In its bid to bring some festive cheer while adhering to COVID-19 regulations, Gozo’s Gaulitanus Choir recently presented Yuletide Bliss, a mini-series of three varied musical events between Christmas and the New Year.
The first event was held on December 27 at the Sannat parish church. Entitled Strings in Concert, the concert featured the Gaulitanus String Orchestra led by Marcelline Agius and conducted by Colin Attard. The programme included works by Mozart, Jenkins, Rowley, Beethoven and Morricone.
The second event, titled Folk-Inspired: A Violin-Piano Recital, was held on December 29 at the Kempinski San Lawrenz. It featured up-and-coming Gozitan violinist Pierre Louis Attard and Serbian-born pianist Milica Lawrence in a most atypical repertoire consisting of a number of catchy folk-inspired classical works from different countries, including from Malta’s own Alex Vella Gregory and Stephen Attard.
The mini-series came to an end on January 1 with the ninth edition of A New Year’s Toast. Due to the restrictions and capacity regulations, this year’s edition was held at the Għajnsielem parish church. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Dorian Hendriks, a Dutch choir member who passed to better life a few weeks ago. It opened with a varied selection of vocal and instrumental Christmassy or sacred numbers performed by the Gaulitanus Choir’s two soprano soloists, Anna Bonello and Patricia Buttigieg, guest soprano Georgina Gauci and violinist Pierre Louis Attard accompanied by Colin Attard. The latter were then joined by a socially-distanced Gaulitanus Choir for A Yuletide Celebration, a medley of Christmas songs arranged for the occasion by Colin Attard, with Stephen Attard accompanying on the organ and Colin Attard himself conducting.
The choir’s Christmas programme also included a caroling session around Għarb’s main streets on December 30, organised by the Għarb local council.
Yuletide Bliss was supported by the Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo.