The sixth edition of the Malta International Organ Festival is finally with us. It got off to a great start more than a week ago, on November 22, and there are still six more days to go, including today. This edition is a special one as it’s paying tribute to the Maltese composer Charles Camilleri (1931-2009), this year marking the 10th anniversary of his passing away.

 Camilleri’s works have already featured in two of the festival concerts so far: in the opening concert at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral with his composition Wine of Peace and L’Evolution de la Joie for organ and trumpet at the Organ Inauguration Concert held at St Anthony of Padua church in Għajnsielem.

 His next work to be performed is L’Amour de Dieu, which festival-goers will be able to enjoy at tomorrow’s solo organ concert at 8pm at St Augustine parish church, Valletta. Dutch organist Petra Veenswijk will perform this beautiful work by Camilleri.

Then comes the grand finale on Friday at St John’s Co-Cathedral, during which Camilleri’s Missa Mundi will be interpreted by Julian Mallek, an organist from Hannover, Germany.

 The Missa Mundi masterpiece is a five-section composition that hasn’t been heard very often in Malta since the 1960s. So the final concert presents the perfect opportunity to music lovers who’d like to familiarise themselves with this work of art by the revered composer. On seeing the name Missa Mundi, one might think that this piece of music was composed for performance during the celebration of the Mass. However, it is not. 

The concerts are being held in some of our most beautiful churches and cathedrals

In an overview of this work, the late Professor Peter Serracino-Inglott describes it as an expression of the evolution of humanity. It tells how humans are trying to “re-achieve simplicity after the journey through complexity, which seems to palpitate in the better part of humanity today”. It is interesting to see how this is reflected in the piece. Missa Mundi is atonal at first, but ends with the common and ear-pleasing C Major chord.

 The final concert in which Missa Mundi will feature also contains classical music by Bach and Liszt, in addition to contemporary works such as Camilleri’s. In fact, one of the aims of the Malta International Organ Festival is to have a mixture of classical and contemporary music so that it will appeal to a broader range of music lovers. Joseph Lia, founder and artistic director of the festival, emphasises that “the festival intends to spread contemporary music to as many people as possible, including those who tend to prefer more mainstream music. The festival puts both styles together and takes them to various locations around the Maltese islands”.

Another important aspect to note within the festival is the exposure of contemporary Maltese composers’ music in the international scene. Lia came up with the brilliant idea of introducing a competition for solo organ and voice to the festival.

This competition aims to urge international student organists and singers to perform music written by Maltese composers. Lia has carefully selected compositions by local composers as the obligatory pieces for performance during the competition.

The participating international musicians will, in turn, play an important part in giving Maltese composers worldwide recognition as the competition pieces will become ingrained in their repertoire. And they will of course be presenting them wherever in the world they get to perform. 

The Malta International Organ Festival is an event that lovers of both art and classical music can look forward to. As in previous editions, it boasts a varied music programme that will be delivered in different attractive locations all over Malta and Gozo.

“Apart from celebrating our national music heritage, the festival serves to honour our cultural patrimony as the concerts are being held in some of our most beautiful churches and cathedrals, including the impressive and historically important St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta,’’ says Lia.

The Malta International Organ Festival runs until December 6. For the full programme and tickets visit www.MaltaInternationalOrganFestival.com