Schola Cantorum Jubilate, the private youth choir from Xaghra, recently visited France on a tour. The choir was under the musical direction of Marouska Attard.

The trip was by invitation from the Xaghra Local Council for the choir to accompany them and represent Gozo, Malta in Chavaigné, France.

The choir was asked to perform during a concert of secular music in Chevaigné. During this concert, Schola Cantorum Jubilate performed pieces by Standford, Sullivan, Rossini, Charles Camilleri and Jean-Philippe Rameau. On th Sunday morning of the tour the choir kept its tradition and animated the Sunday Mass in Chevaigné Parish Church dedicated to St. Pierre. Pieces by Maltese Composer Paul Portelli were included.

The Bishop of the Rennes Diocese helped the Schola Cantorum Jubilate obtain all the necessary permissions to fulfil a wish by the choir to also be able to give performances in the reknowned Rennes Cathedral and in the Parish Church at Mont Saint Michel. For these concerts, the choir prepared polyphonic pieces which are its speciality. Schola Cantorum Jubilate performed pieces by Palestrina, Tallis, Bartolucci and from the Maltese Guzeppi Caruana.

The choir said that all performances on the tour were well received by the audiences. Apart from the musical appointments, the choristers managed to visit some of the historical places in the French regions of Britanny and Normady.

In the twelve years since its establishment the choir has been on four tours abroad. In 2003, the choir was invited and participated in the Festival Rencontres Musicales de Méditerranée in Corsica, France. In 2007, the choir organised a music-culture tour in Rome and Assisi. They performed at the Basilicas of St. Mary Major, at St. Peter’s in the Vatican, in front of Pope Benedict XVI and in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. In 2009, Schola Cantorum Jubilate organised a tour in Austria. The choir performed in the musical cities of Vienna, Salzburg and Linz and in the Abbeys of Göttweig and Melk. In Vienna, the choir animated the Sunday Liturgy at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and a concert in the Haus der Musik. The sacred concert held at Linz formed part of activities taking place as the European City for Culture (2009).

Each time the choir performed, it included a Maltese composition. The choir said that it strongly believes “that being ambassadors of the native country, it is a duty to make local music heard abroad. Music is one of the many aspects our islands offer.”

“Such tours abroad show the strength the musical language holds. Music is like a chain which manages to join nations, colours, religions and languages. The French gained a lot from the Maltese group. They got to know more about the Maltese Archipelago and at the same time, the Gozitan choristers visited another place, lived its culture and admired historical places,” the choir concluded.

More information is available on the choir’s website: www.scjchoir.com.

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