5 are the two compositions that the common people know best of the Beethoven music. Mr Galway handled tho romance lovingly. Something from Bach generally has a place on the programme of First Church recitals. - Last night the choice was the ‘Passacng* lia.MKh Fugue in-.o'.Minor.’. Tlie slow dance ihe&snre.was brought opt most tastefully, and the fugue was listened to attentively throughout its entire length, and the majestic ending filled the ear most gratefully. Other items on the programme were ‘Harmonies du Soir 1 {Karg-lilortj/a tender berceuse by Jarnfelt, and the glittering finale to Vierne’s ‘ Symphony No. I,’ the latter a great study in brilliant key progressions. Miss Irene HorniMow, tho vocalist of the occasion, is now firmly established in the respect of concert-goers as a reliable singer who invariably prepares thoughtfully. Last night she added two' to her many successes, earning thanks for her singing of ‘0 Rest in'the Lord’ and for her interpretation of ‘ There is a Green Hill.’ Each solo was beautifully accompanied. It must have been most satisfactory to sing to such playing.