On Friday, 3 May, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra presented another concert from its Community Outreach Programme series. Performed to a fully packed Gozo Cathedral, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Joseph Debrincat and presented a much-appreciated programme of semi-sacred music. The purpose of this concert was to try to attract people from the community to attend more orchestral concerts. As a matter of fact this concert included not less than eight compositions by various composers including Agnus Dei (Intermezzo) from L’Arlesienne by George Bizet (arr. J. Debrincat), Meditation from Lux Christi op. 29 by Edward Elgar, Dolce Sentire from Fratello Sole Sorella Luna by Riz Ortolani (arr. J. Debrincat), Sanctuary of the Heart by Albert William Ketelby, Meditation from Thais by Jules Massenet, Music for a White Dove op. 115 by Gozitan composer Joseph Vella, The Prayer from Suite No. 4 in G Mozartiana op. 61 by Pyotr Illich Tchaikovsky and Suite from Ben Hur ( A Tale of Christ ) by Miklos Rozsa (arr. J. Debrincat).

The concert opened with the Agnus Dei. Bizet had only made one suite out of his L’Arlesienne music and his close friend, Ernest Guirard had extracted the Intermezzo movement and added the Latin sacred text of the Agnus Dei to it. The piece starts with a majestic introduction (Allegro moderato ma con moto) where the theme is presented by the whole orchestral forces in octaves. This leads on to an Allegretto moderato in which the theme (usually sung to the words Agnus Dei) passes from one instrument to another until it reaches a climax with a recapitulation of the introduction. One could note here some good phrasing from the horn and trumpet. Two bars of heavy chords bring this piece to an end.

Sanctuary of the Heart was by far my favourite piece performed. Built to an ABA form, the first theme (A) – a very lyrical and passionate one (typical of Ketelbey) – is presented by oboe, violins and bassoons.  In the B section the tempo changes from Andante sostenuto to Poco Piu’ mosso where a new theme is presented by the first violins (on the fourth string), violas and cellos against the accompaniment of triplets on the second violins and off-beat pizzicato on the basses.  This brings us back to a recapitulation of the A section where this time the theme is presented twice; first by the cellos against the accompaniment of the harp and bowed tremolos on the violins and then by the tutti against a counter melody presented by the horns and cellos. This piece was brought to an end with a jubilant short coda. The performance given by the orchestra and the interpretation given by Debrincat had the right dose and this was much appreciated by the audience that gave a well-deserved applause at the end of the piece.

The next piece on the evening’s programme was the famous and magical Meditation from Massenet’s opera Thais. The piece opens with a two-bar introduction on the strings and arpeggios on the harp until the solo violin (orchestra leader Marcelline Agius) entered quickly with the motif. The piece gradually became to sound more passionate especially with the soft playing by the strings and with the accompaniment of the harp. The climax in this piece was well reached and then it was followed by a short cadenza by the soloist and the main theme returns. The piece ended with a beautiful soft ending with well-played dynamics. Indeed, the soloist gave a very expressive performance, showing outstanding technique, virtuosity and interpretation.

Overall, the whole orchestra, admirably conducted by Joseph Debrincat, delivered an outstanding and impressive performance. The orchestra was able to recreate, through their instruments, all the pieces in a beautiful and elaborate way. The audience was quite captivated throughout the entire performance. I was glad that I was able to attend this concert as it was surely a memorable experience.