Baritone Kevin Caruana, together with pianist Alex Vella Gregory, will be giving a recital in aid of BirdLife Malta at St James Cavalier tomorrow. Following the recent spate of vandal attacks on natural heritage sites, these two musicians will be joining forces to raise funds and awareness for BirdLife Malta, and to show their support for this worthy cause. The programme will include Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel and selections from Schumann’s Dichterliebe.

Schumann’s Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) is a setting of poems by Heinrich Heine. In it, the poet compares and contrasts his love to the beauty of nature around him. Schumann wrote this cycle in 1840, at a time when his marriage with Clara was finally becoming stable, and this song cycle reflects the deep emotions Schumann felt for his wife. By contrast, Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, a setting of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a celebration of nature as seen through the eyes of a traveller. Written in 1904, it is a wonderful musical journey in which the poet finds no home but in nature.

As the oldest environmental organisation in Malta, BirdLife Malta strives to conserve birds and their habitats through conservation, education and scientific research. BirdLife’s role was crucial in the successful creation of the Ghadira and Is-Simar nature reserves. These achievements permitted BirdLife Malta to undertake the ambitious afforestation project, FORESTA 2000, together with its partners Din L-Art Helwa and the PARC Department. Thousands more trees and shrubs will be planted over the next years in what will become Malta’s largest woodland. Unfortunately last May, a group of vandals attacked the site destroying three years’ work and 3,000 trees. Proceeds from the concert will be directed towards this project.

The concert starts at 8pm. Donations at the door. More information can be obtained by phoning St James Cavalier on tel.: 2122-3200 or by sending an email to: [email protected].