Gozo's Gaulitanus Choir has just returned from its 23rd artistic choral venture abroad, a concert tour in Rome.
The concert tour ensued from an ongoing Gaulitana: A Festival of Music artistic collaboration, and followed an invitation by the Associazione Fondazione Euro Mediterraneo and its artistic director, Enrico Castiglione, who for several years has been responsible for the production, scenery and costumes for the Gaulitana's annual operatic production.
Indeed, the main artistic event was participation in the 24th edition of the Festival Euro Mediterraneo through a secular openair concert at the wonderful Parco di Appia Antica on 8 June. Titled Sole e Amore ... da Malta all'Italia!, the concert aptly began with Joseph Vella's Innu lil Għawdex, presented for the first time in a four-voice arrangement based on Vella's latest revision of the hymn, arranged by Colin Attard, followed by Giacomo Puccini's lively Inno a Roma.
The first part of the concert was a Puccini celebration. The choir's soloists, sopranos Stephanie Portelli, Georgina Gauci, Antonella Portelli, Patricia Borg and mezzo-soprano Claire Massa gave a rendition of a number of chamber arias. Violinist Pierre Louis Attard then interpreted Madama Butterfly - Fantasia for Violin as arranged by Alberto Bachmann, and the Gaulitanus Choir concluding the slot with La Bohème - Choral Snippets as compiled by Attard.
The second part of the concert was then completely devoted to Maltese music - very much underlining Maltese traditions, lifestyles, ambience and identity. Violinist Pierre Louis interpreted Stephen Attard's suite Xejriet and the choir performed Carmelo Pace's Is-Sajf (for female voices only), Lapsi and L-Imnarja, Charles Camilleri's L-Għanja tas-Sajf, as well as Attard's arrangements for a cappella mixed choir of Giuseppe Caruana's Innu ta' fil-għodu and Innu ta' fil-għaxija.
The final part of the concert was then a very typical Italian one. Indeed, Napolitana! - an extended medley of some of the best-loved Neapolitan songs as arranged by Colin and Stephen Attard - brought together all the vocal soloists, violinist Attard and the Gaulitanus Choir for a rather climactic ending. The concert was attended by Maltese Embassy official, Maria Buttigieg, as well at the FEM's artistic director, Enrico Castiglione.
This major artistic commitment was then complemented by various other artistic events. The choir was invited to attend the exclusive Papal Audience which Pope Franics was holding for the many choirs participating in the IV International Meeting of Choirs in the Vatican. In the joyous and uplifting atmosphere prevailing at the Sala Nervi, the choir joined the thousands of choristers hailing from all across the world in the singing of popular religious hymns before the arrival of His Holiness. After the Pope's address, several Gaulitanus members had the opportunity to line up very close to the aisle from where the Pope was passing and nine-month-old Oliver Borg (the son of a chorister) was handed over for a special blessing from the Pope. The cherry on the cake then arrived when the organisers of the IMCV2024 asked the choir's director, Colin Attard, to give a comment and the choir to perform a Maltese number - with Attard's arrangement of Giuseppe Caruana's Marian hymn Fil-Ħlewwa ta' Mejju being very much acclaimed.
The following day, right after the Pope's Angelus, the choir animated the extremely well-attended holy mass at St Peter's Basilica along with the resident Cappella Giulia directed by Mro Avolio. Later in the afternoon the choir animated another holy mass, this time at the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, the Pope's seat. The mass was attended by the Maltese Ambassador to Italy Carmel Vassallo and Mrs Vassallo. Among the various numbers performed during both masses, pride of place was taken by Maltese excerpts, namely Caruana's hymns and Attard's O Salutaris Hostia.
Truly, and as always, in line with its ambassadorial role, the Gaulitanus Choir presented quite a lot of Maltese music, also in the Maltese language.
Throughout this Rome concert tour the choir was led and conducted by its founder and musical director as well as Gaulitana: A Festival of Music artistic director, Mro Attard, who also accompanied the choir and the soloists during the FEM concert.
Artistic commitments apart, the concert tour was another very enriching cultural experience, with the group also having the possibility to visit Viterbo, Bolsena and the lake, Orvieto, and of course to explore several of the infinite charms found at the Città Eterna and its peripheries.
The Rome tour followed the choir's highly successful concert tour of Poland last December, Mro Attard's chairing of the adjudicating board at the 13th edition of the Concorso Internazionale Città di Massa, Italy and Attard's conducting the Ion Dimitrescu Philharmonic in a symphonic concert in Ramnicu Valcea, Romania, also with the participation of the Gaulitana Festival's coordinator Attard as solo violinist.