The Laudate Pueri Choir of St George’s Basilica, Victoria, has been invited to sing during the Epiphany Mass presided over by Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican – a first for a Maltese choir.
The Gozo choir will be singing with the legendary Sistine Chapel Choir during the solemn Mass on January 6, after having been invited by Mgr Massimo Palombella, the director of the Sistine Chapel Choir.
In the past, the Sistine Chapel Choir has invited world-class choirs such as the Westminster Abbey Choir and the Westminster Cathedral Choir.
The invitation goes beyond our wildest imaginings
The selected piece for the occasion is Pierluigi da Palestrina’s Surge illuminare Jerusalem. During its stay in Rome, the choir will be performing a recital of sacred, a cappella excerpts, ranging from renaissance to contemporary pieces, at the Pontifical Parish of St Anne in the Vatican on January 4.
The Laudate Pueri Choir will be under the direction of Rev. George Joseph Frendo.
It consists of around 45 to 50 members, from those still in secondary education to young professionals. All hail from Gozo, with the majority being members of the St George’s parish.
What does the invitation mean for the Gozitan choir?
“I think it would be safe to say that for a parish choir, with very humble yet respected origins, this invitation goes beyond our wildest imaginings,” the leader of the choir, Maria Frendo, told Times of Malta.
“In fact, when the choir’s founder, Mgr Joseph Farrugia, came up with the idea of forming a children’s choir [as it was originally] way back in the 1970s, I remember thinking to myself that bringing together some 100 kids to sing is ever so slightly mad.
“Looking back, I do now know that it takes a ‘mad’ idea to get sober and sobering results, and this is one of them.”
The secret to a good performance, Dr Frendo continues, is making it sound and look easy. All artistes agree that this happens with hard work and by approaching a work intelligently, coupled with a healthy dose of talent.
“If I were to identify one huge challenge that we face, it would have to be getting all the people under the same roof at the same time. We make it work in the best ways available to us, and there are quite a few of those. After all, like other organisations on the islands, this is a choir made up of volunteers yielding professional results and we always try to be profoundly grateful for and appreciative of this.”
Over the past four decades, the choir has delivered several outstanding performances, including during the canonisation of St Ġorġ Preca at the Vatican, in the Lincoln Centre at the United Nations Headquarters, at Westminster Cathedral in London and at the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur in Paris.
The choir has also been instrumental in introducing the Maltese baroque musical heritage, not only to the islands but also abroad. In fact, it has recorded no fewer than five CDs of Maltese baroque music, edited by Joseph Vella, Malta’s leading contemporary composer.
“I must say that, while I am very proud of and equally humbled by the choir’s achievements, one of the most important appointments for me is the Sunday 11am Mass at St George’s.”