A thousand voices echoed in the Strasbourg cathedral back in the first few cold days of December 2006. Twenty five choirs from around Europe forgot their diversity and joined together in a symphony of sound with one specific purpose… to rejoice and manifest the joy of Christmas and to exalt the mystery of the Incarnation.  The Chorus Urbanus was the Maltese islands’ choral representative in this prestigious climax to various concerts held throughout the Alsace region.  This grand event stood as a platform for both the choir’s already established international name and the name of the smallest member-country in the European Union.

The massed choirs were under the direction of Jean-Francois Duchamp and sang various Christmas carols in diverse languages including French, German, English and Latin. The programme included some of the best and well known carols such as “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, “Adeste Fideles”, “Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes”, “Est ist ein Ros entsprungen”, “Deck the Hall” and “Stille Nacht”. But the real climax of the event was the world premiere of  “Gloria de Noel”, composed especially for this concert by Oliver Sperling, the Kappellmesiter of Köln Cathedral.  A brass and organ ensemble featuring Frédéric Scheil, Julien Wurtz (trumpets), Frédéric Durmann (trombone), Jean Wiger (horn),  Pierre Vogler (tuba) and Daniel Mauer (organ) provided a wholesome accompaniment that resounded splendidly within the Strasbourg Cathedral enclaves.  “Les Noelies”, the organisation that undertook this singular cycle of Christmas concerts by each participating choir and the grand “1000 Voices at the Cathedral” concert, were extremely pleased with the glorious promise of this concert hosted at “La Notre Dame” cathedral of Strasbourg that the event was screened live on France 3 television. On Christmas Eve, just an hour and a half from the strike of midnight, this concert was televised throughout the European Union State Television stations, including our own PBS, Malta’s National TV. The Chorus Urbanus members, no less than their European counterparts, sang their hearts out to expose their choral talents in front of mass audiences watching the France 3 television production of this singular event, directed by Michel Broggi, and hosted by the European Broadcasting Unit. Furthermore a DVD “1000 voix à la Cathédrale” has been issued to commemorate the occasion of inviting 25 choirs from the New United Europe to sing together. This was indeed historic, as from January 2007, the new European Union has been enlarged further with the admission of Rumania and Bulgaria.

 This concert tour was made possible with the encouragement and financial support of
Conseil Régional d’Alsace,  Ville de Strasbourg, Électricité de Strasbourg, France 3 Alsace, Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, Association Parlementaire Européenne, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, COOP Alsace, Banque Populaire, Caisse d’Épargne, Groupama, CIC banque CIAL, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Fondation France Telecom.