Carmelo Pace

Following Pace's death, on May 20, 1993, his manuscripts and other works were transferred to the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, although the musical scores to his operas remain at the Manoel Theatre Museum in Valletta.

In 1982 he composed the Stabat Mater for soprano, tenor, bass, mixed choir and orchestra. This was premiered by the St Monica Choir, under the direction of Sister Beniamina Portelli.

Among his most notable works are four operas, all of which are based on Maltese history, legend and folklore. Caterina Desguanez (1965), libretto by Ivo Muscat Azzopardi, tells the story of a Turkish slave who falls in love with his master's daughter. I Martiri (1967), libretto by Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini, features the uprising against the French occupiers in Napoleonic Malta. Angelica (1973), libretto also by Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini, is based on the Maltese legend of the Bride of Mosta. Ipogeana (1976), libretto by Pellegrini, is about Neolithic Malta during the age of the mysterious temple builders.

In 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958, Pace took first place in Rediffusion's annual international contest for musical composition. He won a chamber music contest organized by the Performing Rights Society in London in 1962 and again in 1972. In 1975, he took both first and second place in a chamber music contest organized by the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. In 1964, he was created a Knight of the Sovereign, Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem (the Order of Malta), and in 1992, President Vincent Tabone made him an Officer of the National Order of Merit.

Following an introduction by his uncle, Pace took up the violin under the tutelage of Prof. Carlo Fiamingo, and studied harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and composition under Thomas Mayne. In 1931, he received a Diploma in Musical Instruction from the Royal School of Music, London, and promptly took in several students.

By the time he was 20, Pace had composed suites for piano, violin and violoncello, followed by numerous cantatas, orchestral and chamber music, sacred hymns, two ballets, band marches, concertos, and an oratorio. His 1931 composition, Maltesina, a musical fantasy based largely on traditional Maltese folk tunes and għana, was premiered by the Highland Fusiliers' Band in Palace Square. It remains a popular choice among marching bands during Malta's village festa season.

Maestro Chev. Carmelo Pace (August 17, 1906 – May 20, 1993) was a Maltese composer, and a professor of music theory and harmony. Born in Valletta, Malta on August 17, 1906, Pace was the eldest of three children. His parents were Anthony Pace and Maria Carmela née Ciappara.