MaltaMedia.com

The second concert in the popular MPO Baroque Concert Series takes place on Saturday 14 April in the intimacy of Robert Samut Hall in Floriana. Three of the MPO’s violinists take centre stage as soloists, performing two great works from the period’s repertoire under the direction of Joseph Vella.

The evening kicks off with Handel’s Concerto Grosso no 12 featuring Italian vioinist Klara Nazaj and Maltese violinist Roberta Attard playing the solo part and concludes with JS Bach’s exquisite Violin Concerto in E major featuring Serbian violinist Nemanja Ljubinkovic. Born in the space of 45 days in different parts of Germany in 1685, each of these two great masters developed a very distinct style. Handel was a man of the theatre and wrote music in response to the demands of the audience. He wrote expansive, tuneful, seemingly effortless music that makes no demand from the listener. Bach’s music on the other hand is a result of his incredible technical competence, intellectual concentration. musical imagination and emotional sensitivity. He treats the instruments like human voices, creating an incredibly rich texture supporting expressive melodic lines. Listening to the music of both composers in an evening is a guaranteed recipe of relaxation and well being!

The MPO will also perform three enchanting short vocal gems, two by the Balzano family and one by Carissimi. These works were found at the Mdina Cathedral musical archive, edited and given light again by Joseph Vella, and give a rare glimpse into the music that was composed and performed in Malta during this period. The solo vocal parts will be in the able hands of Maria Frendo and Antoinette Camilleri.

Concert starts at 19:30 hrs. Tickets starting from Eur 5 may be obtained from St James Cavalier 21223200, boxoffice@sjcav.org or on-line www.sjcav.org