By Albert Fenech
Undoubtedly, Valletta is a city swelling with grandeur. Modern architecture beams from its entrance as traces of history are draped on its façades, shops and walkways.
It is a city as alive today as it was hundreds of years ago: residents buy their daily groceries from corner stores snuggled in between Baroque churches and palaces; lawyers sit at their desks in offices overlooking cobbled courtyards and tourists explore the tiny streets which once echoed with the sound of horses and carriages.
It is a city alive with the past. It is simply known in Maltese as il-Belt (The City), as if there were no other urban space worthy of the moniker.
If one walks down St Ursula’s Street, St Paul’s Street and Merchants Street, one will see some of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Malta and Gozo.
Curved balconies, elaborate stone carvings, and theatrical details such as masks and garlands all make their dramatic appearance. And, standing proud in some of the capital’s squares, Castille, the Grand Masters’ Palace and the Admiralty House also feature overhanging roof edges, known as cornices, and circular pediments which frame the windows.
Valletta Baroque Music Festival
Since its launch in 2013, the Valletta Baroque Festival has treated audiences to a unique event featuring some of the best soloists and ensembles in the baroque music scene.
Spanning over three weeks, the festival offers a quintessential experience of all that is Baroque as it takes place in exquisite venues such as St John’s Co-Cathedral, The Verdala Palace, Palazzo Parisio, and Teatru Manoel, to name a few.
These venues are authentic Baroque spaces adorned with lavish decor, sculptures and paintings that are typical of this period.
Organised by Festivals Malta every January, under the artistic direction of Kenneth Zammit Tabona, the festival highlights the enormous versatility of the baroque idiom and its mass appeal.
Above all, the festival’s strength lies in the wonderful baroque settings that one finds in Valletta and the Maltese archipelago; a precious legacy that the Maltese and tourists all treasure.
The full program in the Valletta Manoel Theatre and other walking-distance Valletta venues is:
Friday 10 January
The Mad Lover: Thomas Dunford and Thèotime Langlois de Swarte
7.30pm
The inconsolable ‘Mad Lover’ is a collection of music put together Théotime Langlois de Swarte and Thomas Dunford as a character from the reign of Charles II: a tale told through music from the pen of such violin virtuosos of the time.
Sunday 12 January
Combattimento 400
(Musica Antiqua Latina)
6.30pm
The Combattimento 400 project reinterprets Clorinda and Tancredi’s drama, celebrating its 400th anniversary by exploring Clorinda’s identity and Eastern music, emphasizing shared cultural codes and universal poetics against cancel culture.
Tuesday 14 January
Bach Violin Concertos:
7.30 pm
Explore Bach’s rare yet cherished Violin Concertos performed by virtuosos Charlie Siem and Carmine Lauri with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor – Michael Laus.
Wednesday 15 January 2025
Stabat Mater (Dance):
Valletta Baroque Ensemble and Inbal Oshman Dance
Choreographer Inbal Oshman explores motherhood’s complexity through the Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater, capturing the fierceness of grieve and the vulnerability of motherhood through dance.
Friday 17 January 2025
BACHianas: SIGNUM Saxophone Quartet
7.30pm
Bach with a South American flavour. Music by Bach, Ginastera, Villa-Lobos and Piazzolla transcribed for saxophone quartet.
Saturday 18 January 2025
I Concerti per il Duca di Maddaloni: Confraternita de’ Musici
The cello emerged late in Naples but flourished in the early 18th century, producing exceptional virtuosos and transforming the city into a European centre for the instrument, supported by patrons like the Duke of Maddaloni.
Sunday 19 January 2025
Children’s Concert (for families): Le Petite Ecurie
10.00am
Miriam, Valerie, Giovanni, Marc, and Philipp perform with oboes, taille, bassoon, and percussion, blending baroque music and theatrical elements in a children’s concert.
Monday 20 January 2025
Children’s Concert (for schools): Le Petite Ecurie
10.00am
Miriam, Valerie, Giovanni, Marc, and Philipp perform with oboes, taille, bassoon, and percussion, blending baroque music and theatrical elements in a children’s concert.
Wednesday 22 January 2025
L’Estro Intelligente: Concerto de Cavalieri
7.30pm
Indulge in a feast of string concertos, blending Vivaldi’s vibrant pieces with J.S. Bach’s masterful Brandenburg Concertos.
Thursday 23 January 2025
Samuel Marino – My Voyage to Italy: Concerto Cavalieri & Samuel Mariño
7.30pm
Venezuelan sopranist Samuel Mariño interprets 18th-century opera masterpieces, infusing them with his musical and life experiences, promoting acceptance and self.
Friday 24 January 2025
William Christie 80th Birthday Concert: Les Arts Florissants
7.30pm
Living legend William Christie’s birthday concert featured Les Arts Florissants and renowned opera singers, celebrating Baroque masterpieces by various French composers in a splendid performance.
Certainly, not a program of events to be missed to begin the New Year, 2025!
By Albert Fenech
