The Pope’s choir performed at St John’s Co-Cathedral last Friday in a rare outing from the Vatican City.

The Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina Choir, referred to as the Pope’s personal choir, treated a packed audience to a concert entitled Exsultate Deo.

The event organisers told the Times of Malta that the occasion was a unique opportunity to watch a performance by the “world’s oldest choir” against the backdrop of the beautiful co-cathedral.

The repertoire consisted of musical compositions by European composers of the 16th century, including Misere by Gregorio Allegri, and other musical pieces by Orlando di Lasso, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomas Luis de Victoria, as well as Gregorian chants.

The choir, which was established in the first centuries of the Church, consists of 35 boy choristers and 20 adult singers, 11 tenors and nine basses. They were brought to Malta courtesy of the Victoria International Arts Festival.

Apart from animating the liturgical celebrations led by the Pope in the Vatican, the Sistine chapel choir also performs in a number of concerts as part of its mission to share the Gospel through music and song.

After Malta, the choir will next be performing in Detroit for the first time ever.