MPO Harp Trio in exciting chamber recital

On Tuesday, October 5, the St Anthony of Padua Church in Ghajnsielem, was the venue of the penultimate concert”GauLive”‘ series, courtesy of Fr Superior Marcello Ghirlando, who was also in attendance. The MPO Harp trio, made up of Rebecca Hall (flute), John McDonough (oboe), and Britt Arend (harp) – all principals at the MPO – was in attendance, presenting a varied repertoire of original works and transcriptions that perfectly suited the wonderful ambience in this delightful church.

Entitled for “Masterpieces in Miniature”, it included works by Telemann, Bach, Mozart, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Vaughan Williams, Ibert and Vella – all very aptly introduced by Rebecca Hall herself.

The concert was held in collaboration with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and with the support of the Ghajnsielem Local Council, which was represented by some councillors led by mayor Kevin Cauchi. A wonderful audience was in attendance, who acknowledged the performance with a standing ovation.

(Photo credits: Lorne Cremona)

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Meanwhile, the online review by Albert G. Storace including all the pertinent details reads:

VERY TALENTED ENSEMBLE:

HARP TRIO:

BRITT AREND, harp;

REBECCA HALL, flute;

JOHN McDONOUGH, oboe and cor anglais.

GAU(L)IVE CONCERT SERIES

GAULITANA FESTIVAL

CHURCH OF ST. ANTHONY of PADOVA

GHAJNSIELEM, GOZO

This penultimate concert in a series of six took place at the above church, courtesy of Padre Marcello Ghirlando, Guardian of the community of Franciscans Minor.

I had seen this church a few times, passing by car, but always when it was closed at the time. It was difficult not to notice the beautiful stonework of the church atop its high parvis overlooking an equally beautiful valley.

The concerts which have been presented by Gaulitana in various churches in Gozo: big, medium or small, is a reminder of the very rich heritage Gozo has to offer. An added delight yesterday evening was the personal thrill of a first visit. I’ll let the photos I took speak for themselves.

The other delightful element was being there as part of a numerous audience for a very charming combination of instruments. These were played by three very experienced and accomplished musicians. They are all members of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and all are principals of their respective sections. Briton John McDonough and Canadian Rebecca Hall have been living among us for over twenty years while Britt Arend (from Belgium) for some fourteen years. Their expert musicianship and clearly evident warm, mutual and supportive rapport was a guarantee of very good results.

What one could also say of John McDonough is, that he is a very adept hand at writing arrangements of works which he adapts for wind instruments. It was one of his arrangements which opened the concert. This was Fantasia on Greensleeves, arranged by Vaughan Williams from the famous anonymous piece. Pastoral and relaxing it was followed by a more meaty piece, Telemann’s Sonata in D Major for two treble instruments, these being flute and oboe. The typically baroque format in a pattern of four slow/fast/slow movements found expression in a sensitive dolce, a light allegro, a beautifully phrased, sensitive largo and concluded with a sprightly vivace.

Rebecca Hall took centre stage in J. S. Bach’s Partita for solo flute, BWV 1013, dealing deftly with her silvery tone a d crisp precision its contrasting dance movements. The Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Bourrée anglaise made for very pleassnt hearing.

With the harp joining the flute and oboe, the trio projected a really charming and cantabile Voi che sapete from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, the lovesick, mischievous and confused Cherubino’s popular aria. The second piece taken from opera was the soothing Entr’acte from Bizet’s Carmen. More music from France was the dreamy Le Cygne, from Le Carnaval des Animaux by Saint-Saëns. Here John McDonough played the cor anglais to harp accompaniment.

The last piece for solo flute was the brief but frequently intense Pan Revisited by the late, very lamented Joseph Vella. The conclusion was a superbly sustained, long diminuendo which faded into a suspended pianissimo.Concluding the concert were Deux Interludes by Jacques Ibert: an Andante espresssivo which lived very much to its name and a contrasting and very jolly Allegro vivo.

Audience reaction was very warm. The great rapport the trio had between them was well priected to the audience, which led to a standing ovation and an encore. Originally for violin, it was John McDonough’s arrangement of Bartok’s A night in the village.

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The last concert in the GAU(L)IVE series is an all-Beethoven concert by the MPO, conducted by Colin Attard at the Aurora Opera House in Victoria, this Saturday.

The Overture to Egmont and the Eroica Symphony will be performed.

Booking is advisable.

Email:	gaulitanus@gmail.com / gaulitanafestival@gmail.com
Phone:	(+356) 77038971 / 21560200 / 21557593

MPO Harp Trio in exciting chamber recital

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