Gaudete − A recital of seasonal sacred music by the St Paul Chamber Ensemble

On Tuesday, 13 December, the St Paul Chamber Ensemble, in collaboration with the Paola Local Council and the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, presented a recital of Seasonal Sacred Music to commemorate the 50th Anniversary from the dedication of the parish church, Christ the King, Paola. The concert was in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza and under the distinguished patronage of H.E. Mons. Joseph Alessadro, Bishop of Garissa, Kenya.

Under the baton of H.E. Chev. Mro Mark Agius, the 35-piece orchestra, which consists of both seasoned and up-coming musicians, presented a varied vocal and instrumental recital. With an unfaltering and exquisitely delicate sound and ably directed by its experienced conductor, the orchestra accompanied the well-established local and foreign singers who participated in this delightful concert.

Mro Agius skilfully directed the orchestra with utmost precision, ease and confidence, employing various techniques that adequately portrayed the stylistic genres of music performed. The soloists were Anita Vella Bondin and Karen Gatt Darmenia (sopranos), Christine Dalli (mezzo soprano), May Caruana (contralto), Arthur Micallef (tenor) and Ivan Vella (baritone). Other soloists who participated were Louis Andrew Cassar (baritone) and James Vella Bondin (bass) as well as guest artist Helen Andrews.

The concert was a varied one which comprised popular Christmas songs and other well-known sacred works that blended well in this high-calibre programme.

After an introductory speech by Anthony Bonello, the concert commenced with an orchestral and vocal rendition of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, followed by The Lord’s Prayer by Malotte, ably executed by Christine Dalli. Anita Vella Bondin and Karen Gatt Darmenia followed in a duet with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu.

The orchestra and full SATB ensemble then performed a delightful arrangement of the traditional Christmas carol, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, after which the programme continued with Mary Did You Know? by Lowry and Greene, where Ivan Vella gave an excellent rendering of this difficult and engaging work, ably accompanied by the orchestra with its continuous unfailing support.

Two of my favourite works, taken from the classical repertoire were the Ave Maria based on the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, a 19th-century one-act opera by Mascagni, and Morricone’s Nella Fantasia, both sung with excellent, well-rounded technique and with utmost confidence by Christine Dalli and Anita Vella Bondin respectively.

The next solo work was the carol, What Child is This? a traditional English melody, better known as Greensleeves, performed by guest artist Helen Andrews. The following musical renditions were Breathe of Heaven, meticulously interpreted by Karen Gatt Darmenia, the well-known I’ll Walk with God sung by Arthur Micallef and the charming Walking in the Air, again beautifully executed as a duet by Anita Vella Bondin and Karen Gatt Dramenia.

The last part of the concert focused on sacred works where the beautiful melodic contours of Lorenc’s Ave Maria were interpreted with passion and devotion by May Caruana. Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring and a majestic setting of the late 16th-century Renaissance melody Gaudete were sung by all the singers.

Performed to a well-attended audience, the concert came to a grand finale with the orchestra delivering a lively and joyous rendering of an orchestral work by a 19th-century Maltese composer Emmanuele Galea – Sinfonia Pastorale, which brought the appreciative audience to its feet in a well-deserved standing ovation.