The Ministry for Culture and Tourism together with the Ministry for Gozo organized the first ‘Notte Bianca' in Gozo which was specifically called ‘Notte Gozitana – Lejlet Lapsi'. The program was spread on three days with the main activities being held in the night of Saturday. Schola Cantorum Jubilate was chosen to participate and was asked to perform at the Aula in the Law Courts at the Citadel at 8.30pm. Since the Schola tries to have new experiences joint with adventure, they accepted the invitation and did their utmost to fill the building with peaceful melodies which are never heard within the court walls.
Besides, their creativity was seen in the repertoire chosen for the occasion. It was a sacred one but presented in such a way that the audience travelled with imagination and longed for a ‘fictitious' world where faith and hope reigned. They were even asked to leave the prejudices behind so that love shines upon criminality, hatred, injustice…Each hymn performed was associated with the Divine Mercy which reaches all people who have faith especially in times of trouble. The concert started with two solo pieces performed by Marouska Attard. These were ‘O Mio Signore' (Handel) and ‘Vergin tutta amore' (Durante). The choral pieces followed and included: ‘Ave Maria' (Arcadelt), ‘Regina Coeli' (Bartolucci), ‘Popule Meus' (Palestrina), ‘Io Sono Risorto' (Liberto), ‘Veni Creator' (Buti), ‘Nadurawk ja Hobz tas-Sema' (Caruana), ‘Ave Verum Corpus' (Mozart) and ‘Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring' (Bach). The choir was accompanied by Mro. Paul Portelli on the organ. The compere was Dianne Angie Galea (soprano). For this concert, all the Judges and Magistrates of the Gozo and Malta Courts were invited and most of them attended. The hall was packed with locals and foreigners and many had to stay outside the hall, where they just listened the singing. After the concert, Schola Cantorum Jubilate had a lot of positive comments for their performance and for the way the program was presented. Though it was a sacred concert, it respected the ambience and showed its importance in real life.
