Fondazzjoni Paulus is once again organising the Rabat Agape Festival, an annual historical and cultural celebration in some of Malta's most sacred and historic venues. This festival serves to revive Malta's Pauline heritage in the weeks associated with the feasts of the Conversion and Shipwreck of Saint Paul.
This year's grand concert is scheduled for Friday, January 31, at St Paul's Collegiate church in Rabat. Starting at 7.30pm, this concert will again showcase the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Muscat, the musical director of Fondazzjoni Paulus.
Through this festival and concert, Fondazzjoni Paulus aims to support the work of various composers and provide the general public with an opportunity to enjoy such formidable musical compositions. This year's concert will feature the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Maurice Ravel, John Rutter, Joseph Vella, Agostino Nani and Christopher Muscat.
A special highlight is the soundtrack from the film Paul Apostle of Christ, by Slovak composer Filip Oleyka. In addition, the concert will also feature Agostino Nani's Sinfonia in Do, Christopher Muscat's Extase, John Rutter's Five Meditations for Orchestra and Joseph Vella's Sarabande. The Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Maurice Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte complete this one-hour long concert.
For the first time, a number of audio-visual features will accompany each musical work. These features have been produced by Fondazzjoni Paulus and seek to highlight different themes related to various cultural, spiritual and environmental matters. This annual concert will be held in cooperation with the collegiate chapter of St Paul's church in Rabat.
Apart from this concert, the Rabat Agape Festival includes a number of guided tours around St Paul's church and grotto and the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat. This museum is also the venue for an art exhibition that is being organised in collaboration with the Pastel Society of Malta. This will be inaugurated on Saturday, February 8 at 6pm.
Another two activities are a public lecture by Mark Gatt, author of Pavlvs - the Shipwreck 60 AD, and a talk about the qualities of Maltese honey. The first lecture is scheduled for Saturday, February 8 at 7.15pm at St Publius church in Rabat while the second one is on Sunday, February 16 at 11am at the Wignacourt Museum.
Fondazzjoni Paulus thanks Bank of Valletta, Corinthia, Abertax, Malta School of Flying, Malta Wings, Wignacourt Museum, Rabat local council, Golden Island, the Janatha Stubbs Foundation, the Good Causes Fund and Daylight ironmongery in Qormi for their support.
The general public is encouraged to follow the Fondazzjoni Paulus Facebook page and website (www.fondazzjonipaulus.org) for more information about the Rabat Agape Festival. Entrance to all festival events is free.