Anna Borg Cardona

The early days of this dance are shrouded in a mist of uncertainty. Was this a peasant dance which was then taken over by high society, as has often been claimed? Or was it entirely a creation of the upper strata? All documentation we have regarding the Maltese dance dates to no earlier than the nineteenth century and is connected with the Governor’s Palace or with high society balls. This article briefly looks at the history of the dance. Since this was a special edition of Treasures of Malta focussing on the Gollcher family, it looks at the Gollcher contribution to the 'Maltija', a printed music score of which is to be found in the Palazzo Falson Library.

Mock combat dances were performed in Malta by both the knights of the Order of St John as well as by groups of Maltese men. It is not certain whether the knights introduced this type of dance when they arrived in the sixteenth century or whether the Maltese already had their own sword dances prior to this. This article discusses the sword dances with special reference to a newly-discovered contract signed before a notary in 1774.  Through this we discover the meticulous organization, planning and rehearsals that took place. This was clearly not a spontaneous, random dance troupe, but a group of men who took the dance very seriously.

From the 1850s wind and brass bands started mushrooming in all the towns and villages of the Maltese Islands. This brought great changes to the Musicians of traditional instruments who previously had defined roles within the Maltese community and who played music that was improvised or unwritten.

This was a paper read in the Seminar EXPLORING THE TRADITIONS AND ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION OF LOCAL BANDS (Gozo, 2015).

A thorough investigation of Malta’s rich, folk soundscape has never been attempted before. In order to establish a clear picture of the Maltese instrumental culture, the author draws on documented sources, iconography and vast ethnographic research. This study deals with anything from the simplest of ephemeral sound producers made by children to the more complex bagpipes and guitars with explanations of how each is constructed. The instruments are discussed within a broader historical framework that shows the influences which have been at play throughout Malta’s voyage through time.

"Kull pajjiż għandu dak li nistgħu ngħidulu l-leħen partikolari tiegħu li jinstema’ fid-daqq, fil-għana, u fl-istrumenti mużikali ta’ niesu. Il-Maltin, xejn inqas min-nies ta’ pajjiżi oħra, għandhom it-tradizzjonijiet mużikali tagħhom u l-leħen tagħhom.
Daqq, Għana u Żfin Malti ġie miktub biex irawwem fiż-żgħażagħ tagħna l-interess meħtieġ għax b’hekk biss nistgħu nassiguraw li l-wirt mużikali u kulturali tagħna jkompli jiġġedded u jissaħħaħ. Dan il-ktejjeb fih tagħrif fuq xi strumenti Maltin kif ukoll informazzjoni dwar id-daqqaqa, l-għana u ż-żfin.
website - www.musicallegacy.com
"

A Musical Legacy reveals some exciting Malta-related music discovered in foreign libraries. It explores the music and dance of a cross-section of Malta’s society, escorting us through the sumptuous sixteenth-century dances of the knights of St John, seventeenth-century castanet dances of the town’s people, masked ball dances in the Manoel Theatre, grand balls in the Palace, music played in the salons, down to the carnival Pyrric dances and lively airs of the Maltese rustic folk. It provides musical notation as well as a detailed historical background.
website www.musicallegacy.com

By the seventeenth century, Malta had become a nucleus of cultural activity. It provides us with totally new perspectives on the production and consumption of music within a Mediterranean context. Though in some ways comparable to other European centres, its society differed in that there was a large presence of multi-national Knights of the Order of St John coming from the aristocracy of Italy, France, Auvergne, Provence, Aragon, Castille, Leon, Portugal and Germany. Numerous Arab and Turkish slaves added to the cultural mix living in a concentrated area. This thesis uses the example of the Maltese instrument builder Mattheo Morales (1637-1698) as a lens through which to investigate musical culture in seventeenth-century Malta, addressing its connections to wider Mediterranean and European trends and its unique social and cultural circumstances. An affluent society and flourishing cultural atmosphere served as catalyst to foreign singers, instrumentalists, teachers of music and dan...

This article discusses the terrifying sound that accompanied the Turkish troops during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. In spite of the general fear aroused by the Ottomans, there was a perceived exoticism and fascination for everything Turkish that left a lasting effect on the instrumentation of Western Europe.

"Of Barbers, barber-surgeons ...and a Maltese canzonetta" discusses a humeorous Maltese 'canzonetta' with music and lyrics by Vincenzo Bonett. This song, which has all the qualities of a comic, theatrical sketch, was published in Malta in the late nineteenth century at the printing establishment of Arturo Caruana, who is best known for his literary works and chapbooks. This canzonetta, and others in the same vein, show that a light-hearted song culture in the Maltese language was flourishing alongside the traditional Maltese ghana.
The article also provides a short history of the barber trade in Malta through archival documents.

Abstract: This paper investigates the large marine shells used as sound producers in the Mediterranean, with special focus on that of the Maltese archipelago. The two large shells most commonly used to generate sound in the Mediterranean are the Charonia lampas and the Charonia variegata. This study considers the mythology, rituals and traditions attached to the shell, and the terminology used by the different peoples of the Mediterranean. Research includes ethnographic work carried out over the past 16 years mostly in Malta and in different areas of neighbouring Sicily, but also in the islands of Lampedusa and Linosa, Italy, the Ballearic island of Mallorca and Greece.
Triton shells were held with special reverence by man in prehistory and antiquity and were attributed with strong magical and protective powers. The shell has been associated with seamen, fishermen, pastoral and agricultural settings, seasonal celebrations and with various other rituals. Terminology seems to show two separate groups of early intimate relationships comprising the central Mediterranean region on the one hand and the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa on the other. The end-blown instrument used all over the Mediterranean area occasionally has an added metal mouthpiece. Though the shell’s use has now largely disappeared, it still has significance in some present-day rituals, and it still carries vestiges of its ancient magical powers.

A poem written by Giovanni Battista del Tufo (1588) describes  a carnival dance witnessed in Naples as 'quel ballo a la Maltese, ma a Napoli da noi detto 'Sfessania' (that Maltese-style dance which is known to us in Naples by the name 'Sfessania'. This same dance is illustrated in twenty-four dramatic and grotesque etchings by Jacopo Callot (c.1621). This articles looks at the possible origin of the Sfessania and its relationship to other dances popular at the time.

Very basic whistles have long been made
out of ephemeral grasses and leaves, or out of fruit stones, fruit
shells and cane. Others have been made of more lasting materials
such as bone, ivory, wood, clay, porcelain, metal, plastic, or even
glass. Some may be considered ‘precious’, others are beautiful
artistic objects in their own right, but many are barely noticed.

Ever since the middle ages the Maltese Islands have used clappers and ratchets instead of bells during Holy Week. This article looks at the different types of instruments is use across the Islands, both in the belfries and inside the churches.

This essay was written for the Exhibition taking place at Palazzo Falson Historic House and Museum, Mdina, Malta, in 2009. It can also be found on the Palazzo Falson website.
http://www.palazzofalson.com/content.aspx?id=401852

There is also a small illustrated Exhibition Catalogue containing a complete list of the exhibits. Available form Palazzo Falson.

Review by Franco Bruni ANNA BORG CARDONA, "MUSICAL CULTURE AND THE CHITARRARO MATTHEO MORALES IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY MALTA" È con grandissimo piacere che accolgo la recente pubblicazione del libro di Anna Borg Cardona, Musical culture and the chitarraro Mattheo Morales in seventeenth century Malta (Valletta: Midsea Books, 2022). Ho avuto il piacere di conoscere Anna nella seconda metà degli anni '90 del secolo scorso, durante le mie lezioni di musicologia all'Università di Malta. Da allora, Anna si è dedicata con grande passione e impegno nella ricerca storico-musicale maltese, contribuendo in particolar modo allo studio della tradizione strumentale dell'arcipelago maltese e delle attività delle confraternite religiose. Nel panorama della letteratura musicologica inerente alla storia maltese, questo volume rappresenta davvero un unicum, sia per il tema affrontato, sia per la ricchezza delle fonti d'archivio esaminate, infine per l'interessantissimo scenario che ci si svela sulla vita musicale a Malta nel Seicento. Sino ad oggi, molti degli studi erano stati dedicati principalmente alla musica sacra, che a Malta ha avuto uno sviluppo pari a quanto si verificava nel resto d'Europa. Con questo studio sull'attività del liutaio Matteo Morales, al contrario, le nostre conoscenze si ampliano significativamente sull'attività musicale "profana", fornendo uno spaccato vivido sulla società dell'epoca. Nel volume, oltre agli inediti aspetti storico-musicali sull'attività di Matteo Morales, dalle lontane origini sicule, si apprezza molto l'indagine svolta dall'autrice sulla società maltese, sugli aspetti sociali ed economici che arricchiscono, e non poco, la visione globale che viene offerta della società maltese del tempo. Vastissima la letteratura archivistica esaminata dall'autrice, a partire dall'Archivio notarile di Valletta, l'Archivum Ordinis Melitae, l'Archivum Cathedralis Melitae, quello della Curia Episcopalis Melitensis e tanti altri, pazientemente studiati da Anna Borg Cardona. Ancora una volta, la documentazione d'archivio presente a Malta fornisce una inesauribile fonte di dati storici e uno stimolo per la ricerca futura. Dalla lettura del volume, si evince sempre più di quanto Malta si inserisca, all'interno dell'area mediterranea, e non solo, in una ricchissima rete di scambi culturali, economici e sociali. In particolar modo, questo studio, in virtù della ricchezza dei dati e l'acuta analisi offerta dall'autrice, apre la strada a nuove prospettive di ricerca, quali il mecenatismo, le attività musicali in seno alle famiglie aristocratiche locali, le attività teatrali. Sicuramente, perseguendo su queste linee, la nostra visione dell'attività musicale a Malta non potrà che giovarne, e questo grazie anche allo studio di Anna Borg Cardona che costituisce, nel suo genere, un lavoro pionieristico e coraggioso. PROSIT Anna.