As the Valletta International Baroque Festival kicked off with a spectacular start this week, artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona gives us a taste of what’s to come.

After months of preparation, the Valletta International Baroque Festival is upon us and our capital will resound to the wonderful musical creations of Bach, Vivaldi and Handel until January 26.

Composers whose names burn brightly in the baroque firmament, like comets in a galaxy of twinkling stars. These music giants dominated a world which was called the Age of Elegance – an age during which the so-called ‘enlightened despots’, like Catherine the Great and Frederick the Great ruled.

They read the works of the encyclopaedists and idolised Voltaire while he was exiled from France by Louis XV.

This was an age when Frederick, in his jewel-like palace of Sans Souci, held concerts. An accomplished flautist, he actually took part in these performances.

In connivance with one of Bach’s sons, he set the thema regium with which old Bach – who was at the time considered, quite wrongly, to be terribly old-fashioned – created the fabled The Musical Offering which still astounds the listener with its innovativeness, stateliness and grandeur.

In Malta, always a microcosm of Europe, we can safely say that of the grandmasters of the 18th century, the two Portuguese – Manoel de Vilhena and Pinto de Fonseca – definitely qualify as enlightened despots and patrons of the arts. Crescent moons, winged hands holding swords and rampant lions are heraldic evidence all over Valletta that these princes availed themselves of the politics of art to create a lasting memorial to themselves and the Order that they epitomised.

The greatest monument to this glorious period is undoubtedly the Manoel Theatre, which although extensively remodelled since its inauguration in 1732, still retains that inimitable 18th-century courtly feel.

The Manoel, as it is affectionately referred to, embodies the spirit of an age where the Michael Jacksons of the day, the Farinelli brothers – castrato and composer – caused people to swoon with the sheer audacity of their high Fs.

It was, of course, with V18 looming on the horizon, a mere matter of time before the realisation that we would be missing out on an opportunity, that caused the Valletta International Baroque Festival to materialise. To do that, we had to persuade the authorities that not only was it viable but also sustainable.

I am delighted and grateful it was not hard to persuade them to share my vision and that I have had unstinting support all the way from the ministries and entities concerned, not to mention private sponsors who have seen the efficacity and the business opportunities a festival like this can generate.

January is what is usually referred to as a shoulder month, where tourism needs to be boosted and where the post-festivity blues need to be blown away with a splendid event that celebrates our capital city as never before. This festival brings with it top local and international ensembles and orchestras, many specially flown over, who will be performing in a variety of locations in Valletta, from the Manoel Theatre, to the Jesuits church, All Souls church, the President’s Palace and St John’s Co-Cathedral.

The star concert, on Thursday, will take place at the Co-Cathedral, featuring two of the greatest baroque works, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Bach’s Magnificat.

These will be performed by the fabled and world-famous Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and filmed by Mezzo television station for posterity.

There is a host of other wonderful performances. The exquisite Bach opera Zanaida, produced by Paris-based Opera Fuoco; Handel’s ballet Terpsichore, produced by Versailles habitués Les Talens Lyriques under the baton of the renowned Christophe Rousset and others.

Our own Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Michael Laus and with the participation of violinist Carmine Lauri, will be performing the entire Quattro Stagioni, while The King’s Consort and Combattimento Ensemble will be putting on top Handel and Bach programmes.

New Century Baroque is an ensemble set up from one of the European Baroque Orchestra years in which our own Nadia Debono takes part regularly, while connections with contemporary Maltese composer Ruben Zahra created a lovely programme from Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, in which a number of works by Maltese composers will be performed.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg. Moliere’s Don Juan in Maltese, with English subtitles, and a pyrotechnical recital by countertenor David Hansen with the national orchestra, and other smaller recitals by chamber ensembles, will be taking place, crowned with an all-Bach organ recital by Wayne Marshall next Sunday at 3pm at St John’s Co-Cathedral.

A pensioner may listen to the King’s Consort perform for as little as €5. Of course, this festival would not have been possible without the help and co-operation of a tiny but enthusiastic workforce based at the Manoel Theatre itself. This team has pledged itself to finance this gift to Maltese culture, established by the government for the “honest recreation of the people” as decreed by grandmaster Vilhena.

The spinoffs from the festival are endless. Already, we have established the Valletta International Baroque Festival Ensemble, which performed with honours at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral last month, with celebrated soprano Emma Kirkby.

Throughout the coming year, the ensemble can perform anywhere in Malta or abroad under the festival’s name. I am extremely proud of this ensemble, made up as it is of Maltese and foreign musicians on an equal basis.

May this festival serve to show Europe and the world that, in as far as Capital of Culture is concerned, we Maltese mean business.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.