French romantic music is the offering of the next Bach’s Lunch Wednesdays at Noon Lenten Recital at Holy Cross Episcopal Church on April 2 at noon.
Rex Gallatin, French horn, and Kymric Mahnke, piano, will perform the Romance in E major, Op. 67 by Camille Saint-Saens.
Violinist John Malloy and Mahnke will perform the Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano by Cesar Franck.
Saint-Saens and Franck represent two of three major lines of development in French music from 1871 into the twentieth century (along with Claude Debussy).
Saint-Saens was primarily interested in a specifically French tradition, emphasizing the classical forms, sonority and the yearning poignancy of romanticism.
The charming Romance in E major by Saint-Saens was originally composed for cello, as part of his Suite for Cello and Piano, Op. 16. Saint-Saens reworked the piece for the modern horn that Gallatin plays today.
Franck’s musical compositions embodied a larger set of influences, breaking new ground.
The Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano ranks as one of the masterpieces of late 19th-century Romanticism.
Holy Cross Episcopal Church is located at 150 Melrose Avenue, Tryon. The Lenten recitals are 30 minutes in length.
No admission is charged, and the public is invited to attend. For more information, please call the church office at 828-859-9741.

– article submitted
by Susie Mahnke