For the 17th year, the Amadeus Chamber Choir and orchestra (leader Sarah Spiteri), under the direction of Brian Cefai, presented a concert for Christmas.The concert has become a milestone in local Yuletide musical activities and was, as usual, very well-attended.
Over 20 pieces were performed in varied forms. These included a cappella singing, purely choral numbers and other works featuring various numbers of soloists with full choir and orchestra. There was agood dose of Gounod too, whose offertory music from the Messe Solennelle Ste. Cecile started off the concert. The soft devotional aspect of this introduction contrasted very well with the piece which immediately followed it. The vigorously declamatory Christus Natus Est turned out to be an arrangement of the Domine, Salvam Fac, which concludes the Ste. Cecile Mass. Later still, and always from the same Mass, came the Gloria, featuring soprano Michelle Cachia Castelletti who was later joined by tenor Charles Vella Zarb, baritone Louis Cassar and the choir. This was a fine rendering except that unfortunately Mr Cassar did not seem his usual self this evening. One suspects he was a bit indisposed but he gamely did the best he could both here and in some other works. Gounod's too was an Ave Maria in which the choir sang an arrangement in which singing in canon was quite a distinct feature.
The level of preparation in the choral singing was pretty high and this was very evident more so when completely exposed in unaccompanied pieces. There were two of these, the well-projected and strongly rhythmic, onomatopeic Carol of the Drum (K.K. Davis) and Alberto Borg's very joyous In Natali Domini.
Even in Malta, it seems (providentially) that no Christmas concert is complete without works by John Rutter. Three of this prolific composer's works were sung: the Christmas Lullaby, his arrangement of Three Kings of Orient (soloists Ivan Vella, Louis Cassar and Ivan Cassar) and Nativity Carol.
Tribute to Elgar was honourably paid in the choir's rendering of The Snow and what was one of the most beautiful performances came later with the Benedictus from Jenkins's A Mass for Peace. The voices were neatly polished and balanced, and attention to dynamics bore fruit in the way the softer, hushed passages contrasted so superbly with the louder and more vigorous ones. This attention to detail also marked the performance of Eybler's Omnes de Saba for choir and soprano solo, Stephanie Degiorgio Wismayer being on very good form here.
The goodies kept coming in quick succession. The rather difficult Gloria from John Galea's Missa Ignis Charitatis with its high tessitura for soloists (Ms Cachia Castelletti, Mr Vella Zarb, Mr Cassar) and chorus made quite an impression. In Ms Cachia Castelletti, the Amadeus has the services of a multi-talented lady. Her composition, O Óelu Bambin, was performed by the choir; she often prepares arrangements of other pieces, such as Schwartz's When You Believe which followed it, and also that of Adeste Fideles. She also directed the orchestra and choir when backing Brian Cefai when he sang with great credit Adam's lovely O Holy Night.
Another purely orchestral piece was that other very popular piece, Emmanuele Galea's Sinfonija Pastorali. There were two numbers in which there was audience participation in the singing of the equally popular Angels We Have Heard on High (F. Noel) and Mendelssohn's glorious Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The choir also sang the opening Gloria from Puccini's Messa di Gloria and concluded this most pleasant evening with the Amen from Handel's Messiah.
Over 20 pieces were performed in varied forms. These included a cappella singing, purely choral numbers and other works featuring various numbers of soloists with full choir and orchestra. There was agood dose of Gounod too, whose offertory music from the Messe Solennelle Ste. Cecile started off the concert. The soft devotional aspect of this introduction contrasted very well with the piece which immediately followed it. The vigorously declamatory Christus Natus Est turned out to be an arrangement of the Domine, Salvam Fac, which concludes the Ste. Cecile Mass. Later still, and always from the same Mass, came the Gloria, featuring soprano Michelle Cachia Castelletti who was later joined by tenor Charles Vella Zarb, baritone Louis Cassar and the choir. This was a fine rendering except that unfortunately Mr Cassar did not seem his usual self this evening. One suspects he was a bit indisposed but he gamely did the best he could both here and in some other works. Gounod's too was an Ave Maria in which the choir sang an arrangement in which singing in canon was quite a distinct feature.
The level of preparation in the choral singing was pretty high and this was very evident more so when completely exposed in unaccompanied pieces. There were two of these, the well-projected and strongly rhythmic, onomatopeic Carol of the Drum (K.K. Davis) and Alberto Borg's very joyous In Natali Domini.
Even in Malta, it seems (providentially) that no Christmas concert is complete without works by John Rutter. Three of this prolific composer's works were sung: the Christmas Lullaby, his arrangement of Three Kings of Orient (soloists Ivan Vella, Louis Cassar and Ivan Cassar) and Nativity Carol.
Tribute to Elgar was honourably paid in the choir's rendering of The Snow and what was one of the most beautiful performances came later with the Benedictus from Jenkins's A Mass for Peace. The voices were neatly polished and balanced, and attention to dynamics bore fruit in the way the softer, hushed passages contrasted so superbly with the louder and more vigorous ones. This attention to detail also marked the performance of Eybler's Omnes de Saba for choir and soprano solo, Stephanie Degiorgio Wismayer being on very good form here.
The goodies kept coming in quick succession. The rather difficult Gloria from John Galea's Missa Ignis Charitatis with its high tessitura for soloists (Ms Cachia Castelletti, Mr Vella Zarb, Mr Cassar) and chorus made quite an impression. In Ms Cachia Castelletti, the Amadeus has the services of a multi-talented lady. Her composition, O Óelu Bambin, was performed by the choir; she often prepares arrangements of other pieces, such as Schwartz's When You Believe which followed it, and also that of Adeste Fideles. She also directed the orchestra and choir when backing Brian Cefai when he sang with great credit Adam's lovely O Holy Night.
Another purely orchestral piece was that other very popular piece, Emmanuele Galea's Sinfonija Pastorali. There were two numbers in which there was audience participation in the singing of the equally popular Angels We Have Heard on High (F. Noel) and Mendelssohn's glorious Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The choir also sang the opening Gloria from Puccini's Messa di Gloria and concluded this most pleasant evening with the Amen from Handel's Messiah.