When New York philanthropist Christopher Hyland approached Mro Joseph Vella and commissioned him to write a Mass with an underlying theme of universal peace, the result was one of the composer’s latest works, namely A Prayer for Unity in Diversity, subtitled The Hyland Mass.
The work was given its world premiere during the final concert of the Victoria International Arts Festival at St George’s Basilica, Gozo.
Vella’s new approach to the setting of the Mass lies in amalgamating the sections of the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei) with non-liturgical, semi-religious texts that lead the music in a natural way into the aura of the subsequent Latin text. To further highlight the universal theme of the piece, these five texts use five different languages – English (Donne), Maltese (The Old Testament), German (Neimayer), French (Lamartine) and Italian (Dante).
The work is scored for soprano (Gillian Zammit), alto (Clare Massa), tenor (Cliff Zammit Stevens), bass (Nicholas Warden), boy soprano (Nathan Schembri Rodgers), mixed choir and orchestra. It is composed to be played from beginning to end without stopping, and to further highlight the symphonic aspect of the piece, Vella introduces the music with an orchestral entr’acte.
The Hyland Mass will now receive a repeat performance at the Manoel Theatre, when Mro Vella himself will be conducting the soloists, together with the Laudate Pueri Choir (leader George Frendo) and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (leader Marcelline Agius).
The concert will be played for a mostly invited audience, consisting mainly of members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, who will be here for the occasion. The remaining seats are on sale from the Manoel Theatre.
The concert will come to an end with another Vella work celebrating universal peace, namely A Fanfare and an Anthem (words by Lisa Zeiger).
Plans are already being made to have the Mass played in the US, Italy and Germany.
The Hyland Mass will be performed on Friday at 8pm at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta.
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