Together with the SCJ Teenage Boys Singers, Henn Ghalina features the male section of Schola Cantorum Jubilate.
Schola Cantorum Jubilate consists of four different choral groups. One of these is the Schola Cantorum Jubilate Teenage Boys Singers (SCJTBS) which emerged from the SCJ Children’s Choir (SCJCC) founded in 2017.
As the children grew, their voices changed, requiring more specialist training to safeguard and strengthen their singing abilities.
Together with the SCJCC, the Teenage Boys Singers participated successfully in various performances, including Joseph Vella’s opera for children, Bo Peep, Once upon a Song, and Tisbit with young percussionists from the Clef House and the Box.
Henn Ghalina is the first concert specifically curated for the Teenage Boys Singers and promises to be a true showcase of their talent and choral technique.
On Friday, the 24th of March, they will bring to life well-known and newer compositions written or arranged specifically for them.
The deep and rich basses, the powerful tenors, and the smooth baritones will all come together in a special performance and concept that’s new to SCJ “and you, our beloved audience!”
The choir will be accompanied by Gino Mulè Stagno on the organ, Anna Magrin on the piano and Fiona Murphy on the cello, all under the direction of SCJ Choir Conductor Marouska Attard.
“Lent has been and still is an inspiration for many composers,” notes Marouska. This means that there are many wonderful works to choose from, making developing a repertoire even more challenging.”
She added that, “the programme we curated has at its core passages from the Holy Scripture, sung as motets and Gregorian chants. We included hymns many of us hear and sing during Lent, like O Gesu tal-Akbar Hniena, treated with great care by SCJ’s resident composer Paul Portelli to make it accessible for the choir.”
The repertoire features additional pieces focused on penitence, prayer and in exalting God, including Crux Fidelis, O Bone Jesu, Adoramus Te, In Monti Oliveti, Pie Jesu, and This Cross, penned by various composers, including Mummert, Lightfoot, Behnke, Pergolesi, Martini, Ravanello, Grancini, Hutchings, Nelson and Patterson.
The concert also fittingly includes Henn Ghalina composed by Fr Albert Borg with lyrics by Oliver Friggieri and adapted for this concert by Portelli. Additionally, Baritone Albert Buttigieg will sing the prayerful aria It is Enough! O Lord from the oratorio Elijah by Mendelssohn.
Marouska explained that “the idea behind this concert was to provide our young aspirants and enthusiastic male singers with a platform to sing sacred music. Lent is the perfect time to indulge in this type of music and an opportunity to weave in the Word, helping our audience explore it through a carefully curated repertoire.”
The concert goes even further in placing the limelight on an often-overlooked Church, that is in itself also a work of art. In this case, the location is not simply a geographical marker – it is as equally important as the music and the choristers.
The tranquillity and architecture of the Ghasri Parish Church, built in 1903 and dedicated to the Corpus Christi, add depth and meaning to a concert held under the contemplative gaze of Lazzaro Pisani’s The Last Supper.
Join SCJ at Ghasri Parish Church at 7.30pm for a powerful Lenten experience with hymns, Gregorian chants and contemporary choral pieces intertwined with selected passages from the scriptures, poetry and literature.
Entrance is free and no booking is required. .
Henn Ghalina concert is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo.
Photos: Top – Seized Moments Photography by Christian Balzan and below by Anthony Grech