50 Years Young – Joseph Vella’s Mass in D Op. 20

This year the evergreen and much-loved Mass in D by Joseph Vella celebrates the 50^th anniversary from when it was composed in August 1975, with a first performance at St George’s Basilica in July 1976.  After Rev. George Frendo’s First High Mass at the same Basilica, accompanied by the premiere of the Laudate Pueri Dominum cantata, both Mass in D and this cantata have had an uninterrupted performance history during the St George’s Feast Pontifical High Mass.  The magnificent Mass in D is known all over the islands, with festa aficionados and professional musicians flocking to St George’s Basilica on the third Sunday of July to be entranced during its performance in the liturgy.  This Mass has also had significant concert performances in Malta as well as at New York’s Lincoln Centre, where it was received with tremendous enthusiasm by patrons.