Simon Gledhill (London theatre organist)
Poet and Peasant Overture: Franz von Suppé
Caribbean Dance: Madeleine Dring
The Haunted Ballroom: Geoffrey Toye
Theatre Organist Compositions:
(i) The Boulevardier: Frederic Curzon
(ii) Serenade to Moonlight: Felton Rapley
(iii) ABC March: Reginald Foort
Funeral March of a Marionette: Charles Gounod
The Lark in the Clear Air: Trad.
Theatreland: Jack Strachey
Interval
A Stephen Foster Fantasy: Stephen Foster arr. Ronald Hanmer
Deux Arabesques: Claude Debussy
A ‘Suite of Suites’:
(i) Spanish Ladies (from In Malaga): Frederic Curzon
(ii) Pavane (from Rhythmic Suite): Robert Elmore
(iii) Horse Guards, Whitehall (from London Landmarks): Haydn Wood
The Dance of the Hours: Amilcare Ponchielli
Except for the Stephen Foster Fantasy, all arrangements for organ are by Simon Gledhill
Simon Gledhill makes a welcome return for what has become known as our annual “popular” concert, and as usual he takes the Binns organ as far as possible from its original “church” role and reminds us of its orchestral possibilities with two big orchestral pieces (and remember that an intellectual is someone who can hear The Dance of the Hours without thinking of hippopotami). Reginald Foort, armed with his FRCO, went on to become the leading theatre organist of his day, while Felton Rapley happily followed parallel careers in church and cinema. Despite studying with Vaughan Williams and Howells, Madeline Dring wrote music which showed she could enjoy herself (and no doubt both of her teachers would have approved!). Debussy translates nicely to the organ, as does his fellow Frenchman Gounod, whose piece will have associations for Hitchcock fans. And when we hear his penultimate piece we will be delighted that Simon has come “down our way”.