The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-24
WITH MUSICIANS
AND MUSICAL PEOPLE.

Blakeley, organist of st. Johns Epis-
copal Church, concluded his series of
organ recitals for this season. In these
recitals Mr.. Blakeley has filed a long
needed want in this community, and
the attendance upon them has evil
denced the interest and appreciation
felt by the public at large. Whilst
portions of Mr. Blakeley's programmes
have been what by some might be con-
sidered heavy. they have, as whole,
been sufficiently varied to appeal to
the tastes of everyone, and those who,
at the commencement of the season,
believed that some of the works given
were beyond their understanding and
interest, have, by the time of the clos
ing of it, discovered an interest in such
works which they had not anticipated
would result.
Mr.. Blakeley has proved himself to
be a capable performer on the pipe
organ, and is the master of a roper
toire quite unusual with the average
church organist and choir director. He
displays a familiarity with the man
agement of the stops which enables
him to produce effects of which the
pipe organ is so fully capable. His
pedal work is especially good and has
attracted wide notice. This was par
ticularly commendable on Wednesday
evening in the Lux paraphrase Of the
Prayer from Weber's Der Fret
schultz" The Andante from the
Haydn Sixth Symphony, whilst well
worked out, would probably have been
a little more effective had the per-
former not carried it through at a
somewhat greater tempo than an an
dante movement calls for
The most effective and attractive
number of this programme was prob
ably the Guilmant d minor sonata;
and In this the Pastorale was particu-
larly pleasing. Works of this COM
poser, however, are capable of more
effectiveness on the pipe organ than
other compositions, because written es-
pecially for that instrument. Alexan-
ORA Guilmant was born in Boulogne,
France, March II, 1887, and became
an organist at the age of 16. At the
age of 20 he was appointed maitre de
chapelle and teacher at the Boulogne
ConserVatoire, and at the Inauguration
of the organs of st. Sulpice and Notre
Dame at Paris his playing attracted
such notice that he was appointed or
ganist at St. Trinite in 1871. At the
Paris exhibition, in 1878, his playing at
the Trocadero won him additional lau-
dts to what he had already received
by his concert tours through England,
Italy and parts of Russia. Mr.. Blake
ley. therefore, displays good judgment
in bringing forward on his programme
the works of this master of the pipe
organ. With the good success that has
been attained during the season 1t is
hoped that Mr.. Blakeley will continue
these recitals with each season. Be-
sides the pleasure derived from them
by his listeners, they tend to broaden
the knowledge of the community in the
class of music which his programme
contain.
II will be of interest to the Savan-
nah public to know that Mr. Julian
Walker, formerly of this city, was one
of the soloists at the Bethlehem, Pa.
Bach festival last week. The following
comment on his work, printed in the
New York Evening sun of the 18th
inst. will be particularly pleasing to
his many friends and admirers here
who are closely watching his career in
the musical world: The soloists were
Miss Rehecca Mackenzie, soprano;
Mrs. w. L. Estes, alto; Theodore Van
YORK, tenor, and Julian Walker, bass.
Miss MacKenzie's voice is hardly
suited to the severe requirements of
Bach aries, and her manner is better
adapted to the concert hall than to the
church. Mr.. Van YORK, who was APP
parently not in good form, sang the
small share allotted to him with con-
siderable effort. OF the soloists Mr..
Walker was much the most satisfac-
tory and continued the favorable i'm
preston he had already established.
With the proper care and diligence
IN his work, there is no reason why
Mr.. Walker should not push his way
to the forefront of the greatest sing
ers of the day. Upon hearing him sing
in New York for the first time, an en-
tnent vocal teacher of that city stated
that he should have a most brilliant
career ahead of him; that he possessed
&. basso cantante voice of which he
had never heard the equal. When it is
known that in the entire musical
world to-day there are probably not
above four basso cantante voices, it
ment to Mr.. Walkers friends here
should he fail to gain the great sue
cess that it must be in his power to
achieve.
Mr.. Ellison Van Hoose. the eminent
American tenor who created such an
excellent impression by his interpre-
tation and work in Cigars Dream of
Gerontius" when produced by the New
York Oratorio Society recently is now
abroad. bit win return to America to
sing at the Worcester, Mass, festival
in September. Mr.. Van Hoose has APP
peared with many of the important
orchestral organizations of this coun-
try, and has forced his way to the
front in oratorio work. After the Wor-
cester festival he will make a short
concert tour during October, Novem-
TIE MAThuSHEk PLANO