The organ is an instrument of great distinction that is central to everyday cultural life; it embodies the sound of spirituality, simultaneously intimate and collective.
The Malta International Organ Festival, being held betweenTuesday and December 7, will celebrate this prestigious instrument with 18 concerts in cathedrals, churches, basilicas and chapels across Malta and Gozo.
Among the star guest performers in the fourth edition of the festival is organist Julian Mallek from Germany, who will be collaborating with Semjon Kalinowsky on the viola to offer a varied programme using a combination of these two instruments on Tuesday. They will be playing works by Bach, Marcello, Vivaldi and Eccles at the St Francis of Assisi church in Valletta.
According to festival organiser and artistic director Joseph Lia, some of the world’s most prominent international organists will be performing during the festival, such as Andres Uibo, Marco D’Avola, Giuliana Maccaroni and Wayne Marshall.
The festival will also serve as a platform for younger artists who have recently won international competitions, and to Maltese organists, offering them both an important performing platform and also free masterclasses to improve their technique.
The festival will reach a climax with its final concert on December 7
In one of the events, Marshall will be improvising music to the 1922 silent film Nosferatu at the Anglican Cathedral in Valletta on December 1. This concert, entitled Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror, will be the first of its kind in Malta, as while showing F. W. Murnau’s German impressionist film, Marshall will use clashing harmonies and combining several registers to create a musical dramatic effect to complement the film.
Another highlight will be an organ and voice recital by Maltese organist Hugo Agius Muscat and baritone Lia on December 5 to inaugurate the restoration of an 18th-century positive organ that was found recently after being lost for several years. This organ, which was restored by Robert Buhagiar with support from Eden Leisure Group, can now be found in Our Lady of Victories church in Valletta, the first church to be built in the capital city.
Another highlight will be a Sunday teatime concert for four hands, and thus four feet, on December 3. It will feature Italian belcanto opera melodies played by two organists coming from Rossini’s city, Pesaro.
The other concerts, being held in various villages and towns, will include the participation of several musicians, singers and choirs, and will be combining local and foreign talent, showcasing Maltese heritage and the power of the organ used as a solo instrument, as an accompanist and as part of an ensemble.
The festival will reach a climax with its final concert on December 7 at St Augustine parish church in Valletta, featuring works for organ solo and organ and orchestra.
The Valletta Chamber Orchestra, which has now become the resident orchestra of this festival, will be conducted by Italian conductor Riccardo Bianchi. This concert will feature solo organ works by Bach, Telemann’s Trumpet Concerto in D, Handel’s Organ Concerto in A, and Mozart’s Church Sonatas.
For more details, visit www.maltainternationalorganfestival.com.