Programme
Girolamo Abos (1715 – 1760)
Sinfonia per due violini
Allegro – Andante – Allegro
Stabat Mater
For 2 sopranos, alto, 2 violins and continuo
Stabat Mater
Cuius animam
Vidit suum
Juxta crucem
Quando corpus
Amen
Performers
Sarah Spiteri – violin
Tatjana Chircop – violin
Jacob Portelli – cello
Pablo Zapico – theorbo
Joanne Camilleri – organ
Gillian Zammit – soprano
Francesca Aquilina – soprano
Nicole Vassallo - mezzo soprano
Programme Notes
Girolamo Abos (1715–1760) was born in Malta but spent most of his life in Naples, one of the leading musical centres of the 18th century. A pupil of Francesco Durante and Leonardo Leo, he became a highly regarded teacher and composer whose works combine clarity of style with expressive warmth.
The short Sinfonia per due violini e continuo shows Abos in a lighter vein. Scored for two violins with continuo, it unfolds in three concise movements. The violins exchange imitations, lyrical phrases, and lively rhythms while the continuo provides a steady foundation. Music of this kind was often used to open services or concerts, offering brightness and elegance rather than extended argument.
The Stabat Mater, by contrast, belongs to the Neapolitan tradition of settings written for the Roman Catholic Holy Week liturgy. Scored for two sopranos, alto, two violins, and continuo, it is remarkable for its melodic elegance, harmonic purity, and inventive design. Abos divides the verses of the mediaeval text among the three voices, sometimes in poignant solos, sometimes in expressive duets or trios, with the violins adding colour and commentary. The music moves between grief and consolation, using suspensions, flowing lines, and tender dissonances to capture the depth of Mary’s sorrow at the Cross.
This work enjoyed a certain degree of widespread popularity and esteem, as shown by the many manuscript copies still extant in major international music archives. Once considered one of his most representative masterpieces, the Stabat Mater later fell into near oblivion, making its revival today all the more significant.
Biographies
Valletta Baroque Ensemble
The Valletta Baroque Ensemble (ViBE) is Malta’s leading group specialising in early music, performing on period instruments with historically informed style. Founded in December 2012 by a group of early music enthusiast musicians, ViBE was created to bring a dedicated baroque ensemble to the island. Its debut concert, featuring the celebrated soprano Dame Emma Kirkby at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, immediately established its reputation for artistry and style.
ViBE has since become the resident ensemble of the Valletta International Baroque Festival, performing many of the festival’s highlight productions. Its repertoire spans Handel’s Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks, Monteverdi’s Vespers, Biber’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Belshazzar, and the Dettingen Te Deum. Combining leading Maltese musicians with international baroque musicians, the ensemble delivers performances that are both lively and historically informed.
In 2025, marking the 350th anniversary of Alessandro Scarlatti’s birth, ViBE dedicated a series of performances to his works, including his oratorio La Giuditta, lesser-known string quartets, orchestral music, and the Stabat Mater, presented in collaboration with KorMalta.
ViBE has also performed internationally, appearing at concerts and festivals in the UK, Belgium, Madrid, Paris, Berlin and Italy, further extending the reach of Malta’s early-music tradition.
Through its festival performances, international engagements, and local projects, ViBE has become a central part of Malta’s baroque music scene, enriching the island’s cultural life and bringing historic music to contemporary audiences.
Gillian Zammit
Gillian Zammit began her vocal training with Antoinette Miggiani and Paul Asciak and went on to study in Italy with Carlo Bergonzi and Victoria de los Angeles.
Operatic productions include Semele and The Turn of The Screw, Gianni Schicchi and Hansel and Gretel. She is a regular performer at Teatru Manoel, productions there include Rigoletto and Die Zauberflöte both conducted by Michael Laus and the role of Euridice in Gluck’s opera ‘Orfée’ conducted by Philip Walsh. She has worked with many established artists including Joseph Calleja, Eugene Kohn, Emma Kirkby and Placido Domingo.
Gillian is highly regarded as a recital singer with a varied repertoire of Lieder, Spanish and French song having performed Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Eté amongst others. She is also a respected exponent of Baroque music and performs regularly with the Valletta International Baroque Ensemble (ViBE) with whom she has performed in Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Brussels. Gillian is a regular artist in the Valletta International Baroque Festival and has also performed at the Utrecht Early Music Festival in Holland with Cantar Lontano, the Intra Muros Early Music Festival in Belgium and the Naples Musica Sacra Festival.
She released her debut CD entitled The Love Songs of Paolo Tosti with pianist Lucia Micallef for UK record label Claudio Records. A more recent recording is Kantilena, a CD of art songs with harpist Britt Arend and cellist Frank Camilleri under the auspices of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and Parma Recordings.
Gillian trains the Abos Project Vocal Consort, and is also the Artistic Director of Opera Nova Project, an advanced training and performance programme for classical voice students.
Francesca Aquilina
After studying with Gillian Zammit in Malta, Francesca Aquilina pursued her studies at Napier University, Edinburgh where she graduated B.A., Hons., (1st Class). She pursued further studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where she studied with Sharon Richards and Angela Livingstone and obtained her M.A. In Malta she trains with Gillian Zammit who has been her mentor for the last 20 years.
Among the many roles sung by Francesca Aquilina there are Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Bastienne in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne, Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orphée dans l’Enfer, Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Giannetta in the same opera at Teatru Manoel (Valletta) where she also sang Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. She has worked with Winterbourne Opera, Welsh National Opera and Clonter Opera. In London she sang with ViBE as part of CHOGM Malta’s celebrations.
Francesca Aquilina has performed in concerts all over the UK and also in France, Germany and Italy.
She has also premiered some works by some prominent Maltese composers. In 2018 she toured all over the Netherlands with Opera Spanga , singing the role of High Priestess in Verdi’s AÏda . She also sang in London as part of the V18 programme in Malta where she is also a member of the Monteverdi Project. This has led her to taking part in many prominent early music concerts and festivals.
Nicole Vassallo
Nicole Vassallo is a mezzo-soprano whose passion for music began early, first through piano lessons and later singing in church with her brother on organ. Her formal vocal training started at the Malta School of Music under Andriana Yordanova and continues with soprano Gillian Zammit.
Since 2024, she has been a member of the Opera Nova Project, directed by Zammit and Denise Mulholland, where she develops her craft through productions, workshops, and masterclasses with artists including Joyce Fieldsend, Hedwig Fassbender, Janis Kelly, James Pearson and Andre Morsch.
In 2018, Nicole joined KorMalta, the national choir of Malta, performing in major concerts and operas locally and abroad, including soloist appearances with its chamber ensemble. She has also worked with Teatru Manoel Youth Opera and the Malta School of Music Opera Studio, performing excerpts as Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro). With the Opera Nova Project, she has also sung excerpts of Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw) and Carmen (Carmen).
In 2025 Nicole made her operatic role debut as the Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at Teatru Manoel and appeared as Curra in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino at Teatru tal-Opra Aurora. She is also active as a soloist in sacred music settings, having performed in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and other major choral works with various local choirs across Malta.
Alongside her musical career, Nicole is an engineer leading projects in utility
infrastructure, balancing artistry with professional leadership.