The St Paul Choral Society is just back from Spain where it performed choral and organ music to capacity audiences in four prestigious venues that form part of the world-famous Camino de Santiago. The four events comprised choral and organ concerts in the awe-inspiring cathedrals of Burgos and Leon and the church of the Monastery of San Martin Pinario, Santiago de Compostela as well as singing the Misa del Peregrino (Pilgrim's Mass) in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on 8 September.

The programmes included choral and organ works ranging from the 16th to the 20th century, including several works by Maltese composers (Francesco Azopardi, Luigi Grech, Carmelo Scerri, Carmelo Pace, Joseph Vella and Hugo Agius Muscat). 

All the events were attended by very large audiences, which exceeded the choir's expectations, even though the choir had marketed its concerts heavily through both traditional and online media.

As  a result one of the main benefits of the tour was the exposure of hundreds of people in Spain to the choral and organ performing skills of Maltese singers and musicians. In particular they were exposed (probably for the first time ever) to sacred music by Maltese composers spanning several centuries.

The four venues that hosted the project all have a high musical profile in Spain. They all have a long musical tradition dating back to at least the Renaissance that has been kept up to the present day. The mere fact that the SPCS was accepted to sing in these venues (after scrutiny of audition materials) was already beneficial to the SPCS as a whole and to its members, as it showed objective recognition of artistic achievement.

In Spain, the success achieved in drawing audiences of hundreds clearly demonstrates that the SPCS's cultural offering was perceived by Spanish concert-goers as having a high cultural value. There is clear benefit in this tangible appreciation of the SPCS's programme selection and presentation.

Also of clear benefit to the SPCS's career is the success achieved in every event, with audiences that stayed on for the whole event and that very warmly and persistently applauded all the performers. The queuing for autographs after the Leon concert was particularly impressive.

For individual choristers, the events in Spain were a priceless opportunity to experience choral singing in some of the most magnificent sacred venues in existence, each having their own unique acoustics and arhitectural features. Singing in such venues adds significantly to performing skills.

The success of the SPCS's tour in Spain adds to the success already achieved in previous tours. The SPCS was indeed the first Maltese choir to have sung at elite venues such as St Paul's Cathedral (London), St James Cathedral (Innsbruck) and the Cathedral of Notre Dame (Paris). The SPCS is now established as a leading choral ambassador for Malta beyond its shores.

The project provided tangible opportunities to engage with senior musicians abroad. In this case, they included the two organists at Burgos Cathedral, the maestro di Cappella and organist at León Cathedral, the organist at San Martin Pinario and the cantor and organist at Santiago Cathedral. Without exception the SPCS was warmly received and given all the necessary support and were complimented on their performances after the events.

At the time of writing, a Spanish choral composer has made contact with the SPCS director, showing interest in the SPCS performing his compositions. It is expected that going forward there will be further follow-on contacts.

There was significant coverage of all the events in both local and Spanish media.