French TV station Mezzo is to broadcast the 17 January concert held at St John’s Co-Cathedral given by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Schola Cantorium of Oxford as part of the first Valletta International Baroque Festival. The initial broadcast dates are Wednesday, 19 June (8.30pm), Friday, 28 June (9.30am), Thursday, 2 July (10.55am) and Saturday, 6 July (6pm).

The filming of the concert was funded by the Government of Malta, Teatru Manoel and St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation. The whole Baroque Festival was also supported by the Malta Tourism Authority, Tipico, Phoenicia Hotel, Island Caterers, AirMalta and Alberta.

Ray Attard, Teatru Manoel’s CEO stated: “The filming and broadcast of this concert will undoubtedly help to highlight Malta’s rich cultural scene and put the Valletta International Baroque Festival firmly on the international cultural tourist map. Mezzo has now become the international reference for classical music, jazz and dance on television and is broadcast in 44 countries with a community of 18 million subscribers.”

St John’s Co-Cathedral was filled to the rafters and the concert, which was conducted by James Burton, featured Bach’s Suite No. 3 in D Major, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Zadok the Priest and Bach’s Magnificat. A surprise encore which was a gift from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to the Festival was Cum Sancto Spiritu from the Messa a due Cori in D Major (1743) by Maltese composer Benigno Zerafa. The music was edited for performance by Frederick Aquilina.

The concert is to be broadcast on Mezzo 100 times over the next five years. Teatru Manoel’s website, www.teatrumanoel.com.mt, will list the dates and times of future screenings.