The annual Rabat Agape festival concert is this year going to take place on Saturday 23 January at St Paul's collegiate church in Rabat. Featuring various premier works by Mro Ray Sciberras, this year's concert starting at 20:00, is again promoting the work of contemporary Maltese composers while also showcasing musical compositions from the archives of the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat. The latter include Sinfonia from Oratorio Gioas by Pietro Paulo Bugeja, Fac me Tecum from the Stabat Mater by Fr Daniel Sammut O.Carm and Juravit by Padre Giuseppe Spiteri Fremond (OSA).
The premier works include Beati Pauperes, Ave Maria Stella and Missa Gloria Tibi, Domine, all by Sciberras.
Beati Pauperes is a setting of the first beatitude as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, scored for string orchestra and four-part choir. This work demonstrates predominance of contrapuntal and imitative writing in both choir and orchestra.
Ave Maria Stella is imbued with love and personal devotion to the Immakulata, the patron saint of the composer's hometown. This work is a modern rendition of a famous strophic vespers Marian hymn, composed for string orchestra and 4 part choir in 2010. A loud 4 bar instrumental announcing phrase is answered by a soft 4 bar choral responsive phrase, partially doubled by the strings. The harmony is built on traditional tonal chord progressions, free from high harmonic tensions.
Finally, Missa Gloria Tibi, Domine allows for a more daring musical language hitherto met with in the Maltese liturgical context. In fact innovative harmonic and rhythmic structures, seldom found in traditional mass settings, impart a sense of deep religious feeling particularly by translating into music the main Catholic beliefs expressed in the post conciliar Novo Ordo text. Composed in 2013, the mass is scored for orchestra, choir and soloists and is intended primarily to be performed in a liturgical context.
Organised by the Fondazzjoni Paulus with the collaboration of the collegiate chapter of St Paul's parish church, this year's concert will see the participation of the Mirabitur choir under the direction of Simone Attard together with the Paulus orchestra and choir conducted by Mro Sciberras. Participating soloists include Charlene Portelli, Connie Francis Zerafa, Charles Vincenti and Albert Buttigieg.
This concert has the support of the Good Causes Fund, APS Bank, The Janatha Stubbs Foundation, Abertax, Central Bank of Malta, Fondazzjoni Patri Martin Caruana O.P, Mr Green, Wignacourt Museum and GreenMT.