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The Gaulitanus Choir Takes Part in the Concert of Mro. Carmelo Pace Music at the Metropolitan Cathedral, Mdina
June 25, 2008
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CONCERT OF CARMELO PACE MUSIC AT MDINA CATHEDRAL
June 9, 2008
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GAULITANUS CHOIR IN HIGH MASS AT POMPEI CHURCH
May 8, 2008
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GAULITANUS CHOIR IN GOZO1234 WEEKEND
April 28, 2008
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The Gaulitana: A Festival of Music: Sacred Finale
April 20, 2008
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The Gaulitana: A Festival of Music: My Favourite Songs … With Nibbles and Drinks
April 19, 2008
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The Gaulitana: A Festival of Music: Piano Recital No.2 with Suzanne Anatchkova
April 18, 2008
- Joe: Cecilia Xuereb’s comments on this virtuoso’s playing appeared in the May 4th edition of The Times....
- Jo B.: Yesterday’s Piano Recital No.2 was superb. Suzanne has a pronounced technical skill on the piano while...
- Joe: Great music from local talent! The viola and piano made a surprisingly good combination! Congratulations all...
- Fabio del Cioppo: Caro Colin. ho letto del tuo concerto per la Quaresima, con la partecipazione dei tuoi figli e di...
- Maria: Oh yes…we really had lots of fun and we did a great show…thanks to everyone:)
The Choir returns from Corsica
November 19, 2007 | Author: The Gaulitanus Choir | Filed under: Latest News
In line with the festival’s raison d’etre of bringing together the various facets of the Mediterranean culture through participants from the whole Mediterranean basin, ensembles from Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia, besides Corsica itself, performed in various localities around Corsica. A concurrent literary Rencontres de Poésie was held in collaboration with the Corsican University of Corti.
The artistic level of the festival was of a very high standing, an evident demonstration that the festival’s standards are increasing year-in-year-out. Of the ensembles specialising in classical music one can mention Jean Lenert’s string orchestra from mainland France, a string ensemble from Milan’s conservatory, a string ensemble and percussion trio from Turin’s conservatory, and a string quartet and a top flutist from Cairo’s conservatoire. Other groups focusing more on the traditional aspect of their country’s music were ensembles of musicians and singers from Athens’ conservatory and Porto’s academy, a troupe from the National Spanish Ballet, the musical groups from the Northern African countries, and the Corsican groups themselves.
The Gozitan choir, who was participating in this festival for the third time, gave three concerts. The first was a lunchtime concert for secondary school students at the College Montesoro, Bastia followed by a full-scale concert at Cervioni the same evening. The next day a third concert was given at Bastia’s small theatre of San Angelo where the Gozitans performed during the first part of the concert with the Egyptians performing in the second. As requested by the organisers, during these Rencontres the Gaulitanus Choir interpreted a selection of sacred Maltese works - this time some sacred compositions by the choir’s musical director Colin Attard, and a medley of Neapolitan songs - of which the Corsicans are so fond. A selection of Verdi choruses was also on the programme. The choir’s main soloists were soprano Rita Dimech and tenor Terry Shaw, with tenor Joseph Calleja, soprano Stephanie Portelli, baritone Joseph Buttigieg and alto Aimee Grech also giving their share. The choir was accompanied on the piano by its resident pianist Stephen Attard and directed by its founder-director Colin Attard. In all concerts the Gozitan choir and its soloists were extremely well-received with several rounds of applause and a rousing acclamation at the end of each concert. Encores had to be given.
The Cervioni concert, which was also transmitted live on the local radio, was held under the auspices of the Mayor of Cervioni, Mr. Nicolai. Towards the end of the concert he Mayor thanked and congratulated the choir for a splendid evening and later hosted the choir members to a delicious dinner of traditional Cervioni recipes at a local restaurant. During this extremely lively social activity, Mr. Nicolai and Mro. Attard exchanged speeches which highlighted the various cultural aspects, the cordiality and the intrinsic similarities of the two insular communities of Corsica and of Gozo, which both form part a larger country within the broader perspective of the Mare Nostrum. A champagne toast concluded a memorable evening.
The Cervioni concert was also reviewed by Corse-Matin journalist J. Pauli, who, in a report entitled “The Maltese choir at Cervioni, bellisimo!” which appeared on the newspaper’s edition of Saturday 10th November, wrote that:
“(it was) a taste of beauty. ……The richness of the concert ……was simply a live expression of beauty. Esthetic beauty of a mixed choir fit to qualify as ‘very classy’. ……All looked very elegant. An elegance in harmony with the voices. An ensemble in perfect accord with the piano-playing of Stephen Attard. ……The Gaulitanus Choir showed vocal sensibility with flowing diction and a joyful interpretation; all demonstrating the choir’s artistry. ……As Jean-Marie Prescelti, the (local) priest, affirmed, ‘God also conceals himself in what is beautiful’, and these Maltese voices had in effect something heavenly. ……They opened the doors onto a garden where harmonies become colours, sounds become images……music a parody of life, the singers messengers of hope……and the soprano Rita Dimech, a fairy among the angels.”
The Gozitan choir’s last commitment was at the Gala Concert at Bastia’s Theatre Municipal with which the festival reached its climax. In a fully-packed theatre, all the participating groups first presented some numbers from their own repertoire and then, as is the custom in this festival, joined forces for the final number, which is always a Corsican composition. This year’s chosen excerpt was Terra Mea, a movement from an oratorio with the same name for unaccompanied male choir in typical Corsican style by well-known Corsican composer Jean-Paul Poletti. As often happened in several past editions of the Rencontres, Mro. Colin Attard was engaged to direct the festival orchestra and to prepare the musical arrangement of the excerpt. This year’s arrangement featured Greek mezzo-soprano Angelica Cathariou - who was specifically invited to the festival to interpret this number, Poletti’s own male choir from Sartène, the Gaulitanus Choir, and the festival orchestra - which practically consisted of all the instrumentalists participating in the Rencontres. In effect the arrangement, which has to be worked out in a very short time within a very tight schedule, is expected to use all the resources available at the festival while being a complete grand re-working of the original and at the same time metamorphosizing the Corsisan theme into music which has a broader Mediterranean aesthetic and appeal. This then has to bring the festival to its climactic finale. Indeed this was the case also this year, with the long standing ovation given necessitating an encore of Terra Mea.
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