On the day of the feast of St Ursula, the St Paul’s Chamber Ensemble premiered a fully-fledged sacred choral work by maestro Mark Agius during a solemn Mass held at the church of the Monastery of the Gerosolimitan Cloistered Nuns of St Ursula in Valletta.

The work was composed for soloists, soprano, alto, tenor, bass and a chamber orchestra which consisted of strings, woodwinds, French horn and organ. The choir was under the direction of Agius himself, who is also maestro di capella of the church of St Ursula.

Agius composed the Missa Solemnis Sancti Martiri (2016), including an Antifon to St Ursula, scored to a poem penned by Gemma Dingli for the occasion. The soloists who mastered and executed their individual parts with utmost competence were well-accomplished artists who need no introduction to our local scene, namely Anita Vella Bondin and Karen Gatt Darmenia (sopranos), Arthur Micallef (tenor), May Caruana (contralto), Ivan Vella (baritone) and James Vella Bondin (bass).

I had the privilege to be part of the premiere of this work, which lasted just over 60 minutes, by accompanying the chamber and vocal ensemble on the organ. The overall harmonic organisation of the work is reminiscent of the 16th-century Roman school representative stile antico, displaying intricate and complex polyphonic textures, supported by chordal passages by both the orchestra and organ.

The overall harmonic organisation of the work is reminiscent of the 16th-century Roman school representative stile antico

Agius’s style of composition has led him to employ interchanging unrelated modulations between the sections, producing elaborate and lyrical melodic contours between the vocal parts. The work also employs 16th- and 17th-century imitative counterpoint, doubling of voices between the sopranos and tenor, and also incorporates dissonant higher diatonic chords which led the whole composition to a whole dimensional sphere of sounds and textures.

The sacred work, set to the traditional Latin text, contained four main movements: Kyrie (Andnate e solenne), Gloria (Andante maestoso), Sanctus et Benedictus (Adagio con devozione) and Agnus Dei (Adagio con devozione).

At the end of the Mass, Agius presented the scores of the Mass and Antifon to Madre Agnes, Prioress of the Gerosoli-mitan Cloistered Nuns of St Ursula, who thanked all those who made this wonderful and prestigious occasion possible.

The St Paul’s Chamber Ensemble will be performing during two Christmas concerts on December 13 and 17 to be held at Paola parish church and Balzan parish church respectively.

The ensemble is also embarking on a major performance dedicated to the works by Joseph Sammut, a prominent conductor and composer who led the then National Orchestra of Malta for nearly 25 years.

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