After the concert in Bar the St Cecilia choir sang for a holy mass in the Cathedral of St Tripun in Kotor and at the auditorium of the Culture Centre in Tivat. The concerts were supported by the Split branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation and organised by local Croatian organisations.
A “Concert for the Co-cathedral” was held November 29th before a packed crypt of the Co-cathedral of St Peter in Bar. Performing was the Saint Cecilia Choir of Jelsa on the island of Hvar under the leadership of conductor Slavko Reljić. The concert was donated by the Foundation for the Protection and Achievement of Minority Rights in Montenegro, with the support of the Split branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, headed by Branka Bezić-Filipović and the Parish Office in Bar.
The concert was organised by the Saint Jerome Culture Association of Bar, joined by co-organisers the Croatian National Council of Montenegro in Tivat and the Croatian Civic Society of Montenegro in Kotor.
The choir from Jelsa, enthusiastic and trained to perfection, performed a medley of sacral compositions, both by Croatian and foreign composers, and a number of traditional folk melodies – carols – characteristic of the Christmas period.
After the concert in Bar the choir sang for a holy mass in the Cathedral of St Tripun in Kotor on November 30th, the first Sunday of Advent, followed by another excellent concert that evening in the auditorium of the Culture Centre in Tivat.
The guests were welcomed by members of the Croatian National Council’s folklore ensemble wearing newly arrived folk costumes. The MC for the evening was Ana Šarčević, a Croatian language teacher. The choir performed twelve sacral and folk compositions. Performing as a soloist for three of the compositions was Vinko Maroević, a tenor with the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Split, while Juraj Zaninović, a talented sixteen-year-old bass, performed the solo section for one folk composition. The concert closed with a carol from Dubrovnik’s Zaton.
On hand for the event were Marija Vučinović, minister in the Government of Montenegro and president of the Croatian Civic Initiative; Zvonimir Deković, president of the Croatian National Council of Montenegro; Ilija Janović president of the municipal committee of the Croatian Civic Initiative; Ljerka Sindik, president of the Tivat chapter of the Croatian Civic Society; Adrijan Vuksanović, president of the Croatian umbrella association Dux Croatorum; Tripo Shubert, a member of the managing committee of the Croatian Civic Society of Montenegro; Branka Bezić Filipović, head of the Split branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation; Erfat Mulić, president of the Galaxy non-governmental organisation and priests of the diocese of Kotor.
The conductor of the choir, founded in 1952, presented certificates of appreciation at the close of the evening. The president of the Tivat chapter of the Croatian Civic Society Ljerka Sindik received the Cross of Hvar while the head of the Split branch office of the CHF Branka Bezić Filipović received a monograph.
(Radio Dux)
