Concert
Various soloists,
St Paul Choral Society;
Organ: Elisabeth Conrad/Orchestra leader: James Zammit;
Dir. Hugo Agius Muscat,
St John’s co-Cathedral

Celebrating St Cecilia’s Day on its eve, with music by Gounod in that most splendid of cathedrals packed for the occasion, would have been unthinkable without his Messe Solennelle de Ste Cécile.

It was the evening’s cherry on the cake but one had to wait for it at the end of this veritable ‘Gounodfest’, and such rare one too.

Gounod’s music is high Romantic at its best, which some cynics consider to be almost too sugary.

Yet it is music from a man whose musical roots are well grounded in classicism: sincere, deeply felt, profoundly religious and richly melodic.

An expected touch of triumphalism marked the rousing Marche Pontificale which opened the evening and which one barely hears locally, at least not much since the 1960s. This was followed by An Evening Service consisting of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, written in England and which was being premiered in Malta on this occasion. This service is straight-forward pleasant without being too flashy and performed by a well-prepared chorus to balanced organ accompaniment.

The Marche Religieuse which followed turned out to be a beautiful melodious piece similar in style and spirit to the Cappelle Nani and Bugeja presented so prolifically to Maltese congregations for the best part of the 19th century and later, and which still have ardent fans. The brass section here was a bit too powerful at times although quickly brought to heel.

Far more sober, devout and aptly penitential was mezzo-soprano Clare Massa’s interpretation of Repentir (O Divine Redeemer) and the famous Ave Maria in which the latter’s top reaches were far more comfortably sung. Everybody loves this Ave Maria and the long, warm response to its delivery proved it beyond doubt. These two pieces were followed by Judex, from the oratorio Mors et Vita, which is another lush, beautiful orchestral piece and is so popular that it is often performed separately.

Gounod’s music is high Romantic at its best, which some cynics consider to be almost too sugary

I cannot deny that the St Cecilia Mass is one of my many favourites. It featured three seasoned soloists: soprano Rosabelle Bianchi, tenor Charles Vincenti and bass Albert Buttigieg. It is difficult to pinpoint the best moments because there were too many, or one should say there could never be too many of them.

Buttigieg sailed through magnificently albeit one has to admit that relatively his role was not as strenuous as it could be for the soprano and tenor.

Bianchi combines very comely looks with a voice of great beauty and which only half-failed her in that highest note in the intro to the Gloria which was uncertainly pitched. Otherwise she delivered well. So too did Vincenti, except that his diction – mainly here and there in the Sanctus – was at times unusually unclear.

The chorus fared well especially in the Kyrie, the fugal parts of the Gloria and in the Sanctus. It came across strongly in the declamatory unison sections of the Credo, but as individual sections the cues on the different Et expecto entries sounded a bit too frail.

There was an overall great attention to dynamics.

For this version of the Mass, it seems that it was decided to do away with the non-liturgical Prayers for the Church, for the Army and for the Nation. Their inclusion has become optional but I do remember them being sung in the early 1970s.

The concert was held in aid of the Richmond Foundation.