Times² Preview: Gearing up for Gaulitana

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Next month the Gaulitana Festival will bring an exciting programme of chamber and operatic music to Gozo, with events across the island exploring both local and global music. Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Colin Attard tells us more about the opening week of the festival.

“The unifying sentiment for this year’s festival is ‘Unravel stories pressed in ink ready to be heard’. The phrase refers both to the music itself, being played from the page transforming musical notation into experiences for us all to enjoy, and to In Harmony: 19th Century Music Printing in Malta this year’s festival exhibition, curated by Anna Borg Cardona and the festival’s Art Consultant Joseph Calleja. The exhibition, in the Ċittadella Cultural Centre in Victoria, will showcase a number of rare examples of music covers printed by the Brocktorff family of artists. This is a selection of musical reductions for piano that is now little performed but was once part of the entertainment for island’s upper class. The exhibition opening marks the festival launch event which includes the performance of a number of solo Maltese works by Jessica Ellul on the clarinet and Pierre Louis Attard on the violin,” says Attard.

On Sunday April 6, a Vella-Attard Sacred Opening at St Francis Church, Victoria, has special significance to the Artistic Director as it commemorates his brother, pianist Stephen Attard, former resident pianist of the Gaulitanus Choir and a regular fixture of the festival, who passed away recently: this 18th edition of Gaulitana is dedicated to his memory. The programme includes some of Stephen’s music, along with pieces by his grandfather Ganni Vella, his uncle composer and conductor Joseph Vella, Colin and his son Pierre Louis. It’s a true tribute to four generations of a talented family that hails from Victoria, and their commitment to music in Malta. The concert includes, of particular note, the premiere of Pierre Louis’ Ave Verum Corpus and a newly revised version of Quddiesa Madonna Ta’ Pinu (originally composed in 2008) which Stephen finished just a week before his death.

The festival is also premiering Stephen Attard’s string trio Trittiku Neo-Romantiku Malti in a concert on Wednesday April 9, an event focusing solely on Attard’s chamber works, performed by artists who collabroated closely with him. The piece is based on three very well-known themes by Giuseppe Caruana, reworked in his own style. Other pieces being performed at this event, Stephen Attard… Da Camera, include references to Gozo’s hills, local nature and a little folklore.

In between these two events, on Monday April 7, music lovers can enjoy the first of several festival ‘excursions’ beyond these shores (at Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz), Echoes from Spain, with Spanish pianist Salvador Sánchez. Sánchez, who is renowned for his sensitive and nuanced interpretations of Spanish composers works, is performing Goyescas, a piano suite by Spanish composer Enrique Granados inspired by the paintings of Francisco de Goya set in the romantic albeit tragic 18th century Spain. Evoking the colour and flavours of Spain, it promises love, hope and excitement.

And continuing the journey around the world, on Saturday April 12, Italian Giorgio Albani will showcase music from different countries on the guitar. Returning to Gaulitana, his repertoire celebrates the rich history, beauty and appeal of the instrument through time.

Giorgio will then team up with Flutist Filomena De Pasquale on April 13 to perform a collection of miniature gems from countries from Asia to America and Europe, in the beautiful St Augustine Churchthat boasts a 1694 main altarpiece painting by Mattia Preti.

The Gaulitana Festival continues until May 5. See full details here.

Gaulitana: A Festival of Music is principally supported by the Investment in Cultural Organisations – Gozo of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo & Planning partnered by Bank of Valletta, VisitMalta and APS Bank.