ORGAN RECITAL.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 147, 25 June 1914, Page 5

ORGAN RECITAL.

The organ recital given Last night in Wesley Church by Mrs C. L. Tunnicliffe was well, attended, and the organist is to be congratulated on the success of-her efforts.^- EDe-r programme had evidently been chosen with the idea of giving a popular series of items, and, although all were by good composers, the majority were well-known and tuneful." Mrs Tumricliffe has an exoellen/fc command of vher. instrument;; There were very few-slips, and on the whole her performance was accurate. She has temperament and musical taste.. Her choice of stops was as a rule very'good. The programme commenced with the march from "Tannhauser" (Wagner) played in a stirring manner, the gradual crescendo being particularly well managed; As a contrast Mrs Tunnicliffe then gave Tschaikowsky's well-known "Chanson Triste," taken rather on the slow side, but played with musical feeling and with an appreciation of the sadness of the composition. .Rubenstein once told h\s pupils bhat the melancholy of the piece should1 be shown in the very first chord! Bracketed with the great Russian composer's composition was the "Veneticin Boat Song" by Mendelssohn. The "Prelude" and "Fugue" by Bach was given in the old-—and purely academical—style. Modern, players have adopted a new method of bringing out the -poetry (as distinguished from the learning) of these magnificent works, by registration—sometimes piling stop on stop . until a grand climax is reached—and, in addition, whenever possible making ihe theme prominent on a louder manual. This is knoTvn as the "Illustrative" method of fugue playing, and. is the only way to givo life and warmth' to the dry bones of academicism. Mrs Tunnicliffc's most successful effort wa-s Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C sharp minor." This woirr] and profoundly melancholy piece has been interpreted as an exemplification of the modern spirit of despair. Mrs Tunnicliffe gave a very fine rendering, entering thoroughly into the spirit of the piece. As an antidote to its pessimistic tone, the concluding item, "Nazareth," was well chosen. In addition to the organ pieces songs wore given by Mrs G. Litchfield, Mr A. Rose, and a violin solo by Mr J. M. Hardin'. In this connection Mrs Tunnicliffe deserves a word for her sympathetic accompaniments. Tho recital furnished a _ very pleasant musical evening, and it is to be hoped that the talented organist, will give another at an early date.