Holy week - Pondering the passion
Noemi Zarb spotlights Meditation, the festival of sacred arts at St Catherine of Italy church and St James Cavalier
The coming of spring is deeply bound with the inexpressible profundity of Christ's death and resurrection - for Christians at least. It's a time when we are encouraged to rein in on mundane reality to seek embryonic solitude, to tap our inner self and ponder on the spiritual in our life. There is also something elemental in the way the rite of spring offers balm for the spirit. It is after all meant to be a rebirth in all senses, though the rub remains in not knowing whether our consciousness dies with our physical death. Easter festivals - a fascinating mix of the sacred and the profane via diverse artistic expressions - are also a fixture on many a cultural calendar.
For the third year running, St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity is presenting an evocative programme. However, rather than following a Passiontide build-up as in former editions, this year's events kick off on Good Friday and run for the following 10 days. Coinciding with the Easter holidays, Meditation therefore makes it easier for families to enjoy it in a more relaxed way. Given that most of the events are taking place in the church heightens the sacred aura while enabling everyone present to revel in its splendid acoustics. Indeed the more you visit the St Catherine of Italy church, the more it hooks you even though the dilapidated interior is crying out to be restored.
What's more, this sacred arts festival shows a commitment to blend the traditional with the new with palpable energy. No gripe against the accent on music, which does not merely gap fill to cater for different tastes. It is all out to promote creativity with a conscious relevance to today's performers and audiences.
Meditation aptly begins with a howl of anguish and ends on a note of triumph, while a carefully selected choice of works punctuate the 10-day festival.
APRIL 6 (Good Friday)
St James Consort play Haydn's The Seven Last Words
St Catherine of Italy Church at noon (free event)
Haydn's sequence of seven sonatas crystallises the intense fluctuations of emotions that mark Christ's last tumultuous hours of life on earth. Anguish, anger, pain, disorientation, resignation, and radiance reverberate through the dotted and double-dotted rhythms creating stark melodic contrasts, in turn punctuated by pregnant silences. Furthermore, Haydn's originality deliberately exploits complex harmonies to invoke the mystery of Christ as Son of God and Son of Man.
This powerful work will no doubt be another feather in the cap of this nascent group of musicians whose combo of established and new talent is winning over audiences with their verve. Formed by the indefatigable Sarah Spiteri last October to launch the Meet the Composers Series, St James Consort is fast becoming a byword for the magic of Baroque music.
APRIL 7, 12
Dù Theatre Group stage Every Woman
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Specially commissioned for this year's festival, Every Woman harks back with a twist to mediaeval morality and miracle plays, in particular, texts from Everyman and The Chester Cycle together with excerpts from The Bible. This is not only a suitable thematic choice but also reminds us how drama in the west owes a great deal to the ritual of the Mass and Easter celebrations when it made a comeback following the degradation it had fallen into during the decadence of ancient Rome and the obscurity which followed for near 1,000 years.
Given the title of the play and the five-strong female cast made up of Kristjana Casha, Magda van Kuilenburg, Franica Pulis, Simone Spiteri and Victoria Vella, the perspective is consciously female. In fact, Every Woman promises an insight into womanhood as woman journeys through life. Watch out for the thought-provoking parallels between the trials and tribulations of woman and the Passion of Christ. The piece is accompanied by live music composed and performed by Michael Galea and Andrew Alamango as well as songs and voice work created by Tim Ellis.
APRIL 8 (Easter Sunday)
Amadeus Chamber Choir in Gloria!
St Catherine of Italy church at 11 a.m.
The Amadeus Chamber Choir has long gained a reputation for stirring performances. How does the Amadeus Chamber Choir feel about responding to public expectations? "It's something that we discuss over and over again," admits Brian Cefai, who founded the choir 17 years ago and is still its leading tenor.
"As Amadeus we try to give the public music they are accustomed to, however, having said that, our excitement starts when we present something new and unexpected," adds assistant director Michelle Castelletti who also performs as organist and soloist soprano. Easter marks one of the busiest times of the year for this team and in fact Gloria! follows back to back another a cappella concert at the Cospicua parish church yet with a totally different programme. Gloria! celebrates the resurrected Christ with a selection of appropriately themed works by Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi and Rossini.
APRIL 9
Intolerance
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Though 91 years have passed since D.W Griffith's silent movie Intolerance left audiences in awe, it has lost none of its power to disturb and is rightly hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time. Typically epic in scale but light years ahead in its cross-cutting montage, Intolerance brings together four dramatic and spectacular stories (Including Christ's Passion) of the darker side of mankind. Goaded on to counteract the racism portrayed in his preceding Birth of Nation, Griffith projects the evil of injustice, bigotry, hypocrisy, and religious persecution hounding different epochs and cultures. Kris Spiteri, on keyboard, evokes the screening of silent movies, yet this masterpiece offers more than an opportunity to discover one of cinema's gems.
20070331-lifestyle--hwperform.jpgAPRIL 11, 14
Sandra Mifsud and Renzo Spiteri in Dance Mediation
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Last year Mozart's Grabmusik got her going in The Sacred in the Contemporary, this year Sandra Mifsud swirls to Renzo Spiteri's manic percussion in yet another specially commissioned piece for Meditation.
The metaphysical still predominates as both performers grapple with the notion of rebirth as going beyond the limitations of time and space. Sandra confirms that Dance Mediation "explores" the oscillation between the state of consciousness and unconsciousness. "The conscious mind yearns to move away from a reality mapped out by its five senses and memories to one that is limited by nothing and encompassing everything. Using the elements of movement, sound, space and time the actors experiment with the achievement of this state of stillness and nothingness through an improvisational creative process."
APRIL 13
Spirituals featuring Deborah Harrison
The Music Room, St James Cavalier at 8 p.m.
Accompanied by some of Malta's finest jazz musicians, Lino Cauchi on piano, Ronny Caruana on bass and Joe Micallef on drums, American singer Deborah Harrison brings together her love for classical music, jazz and improvisation in a kaleidoscope of soulful spirituals and lively gospels.
APRIL 15
The New Choral Singers in Exultate
at 11 a.m. Tatjana and Natasha Chircop play Biber's Mystery Sonatas
at 8 p.m. St Catherine of Italy church
The curtain falls on Meditation with a morning and evening performance. Directed by Robert Calleja, this newly formed choir rings out the joy of Easter through a mix of traditional and contemporary tunes that also include Maltese compositions. We are confronted once again with the mystery of Christ's resurrection when the sisters, perform this 17th century devotional work.
• Bookings for all events may be made by phone on 2122 3200 or by e-mail: boxoffice@sjcav.org.
For the third year running, St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity is presenting an evocative programme. However, rather than following a Passiontide build-up as in former editions, this year's events kick off on Good Friday and run for the following 10 days. Coinciding with the Easter holidays, Meditation therefore makes it easier for families to enjoy it in a more relaxed way. Given that most of the events are taking place in the church heightens the sacred aura while enabling everyone present to revel in its splendid acoustics. Indeed the more you visit the St Catherine of Italy church, the more it hooks you even though the dilapidated interior is crying out to be restored.
What's more, this sacred arts festival shows a commitment to blend the traditional with the new with palpable energy. No gripe against the accent on music, which does not merely gap fill to cater for different tastes. It is all out to promote creativity with a conscious relevance to today's performers and audiences.
Meditation aptly begins with a howl of anguish and ends on a note of triumph, while a carefully selected choice of works punctuate the 10-day festival.
APRIL 6 (Good Friday)
St James Consort play Haydn's The Seven Last Words
St Catherine of Italy Church at noon (free event)
Haydn's sequence of seven sonatas crystallises the intense fluctuations of emotions that mark Christ's last tumultuous hours of life on earth. Anguish, anger, pain, disorientation, resignation, and radiance reverberate through the dotted and double-dotted rhythms creating stark melodic contrasts, in turn punctuated by pregnant silences. Furthermore, Haydn's originality deliberately exploits complex harmonies to invoke the mystery of Christ as Son of God and Son of Man.
This powerful work will no doubt be another feather in the cap of this nascent group of musicians whose combo of established and new talent is winning over audiences with their verve. Formed by the indefatigable Sarah Spiteri last October to launch the Meet the Composers Series, St James Consort is fast becoming a byword for the magic of Baroque music.
APRIL 7, 12
Dù Theatre Group stage Every Woman
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Specially commissioned for this year's festival, Every Woman harks back with a twist to mediaeval morality and miracle plays, in particular, texts from Everyman and The Chester Cycle together with excerpts from The Bible. This is not only a suitable thematic choice but also reminds us how drama in the west owes a great deal to the ritual of the Mass and Easter celebrations when it made a comeback following the degradation it had fallen into during the decadence of ancient Rome and the obscurity which followed for near 1,000 years.
Given the title of the play and the five-strong female cast made up of Kristjana Casha, Magda van Kuilenburg, Franica Pulis, Simone Spiteri and Victoria Vella, the perspective is consciously female. In fact, Every Woman promises an insight into womanhood as woman journeys through life. Watch out for the thought-provoking parallels between the trials and tribulations of woman and the Passion of Christ. The piece is accompanied by live music composed and performed by Michael Galea and Andrew Alamango as well as songs and voice work created by Tim Ellis.
APRIL 8 (Easter Sunday)
Amadeus Chamber Choir in Gloria!
St Catherine of Italy church at 11 a.m.
The Amadeus Chamber Choir has long gained a reputation for stirring performances. How does the Amadeus Chamber Choir feel about responding to public expectations? "It's something that we discuss over and over again," admits Brian Cefai, who founded the choir 17 years ago and is still its leading tenor.
"As Amadeus we try to give the public music they are accustomed to, however, having said that, our excitement starts when we present something new and unexpected," adds assistant director Michelle Castelletti who also performs as organist and soloist soprano. Easter marks one of the busiest times of the year for this team and in fact Gloria! follows back to back another a cappella concert at the Cospicua parish church yet with a totally different programme. Gloria! celebrates the resurrected Christ with a selection of appropriately themed works by Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi and Rossini.
APRIL 9
Intolerance
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Though 91 years have passed since D.W Griffith's silent movie Intolerance left audiences in awe, it has lost none of its power to disturb and is rightly hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time. Typically epic in scale but light years ahead in its cross-cutting montage, Intolerance brings together four dramatic and spectacular stories (Including Christ's Passion) of the darker side of mankind. Goaded on to counteract the racism portrayed in his preceding Birth of Nation, Griffith projects the evil of injustice, bigotry, hypocrisy, and religious persecution hounding different epochs and cultures. Kris Spiteri, on keyboard, evokes the screening of silent movies, yet this masterpiece offers more than an opportunity to discover one of cinema's gems.
20070331-lifestyle--hwperform.jpgAPRIL 11, 14
Sandra Mifsud and Renzo Spiteri in Dance Mediation
St Catherine of Italy church at 8 p.m.
Last year Mozart's Grabmusik got her going in The Sacred in the Contemporary, this year Sandra Mifsud swirls to Renzo Spiteri's manic percussion in yet another specially commissioned piece for Meditation.
The metaphysical still predominates as both performers grapple with the notion of rebirth as going beyond the limitations of time and space. Sandra confirms that Dance Mediation "explores" the oscillation between the state of consciousness and unconsciousness. "The conscious mind yearns to move away from a reality mapped out by its five senses and memories to one that is limited by nothing and encompassing everything. Using the elements of movement, sound, space and time the actors experiment with the achievement of this state of stillness and nothingness through an improvisational creative process."
APRIL 13
Spirituals featuring Deborah Harrison
The Music Room, St James Cavalier at 8 p.m.
Accompanied by some of Malta's finest jazz musicians, Lino Cauchi on piano, Ronny Caruana on bass and Joe Micallef on drums, American singer Deborah Harrison brings together her love for classical music, jazz and improvisation in a kaleidoscope of soulful spirituals and lively gospels.
APRIL 15
The New Choral Singers in Exultate
at 11 a.m. Tatjana and Natasha Chircop play Biber's Mystery Sonatas
at 8 p.m. St Catherine of Italy church
The curtain falls on Meditation with a morning and evening performance. Directed by Robert Calleja, this newly formed choir rings out the joy of Easter through a mix of traditional and contemporary tunes that also include Maltese compositions. We are confronted once again with the mystery of Christ's resurrection when the sisters, perform this 17th century devotional work.
• Bookings for all events may be made by phone on 2122 3200 or by e-mail: boxoffice@sjcav.org.