THE 25TH Galway Cathedral Recitals international summer concerts begins next week, and to mark the occasion there will be film screenings, vocal performances, brass music, as well as organ recitals.
The season opens on July 5 with a screening of the 1928 classic silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, with live improvised accompaniment on the organ by John Columba McCann. Seating will be arranged so the audience will see both the movie and the organist at work. The screening will be introduced by Dr Tony Tracy, Huston School of Film & Digital Media, NUI Galway.
Italian organist, composer, and improviser Eugenio Maria Fagiani will play works by Bach, Franck, and Respighi on July 12, and improvise on well-known themes submitted to him on the night. On July 19, vocal ensemble Schola Gregoriana Maynooth, directed by Galwegian Darina McCarthy, presents music centred on St Malachy and St Hildegard. They will be joined by uilleann piper Michael Vignoles and organist Raymond O’Donnell.
New Zealander Thomas Gaynor, winner of the 2017 St Albans Organ Competition, will play works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Pachelbel on July 26. On August 2, France's Christophe Guida plays music by Bach and by Bach’s student Krebs. The season concludes on August 9 with the Dublin Brass Ensemble, and Raymond O’Donnell, playing classical masterworks and lighter repertoire numbers.
All concerts take place on Thursdays at 8pm. Admission is €15/10. Tickets are available via Eventbrite and at the door. See recitals.galwaycathedral.ie
