Music / Centenary Organ Recital, Samuel Giddy. At Canberra City Uniting Church, May 10. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

Exactly 100 years ago, on  May 10, 1925, the opening recital took place of a new organ built for the new St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Goulburn.

The organ had been dedicated as a memorial to those who had fought and fell in the Great War.

It was donated to the Canberra City Uniting Church in 1987, where it was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 2012. It fits harmoniously into the modern architecture of the church and, with the sun shining in, it was the perfect setting for a recital celebrating the organ’s centenary. Samuel Giddy was the recitalist for the afternoon’s program.

Born in Yass, Giddy began his organ studies at the ACT Organ School in 2011. Studying then at the Sydney Conservatorium, he graduated in 2019 with first-class honours and the Frank Hutchens Student of the Year Award.

Giddy has won many international prizes and, in 2023, he was appointed music minister of St. John’s Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, NSW. He was also appointed music director at St Mark’s Darling Point NSW in 2025.

The large program for the recital commenced with JS Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which was fitting as it was also played at the 1925 recital in Goulburn. A haunting work, it seemed to achieve another dimension live and in the hands of Giddy, who gave it a superb performance.

The program worked chronologically from Bach in the early 18^th century through the baroque and classical era to the modern day, giving examples of the work of various composers such as John Stanley, Johann Gottfried Müthel, César Franck, Louis Vierne, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Flor Peeters.

The program was well-chosen with grand works and quieter, reflective works. It was an instructive and entertaining journey, all played with skill and feeling.

Giddy introduced each of these works with interesting details about them and their composers. His down-to-earth, friendly style built an immediate rapport with the audience and his enthusiasm for this music and instrument was infectious.

Attending a live organ recital is the best way to appreciate the power of this instrument and the music written for it. This was an excellent and very enjoyable recital.