St Paul Choral Society tours Germany, France and Luxembourg

The St Paul Choral Society (SPCS) has returned to Malta after a tour in the “heart of Europe”, presenting its choral abilities in six prestigious venues in Germany, France and Luxembourg, under the musical direction of Dr Hugo Agius Muscat and his wife Cecilia.

Forty-seven SPCS choristers took part in the Heart of Europe Tour. The choir’s first performance was a concert on 22nd August in the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in the Baroque city of Blieskastel. The day after, the choir visited the city of Trier, where it sang an a cappella programme in St Peter’s Cathedral, the oldest church in Germany, part of which dates from the fourth century BC. On Saturday 24th August, the choir gave two performances in the city of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland; in the morning, it presented a concert in the Papal Basilica of St John the Baptist, as part of a regular series held in this church, while in the evening the choir presented another concert in the Ludwigskirche, the principal Protestant church in this city. Sunday 25th August was another busy day for the choir. In the morning, the choristers travelled to France, to the city of Metz, capital of the Lorraine region; here, the choir led the singing during the 10am High Mass in the Cathédrale St-Etienne, a stunning Gothic cathedral dating from the 13th century. The choir then travelled to Luxembourg, where it led the singing during the 6pm Sung Mass in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

The repertoire for these performances consisted of a variety of works spanning the period from the 16th to the 20th century, and also included Gregorian music. The 25 compositions included works by Maltese musicians: Benigno Zerafa, Francesco Azopardi, Carmelo Scerri, Joseph Vella and Hugo Agius Muscat. Thus, the choir not only showed off its choral technique but also the abilities of Maltese composers. All of the choir’s singing venues have a longstanding musical tradition: therefore, it meant a lot to the choristers that, apart from being accepted to sing in these churches, they were also very well received. All the audiences followed the performances closely and showed their approval through prolonged applause, so much so that at the end of every concert, the choir was urged to sing an encore.

For the St Paul Choral Society, the Heart of Europe Tour is another link in a chain of success obtained abroad, which has included singing in St Paul’s and Westminster Cathedrals in London, Vienna and Innsbruck Cathedrals in Austria, the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the Cathedrals of Burgos, León and Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and many other churches. The St Paul Choral Society is now an established ambassador for Malta where sacred music is concerned.

The St Paul Choral Society’s tour was supported by several private individuals and organisations in Malta and Germany.

For more information about the choir, please visit www.fb.com/StPaulChoralSociety.