The Gaulitanus Choir has recently returned from its 23rd artistic choral venture abroad, a concert tour in Rome, Italy, between the 7th and the 10th June.
The concert tour ensued from an ongoing Gaulitana: A Festival of Music artistic collaboration, and followed an invitation by the ‘Associazione Fondazione Euro Mediterraneo’ and its artistic director, Enrico Castiglione, who for several years has been responsible for the produ-ction, scenery and costumes for the Gaulitana’s annual operatic production.
Indeed, the main artistic event was participation in the 24th edition of the Festival Euro Mediterraneo through a secular openair concert at the wonderful Parco di Appia Antica on Saturday 8th June in the evening. Entitled “Sole e Amore … da Malta all’Italia!”, the concert pertinently opened with Joseph Vella’s ‘Innu lil Ghawdex’ – which was being performed for the first time in a 4-voice arrangement which Colin Attard worked on Vella’s (latest) revision of the hymn –, and Giacomo Puccini’s bouncy ‘Inno a Roma’.
The first part of the concert was a Puccini celebration. The choir’s soloists, sopranos Stephanie Portelli, Georgina Gauci, Antonella Portelli, Patricia Borg and mezzo-soprano Claire Massa gave a rendition of a number of chamber arias. Violinist Pierre Louis Attard then interpreted ‘Madama Butterfly – Fantasia for Violin’ as arranged by Alberto Bachmann, and the Gaulitanus Choir concluding the slot with ‘La Bohème – Choral Snippets’ as compiled by Colin Attard.
The second part of the concert was then completely devoted to Maltese music – very much underlining Maltese traditions, lifestyles, ambience and identity. Violinist Pierre Louis interpreted Stephen Attard’s suite ‘Xejriet’ and the choir performed Carmelo Pace’s ‘Is-Sajf’ (for female voices only), ‘Lapsi’ and ‘L-Imnarja’, Charles Camilleri’s ‘L-Għanja tas-Sajf’, as well as Colin Attard’s arrangements for ‘a cappella’ mixed choir of Giuseppe Caruana’s ‘Innu ta’ Filgħodu’ and ‘Innu ta’ Filgħaxija’.
The final part of the concert was then a very typical Italian one. Indeed, ‘Napolitana!’ – an extended medley of some of the best-loved Neapolitan songs as arranged by Colin and Stephen Attard – brought together all the vocal soloists, violinist Pierre Louis Attard and the Gaulitanus Choir for a rather climactic ending. The concert was attended by Maltese Embassy official, Ms Maria Buttigieg, as well at the FEM’s artistic director, Enrico Castiglione.
This major artistic commitment was then complemented by various other artistic events. Indeed, on Saturday morning the choir was invited to attend the exclusive Papal Audience which HH Pope Franics was holding for the many choirs participating in the ‘IV International Meeting of Choirs in the Vatican’. In the joyous and uplifting atmosphere prevailing at the Sala Nervi, the choir joined the thousands of choristers hailing from all across the world in the singing of popular religious hymns before the arrival of His Holiness. After the Pope’s address, several Gaulitanus members had the opportunity to line up very close to the aisle from where the Pope was passing, and 9-month-old Oliver Borg (the son of a chorister) was handed over to HH for a special blessing (with the photo also featuring on the ‘L’Osservatore Romano’). The cherry on the cake then arrived when the organizers of the IMCV2024 asked the choir’s director, Colin Attard, to give a comment – which he duly did, also referring to Pope’s address – and the choir to perform a Maltese number – with Attard’s arrangement of Giuseppe Caruana’s Marian hymn ‘Fil-Ħlewwa ta’ Mejju’ being very much acclaimed.
More prestige was then in stock on Sunday. As a matter of fact, at 12.30hrs, right after the Pope’s Angelus, the choir animated the extremely well-attended holy mass at St Peter’s Basilica along with the resident Cappella Giulia directed by Mro. Avolio. Later in the afternoon, at 17.30hrs, the choir animated another holy mass, this time at the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, the Pope’s seat. The mass was attended by the Maltese Ambassador to Italy Carmel Vassallo and Mrs Vassallo. Amongst the various numbers performed during both masses, pride of place was taken by Maltese excerpts, namely Giuseppe Caruana’s hymns and Pierre Louis Attard’s ‘O Salutaris Hostia’.
Truly, and as always, in line with its ambassadorial role as a prime promoter of Maltese music abroad, even in its Rome concert tour the Gaulitanus Choir made sure to present quite a lot of Maltese music, also in the Maltese language.
Throughout this Rome concert tour the choir was led and conducted by its founder and musical director as well as Gaulitana: A Festival of Music Artistic Director, Colin Attard, who also accompanied the choir and the soloists during the FEM concert.
Artistic commitments apart, the concert tour was another very enriching cultural experience, with the group also having the possibility to visit Viterbo, Bolsena and the lake, Orvieto, and of course to explore several of the infinite charms found at the Città Eterna and its peripheries.
This foreign foray, part of the organisation’s calendar of international events generally ensuing from Gaulitana: A Festival of Music’s international collaborations. followed the choir’s highly successful concert tour of Poland last December, Colin Attard’s chairing of the adjudicating board at the 13th edition of the ‘Concorso Internazionale Città di Massa’, Italy, and Attard’s conducting the Ion Dimitrescu Philharmonic in a symphonic concert in Ramnicu Valcea, Romania, also with the participation of the Gaulitana Festival’s coordinator Pierre Louis Attard as solo violinist.
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