The St Paul Choral Society recently returned from another successful tour, following previous tours to London (2011), Austria (2013), Paris (2015) and Spain (2017). This year, The Heart of Europe Tour took the choir to some of the finest churches and cathedrals in Germany, France and Luxemburg.

The first performance took place in the 18th-century Schlosskirche, Blieskastel. The choir presented a well-balanced programme covering 16th- to 20th-century music. The first half was performed a cappella, directed by Dr Hugo Agius Muscat, opening with the lovely motet Exsultate justi by Ludovico da Viadana, and ending with Maurice Duruflé’s sublime Ubi Caritas. The second half was accompanied on organ by the director, while Cecilia Agius Muscat ably took over the baton.

The next performance was held in the Basilica of St Johann in Saarbrücken.  Notable was a composition by the choirmaster himself, O How Amiable Are Thy Dwellings. It was also a great pleasure to hear works by Benigno Zerafa (Magnus Dominus), Francesco Azopardi (Virgo Prudentissima) and Carmelo Scerri (Regina Coeli) shared with the public beyond our shores.

John Rutter’s gentle The Lord Bless You and Keep You sounded particularly effective. The well-acclaimed performance ended with Handel’s Allelujah from the second Coronation Anthem.

The choir gave another performance on the same day in the Ludwigskirche, also in Saarbrücken.  The programme here included Mozart’s Sancta Maria.

The choir also sang informally in the Romanesque cathedral of Trier, dedicated to St Peter, the earliest Christian Church in Germany and a Unesco World Heritage site.

Crossing over to France, they accompanied Sunday Holy Mass in the stunning gothic cathedral of Saint Étienne in Metz, where Andrea Gabrieli’s echoing Missa Brevis was indeed well suited. The experience of singing in such expansive spaces as Trier and Metz cathedrals is surely among the most enriching and unforgettable. 

The choir also went on to accompany Mass at Luxembourg cathedral.