A FORAY AT THE MCI: SACRED MEETS PROFANE

The second concert in Gaulitana: A Festival of Music was held at the Grand Exhibition Hall at Le Meridien, St. Julians (Malta) on Monday 5^th April at 18.30hrs.The concert featured the Gaulitanus Choir, who was thus giving its second consecutive performance in the festival. While this was the first event in the festival ever to be held in Malta, the choir itself was returning to the MCI stage after an absence of a few years.

The first part of the programme consisted of sacred music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Mascagni, Ketelbey, Bush and Dufford, while the second part was dedicated to profane music. The first two numbers in this part were two operatic numbers from Verdi’s La Traviata and Aida, performed by the female sections of the choir.The concert ended con gusto with a grand selection from Loewe’s My Fair Lady.

Practically each number featured a choir’s soloist or soloists. These were Annabelle Zammit, Darren Vella, Josianne Callus, Marthese Borg, Charlene Borg, Maria Meilak, Joseph Calleja, Patricia Buttigieg, Joseph Buttigieg, Stephanie Portelli and Fabian Galea. At the very last minute MCI concert organizer, Marie Therese Vassallo, kindly replaced Margaret Plant who was indisposed.

The choir was accompanied on the piano by Stephen Attard, with Pierre Louis Attard occasionally joining on the violin / tambourine. Mro. Colin Attard conducted.

A sizeable and highly-appreciative audience attended the evening.