Cospicua Baroque Oratory Concert - Review & Photos

A Triumphant Evening!
Sunday Times 28 March 2010.
By ALBERT-G. STORACE

It is a great fortune that Cospicua’s lovely baroque Oratory survived the ravages of war. It proved to be an ideal venue for this concert presented by the Rev. Chapter of Cospicua featuring works by our own Michelangelo Vella (1715-92) and by Pergolesi and Handel. The performance which was under the auspices of President Emeritus Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and Mrs. Mifsud Bonnici was under the artistic direction of Emmanuel Cini.

It proved to be a performance of sheer excellence and no wonder, considering the participants. Conducted by Michael Laus, it featured well-known soprano Miriam Gauci who sang solo in Pergolesi’s Salve Regina. In the same composer’s famous Stabat Mater she was joined by Australian counter-tenor David Hansen, who must be one of the most accomplished and exciting counter-tenors around. His solo number was He was despised from Handel’s Messiah. Taking part was the Malta Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, consisting of Marcelline Agius, Nadya Debono and Stephen Galea (violin and viola) with cellist Angelica Galea Young and Michael Laus himself at the harpsichord. It bears reminding that the four string players are also none other than the Anon Quartet, a formation which is gradually making more and more headway on the local music scene.

For the performance of Vella’s Sonata N. 6 in B minor for Three Violins and Basso Continuo Stephen Galea played the violin with cello and harpsichord providing the continuo. M.A. Vella had long been recognised as a leading figure in Maltese baroque music. His set of Sonatas for Three Violins and Basso Continuo, published in Paris in 1768 had been studied and researched by local experts and Joseph Vella’s edition of the third sonata was recorded on CD in 2004. Further research by Australian musicologist Richard Divall continued revealing the great musical excellence of these works and led to his edition of the last sonata which was premiered this evening. The music flowed in a stream of elegantly and crisply phrased music, melodious in four well-balanced contrasting movements.

In Malta we hardly ever hear the counter-tenor voice. It takes a little time for one’s ears to get accustomed to it. David Hansen’s voice is certainly one to win over even those like myself, who are at best lukewarm to counter-tenors. Win me over he did with his really outstanding musicality, flexibility of technique and a great interpretation of a work so steeped in pathos, anger, warmth and reverence all at the same time. For such is Handel’s He was despised from Messiah. This made all look forward to his later participation in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, before which soprano Miriam Gauci sang the same composer’s Salve Regina.

It had been a regrettably long time since I heard Miriam Gauci’s lovely voice live. In Pergolesi’s Salve Regina it took me some time to get used to hear her singing a sacred work and not opera. The two genres require a different approach and this was in the long run what she achieved, colouring her delivery with a reverential approach which was underlined by a lot of warmth, tenderness and great vocal agility. What was also very interesting about this performance was that it was a premiere of Richard Divall’s edition of an MS score preserved at Rabat’s Wignacourt Museum. The editor’s research brought to light certain important differences in the scoring superior and more complete than more familiar editions of the work.

The combination of these two fine voices guaranteed a performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater which will be remembered for a long time. Needless to say, as in the previous two works there was the sterling contribution of the MPO Chamber Ensemble and the masterful direction of Michael Laus in his double role. When compared to later settings of the Stabat Mater it is amazing how a well-handled performance of Pergolesi’s creates so much dramatic effect with just two voices and five instruments. There lies the greatness of this work, which has always been at the pinnacle of all settings of Jacopone da Todi’s memorable text. All credit to the interpreters who gave such a gratifying performance which ended with a spontaneous standing ovation.

Click on image to enlarge.














Sonata a Tre Violini e Basso Continuo No.6-Michel'Angelo Vella. The Malta Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble Directed by Michael Laus.
















Salve Regina-G.B. Pergolesi. Miriam Gauci & Michael Laus.














Stabat Mater-G.B. Pergolesi. Miriam Gauci, David Hansen & Michael Laus with the Malta Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble.

The Cospicua Baroque Oratory

Inauguration & Holy Week Concert


HOLY WEEK CONCERT OF BAROQUE MUSIC IN COSPICUA
By Albert Storace

On Thursday 18mMarch at 8pm, a concert for Holy Week is being presented at the Oratory of the basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Cospicua. The concert is being presented by the Rev. Chapter of Cospicua, under the auspices of President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and Mrs. Mifsud Bonnici and under the artistic direction of Emmanuel Cini.

Taking part is the chamber ensemble of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, namely Marcelline Agius and Nadya Debono, violins; Stephen Galea, violin and viola and Angelica Young, cello. Michael Laus is music director and harpsichordist. The programme consists of Sonata N. 6 in B minor for three violins and continuo by Michelangelo Vella (new edition by Richard Divall); Thou art gone up on high from Handel’s Messiah featuring counter-tenor David Hansen; Pergolesi’s Salve Regina with soprano Miriam Gauci and also by Pergolesi the Stabat Mater, featuring Miriam Gauci and David Hansen.

Michelangelo Vella (1710-92) is one of the giants of Maltese baroque music. What will effectively be the first modern performance of the Sixth Sonata is thanks to Australian musicologist Prof. Richard Divall who became acquainted with Vella’s set of six sonatas through Mgr. Gwann Azzopardi, curator of Rabat’s Wignacourt Museum. Mgr. Azzopardi had assembled copies of the parts published in Paris in 1768. Musicologist Joseph Vella Bondin had assembled two of these sonatas which were subsequently performed. However, Prof. Divall’s instinct made him suspect that the string writing was far superior and that the figured bass seemed far busier than most. This led to his putting together a full edition for his “sheer love for Maltese music”. He adds that these sonatas are “very significant works of style and great contrapuntal competence….by a superior composer.” Strengthening this belief was his discovery in 2008 of the MSS of a set of 24 sonatas for flute in the Dresden Library which revealed the same kind of superior competence. Incidentally, Vella’s organ is in the Cospicua Oratory and has been restored by Robert Buhagar sponsored by APS Bank/

Pergolesi’s masterpiece, Stabat Mater, has also been edited by Prof. Divall from a manuscript preserved at the Wignacourt Museum. He says that he noticed certain significant differences between this MS and published scores of the work, which are problematic to say the least. The ornamentation in the MS seemed to be in the right places rather than in the wrong ones and the missing or contentious viola line was also present. The MS also seems to date from a much earlier period because some bars of the “alla breve” sections in the duets are totally different from previously published scores. Prof. Divall decided to work on a modern edition of this work which will be premiered during this concert.

Soprano Miriam Gauci needs little introduction but local music lovers may be less acquainted with Australian counter-tenor David Hansen. He made his European debut in 2004 at the Aix-en-Provence festival, since which, besides his native Australia he has appeared at major venues all over Europe, the USA with some of the most renowned ensembles and orchestras both in opera and concert performances. He has several CDs and to his credit. BBC Music Magazine describes him as “..an exceptional counter-tenor with a barely perceptible gear change from strong lower register to a rich upper range,” while The New Yorker says that “…he is a pure-voiced young Australian typical of a new breed of matinee idol counter-tenors.”

Tickets: from 20 euros to 100 euros, from Damato Records, Valletta, tel. 2123 4348

Click on images to enlarge.

THE MUSIC MANUSCRIPTS AT WIGNACOURT MUSEUM

The Sonatas for Strings and Continuo by Michel'Angelo Vella were introduced to me by my long standing friend Dun Gwann Azzopardi, the Director of the important and unappreciated Wignacourt Museum in Rabat; a repository where he has assembled so much of Malta's musical heritage for preservation and for posterity. I have had many occasions to appreciate the work and the music that Dun Gwann has assembled there, editing into music print very many works by Azzopardi, Vella, Isouard, Burlò, Bugeja and others from that Museum.

Amongst the early manuscripts in the Wignacourt Museum was one of the Pergolesi masterpiece Stabat Mater which might have belonged to the composer Dun Giuseppe Burlò. It was an interesting and a significant manuscript, for there were several features in the score that were superior to other versions. The ornamentation in the score seemed in the right places rather than the obviously wrong, and the missing or contentious viola line was also present.

But also was the fact that it seemed to date from a much earlier period in that some bars of the alla breve sections of the duet pieces were totally different from the published scores; and some of those scores are problematic to say the least. So I resolved to edit the work and the performance that you will hear is the result of that work.

Amongst the holdings in the Wignacourt Museum that Dun Gwann had assembled were copies of the parts published in Paris in 1768 of the String Sonatas by Michel' Angelo Vella. The pioneering Maltese musicologist and historian Joseph Vella-Bondin had assembled a couple of these works and performed them, but my instinct seemed to suspect that the string writing was superior and that the figured bass seemed too busy and so I spent some time in putting a full edition together. It was a long but very fruitful task of love of Maltese music. The String Sonatas revealed themselves to be very significant works of style and great contrapuntal competence that showed that they were by a superior composer, one whose simplistic Sacred Music seemed at odds. Then in 2008 I discovered the 24 Sonatas for Flutes in manuscript in the Dresden Library and the same competence was immediately evident, to show that Vella was the same and very capable composer. The Sonatas and other works by Vella are currently being published in score and parts by Lyrebird Press of Paris and Melbourne through its Editor, Prof John Griffiths. These editions are now available for sale in Malta itself. I am really delighted that a rare manuscript from Malta of Pergolesi is receiving its premiere on Malta and that one of the 6 String Sonatas, also in this new edition by me, is also being performed in its own home country.

It is appropriate and fitting that tonight’s concert takes place in the Oratory of the Church of Cospicua, and that the chamber organ played by Michel’Angelo Vella, now splendidly restored by the enlightened sponsorship of the APS Bank and a talented Maltese restorer, Robert Buhagiar, should be witness to the occasion. Malta has so much to be proud of in its musical heritage and I thank Michael Laus and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the sponsors of this concert including the High Commission and Commissioner of my own country where so many Maltese Australians so happily and prosperously live, Australia.

Frà Professor Richard Divall AO OBE
The Order of Malta: Australia