Gaulitana: A Festival of Music manager Pierre Louis Attard gives an overview of the recently concluded ‘GauLive’ series, the first phase in the 15th edition of the festival.

Coming up with a programme for the 15th edition of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music was not without its challenges. With the programme for the ‘GauLive’ series in place, new hiccups were encountered with the announcement of the general elections and the pope’s visit. However, the intended programme of 10 public events and an exhibition was retained.

The series started on March 5 under the patronage and attendance of President George Vella and Mrs Vella. Featuring the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Gaulitana artistic director Colin Attard, From the New World: A Symphonic Opening was intended as a message of hope of a new post-pandemic world. All was tarnished by the hostilities in Ukraine and the theme became more of a message for peace.

Presenting Attard’s own early Overture for a Centenary and Antonin Dvorak’s masterpiece, Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World), the concert at the Aurora Theatre was ‒ as reviewer Albert Storace stated ‒ “a great much-needed raising of spirits”.

The programme started with the soft opening of In Harmony, an exhibition of traditional Chinese instruments at the Banca Giuratale in Victoria curated by Joseph Calleja.

A number of chamber recitals were held at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. The MPO’s principal clarinettist, the Italian Giuseppe Recchia, teamed up with pianist Elaine Mercieca in the entertaining Clarinet Fantasies, Swiss-born of Chinese ancestry top performer Mélodie Zhao offered a pianistic tour de force in Romantic Virtuosism, whereas yours truly on the violin joined Serbia-born pianist Milica Lawrence in the much-appreciated Dialoghi.

Surely, completely different was the concert presented by the Armed Forces of Malta Band under the direction of Captain Jonathan Borg at the Xagħra Basilica.

‘GauLive’ also welcomed back its artist-in-residence Alexander Frey, who presented a thrilling lecture-recital entitled ‘Gershwin: The Man and his Music’ at the Kempinski. Then he moved to the Xewkija Rotunda to perform Marcel Dupré’s Le Chemin de la Croix (The Stations of the Cross).

The musical commentaries interspersed with poetic meditations were recited by Manuel Cauchi, Marion Sayers and Antony Edridge. All was sublimely enhanced by the projection of a Via Crucis by Gozitan artist Austin Camilleri.

Le Chemin was one of several Lent-themed events on the programme. The first was Federico Gozellino’s Per Musicam ad Divinum, a work for piano solo, interpreted by Italian Silvia Belfiore, inspired from seven scenes from the Gospel recited by Manuel Cauchi and Joanna Pullicino.

A climax was reached with John Stainer’s oratorio The Crucifixion. Held at the Għarb Basilica on polling day, it featured the Gaulitanus Choir, tenor Alan Sciberras and bass-baritone Louis Andre Cassar accompanied on the organ by Frey with Attard conducting.

‘GauLive’ was brought to an end with A Finale of Maltese Music, specifically envisaged on March 30. Featuring the Gaulitanus String Orchestra, yours truly as soloist and Attard conducting, the concert also made a clear statement on peace by the performance of the Ukrainian hymn and the Maltese anthem instead of an encore.

Gaulitana: A Festival of Music, an awardee of the European Festivals Association’s EFFE label, and principally supported by the ICOG scheme of Arts Council Malta and the Ministry for Gozo, now looks ahead to the forthcoming phases in this year’s edition. It expresses its gratitude to its collaborators for this ‘GauLive’ series – namely Visit Malta, APS Bank, Bank of Valletta, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the China Cultural Centre, Quaint Boutique Hotels, Citadel Video Communications, Victoria, Xagħra and Għarb local councils, the AFM and the MPO.