The Gaulitanus Choir has just returned from its 25th artistic choral venture abroad. The choir has been in Portugal, its first ever appearance in the Iberian peninsula, following a long-standing invitation by the Maltese Embassy in Portugal.
Very early on Friday 29th November, the choir left for Porto. After making the most of the morning touring the charming city, the Gaulitanus had its first artistic commitment in the late afternoon: a concert at the very central Igreja do Misericordia. The concert was coordinated by the ConcertusProTempore Ensemble. Indeed, its leader, violinist Jacinto Neves, also made a cameo appearance at the concert by teaming up with Gaulitanus violinist Pierre Louis Attard and Gaulitanus musical director Colin Attard and opening the proceedings with the latter’s arrangement for 2 violins and keyboard of Emanuele Galea’s notorious ‘Sinfonia Pastorale’. The concert then proceeded with the Gaulitanus Choir presenting a fully Maltese repertoire. The good audience in attendance, led by the director of the Museum and the Igreja do Misericordia, Mr Pedro Nunes, was very receptive, applauding very warmly and affording a standing ovation. The choir reciprocated by giving an encore, the Portuguese song ‘Alecrin Dourado’, with Mro Attard also presenting mementos to Mr Neves and Mr Nunes. Meanwhile, the Maltese Consul in Porto, José Pedro Garcia Fernandes, who was unavoidably unavailable for the event, also made it a point to pay a courtesy visit to the choir before the start of the concert, during which he expressed his great pleasure for this Maltese-Portuguese collaboration, and wished the Gaullitanus Choir the very best for the whole concert tour, while expressing his regret that he could not stay over for the concert.
On Saturday afternoon, after another morning of sightseeing, the choir moved south to Fatima. Upon its arrival the choir was given an exclusive guided tour of the various sites in this devout place, before proceeding to animate mass – thanks to a special arrangement – at the Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário. The audience which packed the Basilica gave a very spontaneous applause to the choir at the end of the mass. H.E. Maltese ambassador to Portugal, John Camilleri, was in attendance.
The choir then proceeded its jouney towards Lisbon, its base for the rest of the concert tour. The group spent Sunday morning sighseeing Lisbon’s principal sights, accompanied by Embassy official Mario Buttigieg, before congregating at the Panteão Nacional in the afternoon. Again, the choir was given an exclusive tour of this historic and grandiose structure – with its terrace offering an extended view of the city and the Tagus River – led by the Panteão’s high-ranking official Ana Carolina Coelho. A concert in this wonderful site with its very particular acoustics followed. Violinist Pierre Louis Attard opened the proceeding with some instrumental numbers, before the Gaulitanus Choir took centre stage for the rest of the programme. The audience, led by HE the Maltese Ambassador to Portugal, John Camilleri, and the Panteão’s director, Santiago Macias, was very much receptive, generously acknowledging the performance of each excerpt before finally giving a standing ovation. Again, the choir reciprocated by giving some encores. Whereas Mro Attard and Mr Macias exchanged mementos, the former expressed the choir’s gratitude and for being given the opportunity to perform in this iconic venue as well as for being invited to Portugal, and presented other mementos to HE Mr Camilleri, Mr Buttigieg and Ms Coelho.
Monday was reserved for a long day of sightseeing Lisbon’s very beautiful sites, before the choir’s final artistic commitment in the evening at the very charming Igreja de São Sebastião da Pedreira. The Gaulitanus first animated the mass celebrated by Monsignor Antonio Teixeira, a high-ranking official at the Vatican’s Nunciature in Portugal, and then gave a short recital. Again, the congregation was extremely appreciative. Whereas the Monsignor warmly acknowledged the choir’s participation after the communion with the congregation joining with a hearty applause, a standing ovation was also given after the short recital. H.E. the Ambassador, the Monsignor, Mr Buttigieg and the church’s administrator Mr Miguel de Pape were all in attendance, with the latter also showing his profound appreciation by offering a token to the choir.
This exciting Portugal concert tour, which was supported by VisitMalta and the Cultural Heritage Directorate of the Ministry for Gozo & Planning, came to an end on Tuesday afternoon, 3rd December, when the group returned to Malta after a final quick stroll through Lisbon in the morning.
In line with the Gaulitanus Choir’s role as a foremost ambassador of Maltese and Gozitan music and culture abroad, the repertoire performed consisted essentially of Maltese and Gozitan music, and with the full programme of events fittingly entitled ‘Sons de Malta’. It featured compositions by Emmanuel Galea, Carmelo Pace, Giuseppe Caruana, Colin Attard, Pierre Louis Attard and Joseph Vella, mostly in the vernacular, with the latter’s ‘Innu lil Għawdex’ performed for the first time ever in an ‘a cappella’ version for mixed choir.
This repertoire also featured a few of the choir’s soloists, namely soprano Annabelle Zammit – who had a few taxing solos – as well as sopranos Patricia Borg, Antonella Portelli, tenors Christian Tanti and Alfred Cauchi and baritone Robert Xerri.
Pertinently, the Portugal concert tour was the Gaulitanus Choir’s third foray abroad in 2024 after a concert tour in Rome, Italy, in June and its very prestigious participation in Puccini’s opera ‘Manon Lescaut’ at the Teatro Antico, Taormina, Italy, in July. These ventures were part of the organisation’s broader calendar of international events for 2024, which also included 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.
ALLA PROSSIMA!
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