Do you know what a “palindrome” is? It’s a word or phrase that reads the same backwards or forwards. Some single word examples are redivider, deified, civic, radar, level, rotor, kayak, reviver, racecar, redder, madam, and refer. Here are some famous palindromic phrases:
- Eva, Can I Stab Bats In A Cave?
- A Man, A Plan, A Canal-Panama!
- Madam In Eden, I’m Adam
- Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm
- A Santa Lived As a Devil At NASA
- Dammit, I’m Mad!
- Was It A Rat I Saw?
- Do Geese See God?
All this is to say that these last few days I have hosted a most delightful houseguest, organist, Adam Pajan, who played a colorful and ambitious program for the Hawai’i Chapter American Guild of Organists this afternoon at Central Union Church.
The program was:
Sinfonietta (Ola Gjeilo)
In memoriam (Arno Landmann)
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 662, 676 (Bach)
Fuga über BACH (Robert Schumann)
Slane (Paul Manz) — for St. Patrick’s Day
Three preludes for piano (George Gershwin)
O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid (Ethel Smyth)
Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue (Healey Willan)
Encore: Danny Boy (Norman Coke-Jephcott)
I thought Adam handled the organ extremely well and brought out a myriad of colors, never overpowering the listener. I have to confess that the Bach chorale preludes were my favorite—nicely registered and cleanly played.
The appreciative crowd at Central Union was respectable in spite of a competing fundraiser for Hawaii Opera Theater in memory of Beebe Freitas. (Hey, we planned Adam’s concert a year ago!)
My only responsibilities have been to offer a bed-and-breakfast for Adam from Thursday to Tuesday. I have pretended to offer Real Breakfasts every morning, such that you might find in a Real Bed-and-Breakfast!
From here Adam plays concerts in Hilo (Christ Lutheran Church) on Thursday, March 21 and in Kula, Maui (St. John’s Episcopal) on Saturday, March 23.
We’ve had a blast!