Gozo’s Gaulitanus Choir will kick off their Christmas commitments with a concert at the Arkadia’s Function Room in Victoria, Gozo on Friday 12th December at 7.00pm. The choir will present a varied number of Christmas works, some of which also feature in the CD "Gaulitanus at Christmas", which the choir will be launching during this evening. Entrance for the concert is free and the general public is invited to attend.
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The CD "Gaulitanus at Christmas", recorded in mid-November, presents a number of arrangements very much associated with the choir and its musical director, Colin Attard. Indeed all the works are arrangements or adaptations by Mro. Attard himself and have been the presented with great success on some previous occasions including the choir’s extremely successful End-of-Festive Season Concert held last January. The CD features the Gaulitanus Choir, its soprano soloist Rita Dimech and up-and-coming young violinist Jean-Noel Attard accompanied by the Gaulitanus Chamber Orchestra conducted by Colin Attard.
The CD opens up with "Ninni…..Ninni", Attard’s adaptation for choir and orchestra of Malta’s most popular the traditional Christmas tune. The work composed in 2003 is a set of variations ranging from the homophonic to the fugal, with a few interjections by a group of four soloists (Josianne Callus, Stephanie Buttigieg, Joseph Calleja – to whom the work is dedicated – and Joseph Buttigieg).
The second work on the CD is a "Christmas Rhapsody" for soprano, choir and orchestra. This is a medley of five Christmas songs, each of which Attard arranged over the years before finally compiling all the numbers into this rhapsody in 2006. The soloist is the choir’s soprano, Rita Dimech.
The third work is a "Christmas Fantasia" for solo violin and string orchestra. This fantasia is an ’alla concertante’ adaptation of several Christmas carols which Attard adapted for violin and piano for his young son Jean-Noel in 2004 before eventually orchestrating it. Jean-Noel, who also leads the Gaulitanus Chamber Orchestra, is the soloist in this recording.
The CD ends with a "Christmas Chorale" for choir and orchestra. This prominently features the Gaulitanus Choir in a medley of four grand Christmas tunes which Attard orchestrated over the years before finally compiling them into this chorale last year.
"Gaulitanus at Christmas", recorded by PR Studios, was supported by Arkadia and Coca-Cola. It is the choir’s third official CD following "Sacred in Opera" and "Maria: A Celebration of Marian Hymns". Costing 12 Euros, it can be obtained by phoning the choir on 21560200, 99258592, 99949949 or by emailing info@gaulitanus.com or from the leading CD outlets.
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