I am happy to see that one of the rooms at San Anton palace where musical soirées are usually held, has been named Sala Agatha Barbara, after the first female president of Malta. The former president well deserves this dedication. She may have been unsophisticated and 'rustic' but she certainly worked hard. I remember a small group of us going to see her as soon as she was appointed minister of education all those years ago. We wanted something to be done about the then ridiculous censorship of books, magazines, newspapers and films which plagued us at the time. She assured us that something would be done about it. And indeed she acted immediately and matters improved rapidly. Like our present president she was out to do good. She was a social worker and activist at heart.
The last musical soirée I attended a couple of weeks ago featured the Bulgarian soprano Andriana Yordanova, mezzo soprano Christine Dalli, harpist Lydia Buttigieg and the Ukrainian pianist Irina Fedčenko-Carbonaro. Those of us who love music are familiar with all those names and have enjoyed their performances before.
I was unfamiliar with some of the pieces sung. Vivaldi may have written some 50 operas including one Bajazet but I am not familiar with any of them. However, I enjoyed Andriana's interpretation of Sposa son disprezzata from Bajazet. Vivaldi was responsible for what many people reckon is the most recorded piece of classical music of all time: the Four Seasons.
More familiar was the aria from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, Poveri fiori and Ebben, n'andro lontana from the opera La Wally but most familiar of all Andriana, who has been living , teaching and performing in Malta since 2002, sang Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca. This is one of Puccini's several popular and much loved arias which include Che Gelida Manina, O Mio Babbino Caro, Un Bel Di and The Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly. And I must not forget Nessun Dorma, sung to death but still much loved. Like Verdi, Puccini is still top of the pops of the Italian opera composers' league.
I was struck by Christine Dalli's beautiful mezzo soprano voice when I first heard her sing at a Flimkien ghal Ambjant Ahjar concert at Villa Bologna.
Christine told me that singing has always been her passion. She tries to practice everyday whenever she gets some free time as she has a full-time job and specializes in regulatory compliance. The day job, as she told me, helps her to pay her bills and her singing lessons. "Singing is a journey for life, learning experiences are built constantly and whilst we need to dream big to achieve the success we would like to have at the same time we have to remain realistic," she told me.
Apart from receiving local tuition and performing here Christine attends master classes and short courses abroad whenever possible. She says she learns something from every lesson and each experience.
The support of her fiancé is essential. To relax they go for long walks in the north of Malta where they reconnect with nature. Then back home to work on some new aria to add to her repertoire.
That evening Christine gave us several arias the first from a fairly unknown opera Handel's Alcina. This is the composer whose father wasn't keen on his son becoming a musician and the only way the young composer could practice was by playing on a clavichord hidden in the attic of his home. Her second aria was from Carmen - En vain pour éviter. Some of classical music's best and most famous music can be found in opera and Bizet's Carmen like La Traviata has beautiful tuneful music throughout. No wonder both are among the top 10 favourite operas.
Sergei Rachmaninoff, was another musical giant and something of a physical one too. He stood over six feet tall ( he was once dubbed a 'six foot scowl' as he rarely smiled) and had enormous hands - very useful for performing his own compositions. Not only was he a gifted composer but in his day a fine conductor and magnificent pianist. How's that for gifts? His much loved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini would have flattered Paganini no end had he been alive. That evening Christine sang one of Rachmaninoff's songs In the Silence of the Secret Night, most movingly. Another aria was from Ponchielli's La Gioconda - Voce di Donna.
Dr Lydia Buttigieg has achieved much since I first heard her play some 20 years ago.
At present she lectures at the Malta School of Music but also spends time preparing and studying harp and piano music for concerts and other special events. She practices some three to four hours in the morning, especially when a concert is approaching. "Constant practice on the instrument is vital for any musician," she tells me.
Apart from music which takes up most of her day she loves travelling overland with her partner, exploring new countries. "We find going overland around Europe and spending around two weeks travelling by car and also hitchhiking relaxing."
Lydia also enjoys research and has been exploring 20th century Maltese music literature. Her Ph.D. thesis was about the life and works of Mro Carmelo Pace. She is at present researching the beginnings of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and working on a research paper about the Johann Strauss School of Music. She admits that she is a foodie and apart from Maltese food loves Indian dishes.
That evening she played for the first time in Malta, M. Mifsud's Serendipity on the harp. I particularly loved Hasselman's Sérénade Mélancolique from Feuilles D'Automne. I was sitting next to Lydia's father who introduced himself. He agreed that he was very proud of his Lydia. Later on at the reception which always takes place at the end of these recitals, I also met Christine Dalli's father who reminded me that we had met before and is another admiring father who gives Christine his full support.
Just a few words about the pianist who accompanied the singers. Irina is a pianist in her own right and regularly performs in private and public concerts both as a soloist and accompanist. She teaches piano and forms part of the Malta School of Music team of specialized music educators.
Mrs Dolores Cristina who was acting for the President, said a few words of appreciation and presented each musician with a token of the evening.
These evenings have an intrinsic charm. One cannot help thinking, surrounded as we are with nothing but beauty, what went on in these rooms in days gone by. If walls could talk, they would have much to relate. Every stone of this palace is evocative. Thank goodness San Anton palace has not been desecrated by philistines, on the contrary it is well looked after and has survived since the 17th Century when the French Grand Master, Antoine de Paule built it. It is a treasure and I am sure he would have been pleased to see that one of the many rooms is being kept alive with music and giving so many of us so much pleasure.
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