These secrets were musical, baroque ones to be exact. They were revealed to music lovers in ideal surroundings, during a vocal and instrumental concert by the ensemble Les Bougies Baroques at the Mdina Cathedral Museum presented by the Manoel Theatre and the Sliema Lions Club Arts Committee.
Ian Peter Bugeja directed the eight-strong ensemble from the harpsichord, doing so with his usual zest, energy and infectious commitment, heading an ensemble of musicians who came from the UK, France and singers from Malta, Canada and Turkey.
All were united in their passion for music, for the baroque in particular, while singing in the international music of language, Italian. A more authentic touch was added when the singers wore a varied number of beautiful period costumes from the Manoel Theatre’s wardrobe.
The concert was mainly punctuated with a number of well executed instrumental pieces, such as the overture to Porpora’s L’Agrippina, the brief but zestful Concerto in G alla Rustica by Vivaldi, Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in B flat (with soloists Annika Gray, Katherine Evans and Lucille Perrin).
Earlier on, there was a suite from Purcell’s Abdelezer, with its last movement, the song Belinda is Bewitching Fair, sung by soprano Jenavieve Moore.
Perhaps the instrumental element could have been culled, because in the end, the concert was a bit too long. Maybe it felt more so as the singing is in a very repetitive style (da capo), requiring a lot of concentration on the part of the listener. The words may be mainly the same, but the vocal technique involved is subtle and not at all static.
A pair of duets, the same of trios and pairs of solos for each of the singers added to the overall duration of the concert. These were so well sung, especially by the ladies, that it would have been difficult to leave out any of them.
Soprano Claudia Tabone’s first solo, Piangerò, from Handel’s Giulio Cesare, started off a bit shakily but warmed up considerably as the piece moved on.
Later, her other solo from the same opera, Da tempeste il legno infranto, was spot on from beginning to end, a coloratura tour de force. Earlier still, she shared equal honours in the duet with mezzo-soprano Clare Ghigo in Padre addio, from the opera Pelopida by the Maltese Gerolamo Abos (edited by Frederick Aquilina). She also held her own in the trio À un’alma infelice, from Broschi’s Idaspe.
Just like Tabone’s, Ghigo’s voice goes from strength to strength, in duets, trios, and above all, in the solos, such as in Dopo notte from Handel’s Ariodante, with its well-handled, very intricate coloratura passages.
This was also true in Alto giove, from Porpora’s Polifemo. Moore’s soprano voice is very beautiful too (one was spoilt for choice here). If a little bit subdued in Non fù mai più vista in soglio from Vivaldi’s La senna festeggiante, she reached an exquisite peak in Lascia ch’io pianga from Handel’s Rinaldo.
She continued on the same lines in Tornami a vagheggiar from the same composer’s Alcina, and just as impressively in the concluding trio from the same opera.
One expected more from counter-tenor Cenk Karaferya. He undoubtedly sings with a highly-developed technique and has good breath control handling coloratura passages quite easily.
This was clear enough in his solos Sposa non mi conosci, from Giacomelli’s La Merope, and Fra cento affanni, from Vinci’s Artaserse.
Like the other singers, his clear diction and interpretation were fine, but the voice was not very strong.
This was at some slight disadvantage in the duet Tu vuoi ch’io viva, with Ghigo from the same opera, and more so in the trios which concluded the concert’s two halves: À un’alma infelice, from Broschi’s Idaspe, with Tabone and Ghigo, and Non è amor, né gelosia, from Handel’s Alcina, with Ghigo and Moore.