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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 DECEMBER 2023 4 MUSIC Poland Concert Tour: Another exciting success for the Gaulitanus Choir GOZO'S Gaulitanus Choir very recently returned from Poland where it was on its 22nd venture abroad. Indeed, be- tween the 6th and the 10th De- cember, the choir was partici- pating in the 8th edition of the Prof Jozef Swider International Festival of Music. This choir's first ever trip to Poland was a result of a collaboration with the Silesian Chamber Choir Ad Libitum and its artistic di- rector Izabella Zielecka-Panek, who is also the artistic director of the Jozef Swider Festival. Led by its musical director Colin Attard, the Gaulitanus Choir gave 3 full-scale concerts on its own, and, in line with its ambassadorial role, the reper- toire consisted exclusively of Maltese music, mostly in the Maltese language. Yet again, the choice of the Maltese rep- ertoire – which was always introduced and given a con- text by the maestro himself – scored a great success with the audiences who attended the concerts and who even afford- ed standing ovations. The compositions performed varied from sacred excerpts (in Latin) to semi-religious and semi-folkloristic ones (in Maltese). Colin Attard's com- positions topped the bill with his Magnificat, the Sanctus and Agnus Dei from the Missa Bre- vis in honorem Joannis Pauli II, 2 excerpts from the oratorio Gużeppi ta' Nazaret, Ninni … Ninni, as well as the 2 hymns Is-Sultana tal-Paċi and Warda Sbejħa tar-Rebbiegħaall per- formed. Pierre Louis Attard featured with his O Salutaris Hostia, Giuseppe Caruana with his haunting hymns Fil-Ħlew- wa ta' Mejju, and the Innu ta' Filgħodu and the Innu ta' Filgħaxija (as arranged for 'a cappella' chorus by C. Attard) and Carmelo Pace with his typ- ical bouncy semi-folkloristic unaccompanied choral works Lapsi and L-Imnarja. The choir's principal soloist was soprano Annabelle Zam- mit, with soprano Georgina Gauci, soprano Antonella Portelli, tenor Christian Tan- ti and bass Ian Grech sharing other solo lines. The choir's first concert was held in the historical Baroque Hall of the Monastery of the Bernardine Fathers in very cen- tral Krakow. The second was held in the Evangelical-Augs- burg Church in Ustron. At the end of this performance, the Gaulitanus Choir was joined by some members of the Sile- sian Chamber Choir Ad Libi- tum for a joint rendition of the Polish number Ojkowski Dom. The members of the two choirs then shared a dinner at the par- ish hall, before moving on to the renowned Browar Ustron where, hosted by the brewery's management, they spent the late evening tasting the unique beers and distillates. The third concert was held at the beautiful Church of the Guardian Angel in Gorzyce. Here the choir was hosted, even for lunch and snacks, by the Gorzyce Cultural Cen- tre and its director Bibianna Dawid. To acknowledge the audience's and the hosts's very enthusiastic response the choir afforded an encore, the Polish song Plyniesz Olzo. The Gau- litanus's artistic commitments came to an end with the festi- val's grand finale. Held at the very big Church of Jesus in Cieszyn, the festival's home, this featured 11 other choirs – some of which really top- notch – from Slovakia, Lat- via, Ukraine and Poland itself. This final night opened with all the participating choirs join- ing forces in the Polish song Plyniesz Olzo, before each choir presented a number on its own. The Gaulitanus here performed a medley of Car- melo Pace's semi-folkloristic works. Notwithstanding the several artistic commitments and re- hearsals involved, the Gaulita- nus Choir was also in for many culturally-enriching experienc- es, touring Krakow, Auschwitz, Cieszyn itself – a historical border town, half Polish and half Czech –, as well as crossed over to the Czech Republic vis- iting Ostrava and its surround- ings. The allure of this particular concert tour will perhaps re- main highlighted by the very heavy snowy conditions prev- alent throughout all the visit – indeed an anticipated 'White Christmas'!