Traditional music
Conquered many times, Malta's music bears the traces and influences of its invasions. The popularity of brass bands - and their "clubs", still present in every village - is, for example, a vestige of the passage of the English in the 19th century.
As for instruments, the archipelago boasts a number of singular objects, such as the il-flejguta, a "whistling" flute traditionally used by shepherds, the zaqq, a bagpipe made from goat or calf skin, and typical percussion instruments like the tanbur, a small tambourine with variations throughout the Mediterranean basin, or the zafzafa, a friction drum. Less common, the zummara also exists in Malta, but here it refers to a reed pipe ending in a bovine horn, rather than a double clarinet as in the Middle East.
Although they gradually fell into disuse, these instruments have been enjoying a revival since the early 2000s, thanks to the success of the Etnika group. In Malta, as elsewhere, globalization has paradoxically led to a rediscovery of local traditions. It was against this backdrop that the group Etnika was formed in 2000, driven by the ambition to enhance the value of traditional songs and instruments by blending them with world music. The success was immediate, with each release reaching the top of the sales charts, and not a single major event in the country not featuring the group. More than just a concert, each Etnika performance is an opportunity to guide the audience through Maltese traditions, customs and folklore. Etnika's many collaborations with folk singers are a tribute to artists who are often forgotten.
One folk genre that didn't need Etnika to survive (although the band plays a lot of it) is ghana, pronounced "ana". This musical tradition sees singers gather around a guitar and sing rhyming stanzas to tease, mock or congratulate each other. It is above all an oral tradition, with no sheet music. There are three types of ghana: the most common are ghana spirtu pront (improvisations), ghana bormliza (sung by two people) and ghana tal-fatt(ballads).
If you can still hear them in small bars here and there, one of the best ways to listen to ghana is at the GhanaFest, a dedicated event held every May in Floriana, in the Argotti Botanical Gardens. A unique opportunity to discover this traditional genre, as well as other Maltese and Mediterranean folk music, during three days of festivities. Religious festivals such as the Imnarja - one of the island's most important, celebrating St. Peter and St. Paul - provide an opportunity to cross-fertilize many Maltese folk expressions.
Classical music
Apart from the famous tenor Joseph Calleja and soprano Miriam Gauci, Malta has not offered the classical world any musicians of international stature. The archipelago does, however, boast a very fine conductor, Brian Schembri (1961), who, like a true native, led the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra for a time. Trained at London's Royal School of Music and Kiev's Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Schembri cut his teeth alongside Michel Plasson and Emmanuel Krivine at Toulouse's Orchestre national du Capitole before taking the helm of Lisbon's Orchestre Métropolitain. In 2014, Brian Schembri was called upon to conduct his homeland's most prestigious ensemble. The latter, founded in 1968, only really became the "Malta Philharmonic Orchestra" in 2008, when it grew into a full-fledged symphony orchestra, bringing together the finest talents from the archipelago and around the world. Building on its reputation over the years, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has invited leading conductors, soloists and vocalists such as Andrea Bocelli, José Carreras, Kate Aldrich Among, Guy Braunstein and Alexei Volodin. Since 2019, it has been under the principal direction of Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan.
As the national emblem of classical music, the MPO is naturally a megaphone for Maltese composers past and present, such as Girolamo Abos (1715- 1760), a great opera composer who enjoyed success beyond its borders (notably in Naples), Nicolas Isouard, known as Nicolò, (1773-1818), a Franco-Maltese who was one of the great names in comic opera, and remains famous for Les Rendez-vous bourgeois (1807) and his Cendrillon (1810), Carmelo Pace (1906-1993), author of some remarkable operas based on Maltese folklore, and Charles Camilleri (1931-2009), considered the national composer.
As Malta's only professional orchestra, the MPO is extremely dynamic, giving an average of more than one performance a week. The best way to meet him is at the Théâtre Manoel, his magnificent home. Dating back to the 18th century, it is the third oldest theater in Europe still in operation and boasts a breathtaking charm. Unsurprisingly, it's one of the preferred venues for the famous Baroque Festival, which, since its creation in 2013, has forged an international reputation for its top-notch programming in magnificent settings. Another excellent festival taking place at the Théâtre Manoel is the International Spring Orchestra. Organized by young composer Karl Fiorini - a French-speaking Maltese and Parisian by adoption - the event features concerts, recitals and chamber music performed by local and internationally renowned artists. Less well known and more eclectic, the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta's other major theater, also offers a wide range of interesting events. This is where the annual Malta Arts Festival takes place, a ten-day event featuring concerts, opera, theater, sculpture, photography, visual arts and wine (to boot), with a strong classical component. Not to be outdone, Gozo also has a good address for music lovers, theAurora Opera House, a beautiful baroque theater that hosts plays and concerts (including by the ancient Leone Philharmonic Society) from November to May.
Popular music
In Malta, we love variety and pop stars. Unsurprisingly, the Eurovision Song Contest has been a very popular event since the island's first participation in 1971, and every singer who achieves a good result in the contest automatically becomes a local star. Such is the case of Mary Siteri, who came third in 1992 with the song Little Child and became a diva in the hearts of the Maltese, or Chiara Siracusa, who has systematically finished on the podium in all three of her participations (1998, 2005 and 2009), and is consequently a great success in the country's charts. If you're visiting Malta, there's a good chance you'll come across one of these voices at one time or another.
