Teatru Manoel is presenting a concert for the Holy Week at the Jesuits Church in Merchant Street, Valletta on Sunday 24th March at 3pm. Entitled “Lamentations and Passions: Music for the Holy Week”, the programme includes Heinrich Bieber: Rosary Sonata no 10 ‘The Crucifixion’; Giovanni Battista Bononcini: Voglio piangere (from La Maddalena a piedi di Cristo); Jan Dismas Zelenka: Caligaverunt oculi mei; Sepulto Domino; Antonio Vivaldi: Stabat Mater and George F. Handel’s Surely He hath borne our griefs; And with His stripes we are healed; All we, like sheep, have gone astray (from Messiah).
The programme will be performed by the Anon Ensemble, soprano Alison Deborah Gatt, contralto Graziella Debattista, and the Goldberg Ensemble conducted by Michael Laus on the harpsichord.
Michael Laus has been the Principal Conductor of Malta’s national orchestra since 1991 and a guest conductor of several prestigious orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony, the Slovak Philharmonic and the Berne Symphony Orchestra. He regularly appears in the double role of pianist/harpsichordist and conductor, most notably in concertos by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann. He is Associate Professor in Music Performance at the University of Malta.
The Goldberg Ensemble is a polyphonic chamber choir consisting of 18 singers coming from various established choirs in Malta. The aim of the ensemble is to bring together choral enthusiasts to perform choral music in a more exhaustive manner.
The Anon Ensemble is a baroque group, made up of three distinguished performers in their own right who tour Europe extensively. Nadia Debono, co-leader of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra since 2001, Marcelline Agius, leader of the MPO since 1993 and founder of the Anon Ensemble and Angelica Galea who was also a member of the MPO from 1998 to 2012.
Soprano Alison Deborah Gatt and mezzo-soprano Graziella Debattista will also perform with two ensembles.
The concert will be held on Sunday 24th March at 3pm at the Jesuits Church. Tickets are €10 and can be booked from Teatru Manoel online at www.teatrumanoel.com.mt by emailing bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt or phoning 2124 6389.
