Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1060184
THIS WEEK MUSIC maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 DECEMBER 2018 4 Ahead of an upcoming concert forming part of the Music in Malta: Prehistory to Vinyl initiative, TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Alexander Vella Gregory, Artistic Director of the Cappella Sanctae Catharinae choir What do you make of the 'Music in Malta: Prehistory to Vinyl' project as a whole, and would you describe it as an important outreach tool to educate the public about Malta's musical heritage? To my mind this is the first exhibition of its kind in Malta, both in content and scope. Exhibitions about music are notoriously difficult since the subject mat- ter itself forms part of our intangible heritage. So, you do not have the immediacy of, say, an art exhi- bition where the artefact is also the subject matter itself (or at least forms a direct part of it). With music you can only display objects that relate to the subject matter such as instruments, documents, and record- ings. So as such, the performance programme that has been built around this exhibition is an integral part of the whole project. It allows the general public to understand not only the content but also the con- text. Music is being treated as a living and continu- ally developing organism -- part of a natural progres- sion unfolding across the centuries. As a musician who also takes an academic interest in the craft – especially the Maltese dimension – what would you say are some of the lacunae of Maltese musical education, particularly as regards its historical dimension? Oh, plenty of lacunas! Unlike the visual arts which somehow feature in our curriculum (even though still limited in outlook), music is often excluded or barely mentioned. Music history has always been taught in terms of the wider Anglo-Saxon narra- tive, without taking into account the local context. For example, the Anglo-Saxon 19th century is domi- nated by the symphony, a form which is alien to the opera-dominated Italian 19th century to which we have a closer affinity. There are very few 19th Mal- tese symphonic works, but plenty of operatic works and sacred works in an operatic style. In other areas there are lacunas in local research (due to a variety of factors). We know very little about medieval music in Malta, although documentary evidence points to- wards a richer cultural life than is generally thought. It is only at postgraduate level that music students specialising in musicology can get to study Maltese musical history which – important as that is – leaves the greater part of the population in the dark. Could you tell us a little bit about Cappella Sanctae Catharinae? When was the choir first formed, and what were some of its main aims from the beginning? Cappella Sanctae Catharinae (CSC) was set up in 2009 as an experiment. A restoration project was un- derway at the Church of St Catherine of Italy in Val- letta, which project also included a series of music events to raise funds. One of the restorers working on the project, a certain Fabio Billi, was also a choris- ter with a male choir in Rome, and he approached a number of musicians to try it out. Since then we have performed in various venues across Malta and Gozo. Our repertoire is mostly late Renaissance and Early Baroque sacred and secular music. CSC has always strived towards reaching out to new audiences by offering more than just a concert. We try as much as possible to put the music into con- text, by building thematically cohesive programmes, and performing in suitable spaces. We also support philanthropic causes and heritage-related restora- tion projects. We have good working relationships with a number of cultural and heritage organisations including the Notarial Archives Resource Centre, Din l-Art Ħelwa, and for this event Fondazzjoni Pat- rimonju Malti. You will be performing a concert under the 'Music in Malta: Prehistory to Vinyl' umbrella on December 14. Teodor Reljic Salvaging our musical heritage Alexander Vella Gregory, Artistic Director of the Cappella Sanctae Catharinae choir