When New York philanthropist, Christopher Hyland, approached Mro Joseph Vella and commissioned him to write a Mass with an underlying theme of universal peace, the result was one of the composer's latest works, namely A Prayer for Unity in Diversity, subtitled The Hyland Mass.

The work was given its world premiere during the final concert of the Victoria International Arts Festival on 15 July at St George's Basilica in Gozo.

Mro Vella's new approach to the setting of the Mass lies in amalgamating the sections of the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei) with non-liturgical, semi-religious texts that lead the music in a natural way into the aura of the subsequent Latin text.

To further highlight the universal theme of the piece, these five texts use five different languages: English (John Donne), Maltese (The Old Testament), German (Neimayer), French (Lamartine) and Italian (Dante).

The work is scored for soprano Gillian Zammit, alto Clare Massa, tenor Cliff Zammit Stevens, bass Nicholas Warden, boy soprano Nathan Schembri Rodgers, mixed choir and orchestra. The work is composed to be played from beginning to end without stopping, and to further highlight the “symphonic” aspect of the piece, Mro Vella introduces the music with an orchestral entr’acte.

The Hyland Mass will now receive a repeat performance at Teatru Manoel on 6 September at 8pm.

Mro Vella will himself be conducting the above-mentioned soloists plus the Laudate Pueri Choir (leader George J. Frendo) and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (leader Marcelline Agius).

The concert will be played for a mostly invited audience consisting mainly of members of SMOM who will be coming for the occasion from many European countries and the USA. The remaining seats are on sale from Teatru Manoel.

The concert will come to an end with another Vella work celebrating universal peace, namely a fanfare and an anthem (words by Lisa Zeiger).

Plans are already being made to have the Mass played in the USA, Italy and Germany.