Cappella Sanctae Catharinae, Malta’s only male choir, this evening will be performing with sopranos Emma Kirkby and Gillian Zammit for the newly-created Valletta Baroque Festival Ensemble at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral at 8pm.

The choir’s repertoire focuses mostly on Renaissance and early baroque polyphony

Cappella Sanctae Catharinae was formed in 2009 as a chamber choir specialising in Renaissance polyphony. The choir started off as a performance project tied to the concert series held regularly at the Church of St Catherine of Italy in Valletta.

Following positive critical acclaim, the original members decided to make the choir a permanent group and, over the past few years, it has established itself on the Maltese cultural scene.

The choir’s repertoire focuses mostly on Renaiss-ance and early baroque polyphony, especially the works of Palestrina, Victoria and Viadana. They have performed in various churches across Malta, including the Carmelite church in Mdina and the parish church of St Catherine in Żejtun.

The choir collaborated with Gotterfunken, a German male choir based in Berlin, as well as with the School of Practical Philosophy and Din l-Art Ħelwa.

The choir will also be performing as part of the first Valletta International Baroque Festival on January 16, 2013.