One might ask what is the common feature between Midnight Mass and the APS Annual Concert. The answer is in the title itself: St. John's Co-Cathedral. Unfortunately, the connection is not inspiring.
TMI published the story that Catholic faithful were not allowed for the Midnight Mass at St. John's Co-Cathedral unless they paid an entrance fee, which was destined for L-Istrina. What was even more worrying is the fact that after a German tourist, like Martin Luther, vehemently protested at the door of this Cathedral shouting 'Is this the house of God or the house of money?' a monsignor went out and tried to justify the unjustifiable. Does this monsignor not know that such actions are, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, acts of simony? Is not simony a mortal sin? This monsignor should be thankful to the secular state. Such acts would not have been tolerated during the times of the Inquisition.
The least that could have happened to him was to be divested of all prebends (that is,the title of monsignor and revenue linked to such a title),besides risking a long prison term.
This story shows that the appointment of monsignors in Malta is not always based on merit and, as it is the case with the Roman Curia, the local selection criteria are determined by those personal qualities chastised by Pope Francis, such as narcissism and the desire for wearing flamboyant dresses. Ironically those priests who really deserve such promotions, due to their commitment to the pastoral wellbeing of the Catholic flock, are kept in the dark; unlike this monsignor, they do not have pretensions to become 'lords of the manor". This is a clear symptom of a Church in crisis.
For a long period, banks were looked down at by the Catholic Church; this time because of interest. Today this is history. The irony is that the Church's bank is one of the few institutions committed to culture, bringing high standing at time when the Church is in the news for the wrong reasons.
Last November, APS Bank held its annual concert featuring compositions of contemporary Maltese composers. The pieces played were winners of a national competition, organized by the same bank, aimed at promoting the local music talent. The works had to be inspired by Maltese ballads. The composition was for suite and the event was held at the main hall of the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
The first piece played by our National Orchestra, under the director of Christopher Muscat, was a composition by Paul Portelli. Portelli was awarded the Special Jury Prize for his Suite on Five Dun Karm Psaila poems. The selected five poems of Dun Karm commemorated the advent of St. Paul to Malta. Instead of focusing on melodies, Portelli opted to emphasize the sombre timbre, which is normally associated with sacredness, to bring out the special character of Dun Karm's lyrics in music.
The winner of the composition for the suite section was Steven-Joseph Psaila. He chose the ballad Katrin tal-Imdina, and rendered a very moving suite for orchestra. On a personal note, I found this piece by Psaila pleasing to my ears. It was very relaxing - an element which is fundamental in music.
The music played expressed the local calibre. At the same time, one could see that our composers are open to external influences and this is why their composition remains valid. The Influence of sound tracks could be perceived throughout their work. In particular, the works of Portelli reminded me of the sound tracks of films like Quo Vadis and Ben Hur.
What was missing in both performances was the context. Sound tracks need context. Both compositions were influenced by a written text but if a person does not know the written text, one cannot appreciate to the full the composition and the message that the composer wanted to convey with his music. While for a certain generation, the commemorative poems of Dun Karm about the story of Saint Paul's Shipwreck or the ballad Katrin tal-Imdina were well known, the same cannot be said for the modern generation. Perhaps, the reading of the poems before each performance or movement, would have helped the audience to appreciate more the innuendos and subtleties of these compositions.
Then, in terms of the orchestra performance, the solo parts were the best. It is unfortunate that during the solo parts, I could hear the noise of the air conditioners. I find this to be a total disrespect to the musicians.
When a concert is pleasing, there is a saying in Maltese that encapsulate this well: ma rajtx il-ħin għaddej. Time flew very quickly. What worries me is the audience attending these types of concerts. It was of a certain age. As a demographer, I could not fail to notice that most of those present were over 60 years of age. It is true that the concert had to compete with Eurovision and the festivity of Christ the King but it was still well attended. But the poor presence of the younger generation does not augur well to our local musical culture. Perhaps, this shows that something is missing in our educational system, which needs to start to be addressed where musical appreciation is concerned.
This annual concert is another feather in the cap of the Catholic Church's commercial bank. What is important for me here is the fact that the Catholic Church's bank (of all other banks) is today one of the few financial organizations that takes seriously the promotion of local culture, by giving support to the work of beginners in the fields of art and music.
It is a pity that this concert was not held in Saint John's co-Cathedral but in the main hall of the Mediterranean Conference Centre. I am sure that the reason for all this comes from the fact that one of the pieces, Katrin tal-Imdina, was deemed not to be a religious work and therefore should not be played in Church. Like the Midnight Mass, this confirms that our Cathedral Chapter is run by unprofessional people. Beside the fact that the performance lacked words, in terms of melody, a suite is a suite, whether it is inspired by poems of a religious nature or a popular ballad. Ironically, the Maltese ballads are "religious" works. Religious works are not only about God, the Virgin Mary and the saints but include that genre of literature, which together with Religion, were historically part and parcel of Maltese nationalism. This poem was written in this context.
The composer Psaila understood this concept very well. At least, his line of thought follows the melodies that we associate in Malta with religious works. Therefore barring such a performance from a church shows only lack of foresight and cultural sensitivity by the person or persons who administer St John's Co-Cathedral on behalf of the church. First, the ballad Katrin ta' l-Imdina is the product of a cultural narrative that was being pushed forward by the same Catholic Church at the end of the nineteenth century. Katrin represented the devout Catholic who was being tormented by the enemy. The historic enemy was the Arab Saracen, a metaphor for the British forces. Secondly, Maltese nationalism was created and pushed forward by members of the clergy. Therefore, for the local Catholic Church to disown such a heritage or dissociate itself from it means that it is severing itself from its own history.
By these stupid decisions, the Catholic Church in Malta is only helping to detach the Maltese from St. John's Co-Cathedral, which is becoming more and more a museum piece rather than a centre of Catholic devotion. I wish that the music played in our churches on Sunday would be of the calibre as the one played in these concerts, which were not deemed appropriate to be played in a church. I think it is high time for the Church to start revising its policies in this regard.