Bank of Valletta is supporting a concert by Vocalise featuring Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer (Love Waltzes) and Henze’s The Moralities. This concert is being held at the Manoel Theatre on Saturday 10 February 2007.

Vocalise is an organisation set up two years ago by Claire Massa, with the aim of training and promoting young Maltese talent in the classical field.

The “Love Waltzes” consist of 18 musical settings of texts by Georg Friederich Daumer. The texts speak of courtly love in various moods, some even spoken of with a sense of humour, but essentially speak of a love which is mostly about happiness and beauty.

The Moralities is a youth cantata based on Aesop’s fables, and written on a text by WH Auden. The script speaks of three well-known stories: that of the frogs who, not happy with their free life demand a leader, that of the crows, which even though were given the gift of song wanted to sing in the same way the horses neigh, and that of a group of people who set sail only to meet a terrible storm and ask for the help of Neptune to save their lives.

The bank’s sponsorship was presented by Priscilla Attard, Manager of Bank of Valletta’s Valletta Waterfront Branch to Claire Massa. Speaking during the presentation, Ms Attard said “Bank of Valletta is a strong supporter of local cultural events and is proud to be associated with this initiative which will see a talented group of Maltese musicians performing at such a prestigious venue.”

Thanking Bank of Valletta for its support, Ms Massa said “Bank of Valletta is on the forefront to support culture and youth in Malta. We thank the bank for its support, without which this initiative and others would not happen.”

Participating in the event are The Vocalise Chamber Choir, pianists Caroline Calleja and Juliette Lopez, percussionists Daniel Cauchi, Emanuel Busuttil and Noel Micallef and narrators Angelica Galea and Jean Pierre Agius. The concert will be directed by Hans Jurgen Nagel.