Treasures of Malta - Christmas 2023_Preview

TREASURES OF MALTA No. 88, Christmas 2023, Vol. XXX No. 1

1 · Treasures of Malta 88, Christmas 2023 FONDAZZJONI PATRIMONJU MALTI

FONDAZZJONI PATRIMONJU MALTI

MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to collect and disseminate information, and to assist with research into the culture and historic heritage of Malta ~ to organize in Malta and overseas, independently or with others, exhibitions, seminars and other activities with the aim of promoting and spreading knowledge of the cultural heritage of Malta ~ to produce publications, catalogues, books, documents and other material that reflect the aim of our Foundation.

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Art in All Forms: The Work and Life of Blanche Ellul Sullivan (1907–2002)

The Silver that Started the Revolt

102

A subject index to the illustrations in Treasures of Malta, Vol. XXVII

Editorial

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Calling the Line into Search Robert Brewer Young and Sarah Chircop

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Richard Demarco: Fostering CrossCultural Links Between Malta, Scotland, and Beyond Joseph Borg recalls the indefatigable contributions of a Scottish artist and art impresario caught under the spell of the Maltese ‘mystical environment’

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The Cover Giulia Privitelli

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Closer Encounters with Maltese Folk Music

Margherita Amodeo offers some personal reflections and recollections on the life and work of a largely overlooked woman artist in twentieth-century Malta

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My Favourite Object George E. Camilleri

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Paul Xuereb

Jeremy Debono examines the church silverware belonging to the Archconfraternity of St Joseph of Rabat which was going to be auctioned by the French government and why the confratelli risked their lives to save it

Through notes, memoirs, and embodied experiences, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel attempts to reconstruct the structure and ethos of the classes developed by a Princess who almost single-handedly pioneered the art of Russian Ballet in Malta

Sofía Almagro Carrasco

Index: Treasures of Malta, Vol. XXVII

105

81

Warriors, Garrisons, Militias and Fortifications in Malta Through the Ages: Part IV (1429–1530)

Bookshelf

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Calendar Highlights

Charles Debono

In Pursuit of ‘Intangible’ Histories: Princess Nathalie Poutiatine’s Art of Teaching Ballet

104

Giovanni Bonello

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Cultural Review Cecilia Xuereb

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Antonia Critien

Maltese Maritime Swords from French to Modern Times

In this second instalment, Mark Barton and Franco Davies take a look at the maritime weapons used in Malta from the start of the French occupation until today

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A Prominent Patron of the Arts: Cosmana Navarra (1600–1687) Nadette Xuereb

Victor Pasmore (1908–1998), Untitled [Vertical Development], print, 90.5 x 63.5cm, signed, artist proof.

(Private Collection, Malta / Photo: Lisa Attard)

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Contents

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from the Editor

Our journal is proud to announce its recent move to Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s new headquarters, the radically renovated palazzina in St Paul Street, just across the road from the church of St Paul’s Shipwreck, in Valletta, formerly head office of APS Bank whose cooperation with our Foundation in this difficult transition period is unreservedly acknowledged.

This issue coincides with the run of our periodical major exhibition—In Search of Line—planned to remain open till 14 January 2024. This novel and ambitious project, which, in effect, captured our resources for the last couple of years, has happily inaugurated our new seat with a splash.

Our exhibition team has brought together under one roof hidden treasures from private and public collections, all about the relevance that artists have, over the centuries, attributed to the multifarious wonders of line in artistic creation.

Prime samples of prehistoric, Baroque, modern, and contemporary creativity illustrate the pregnancy of contours in expression. Viewers of the exhibits discover the soaring achievements of modern local artists possessed by giving a voice to line. An unmissable catalogue twins this display.

Not surprisingly, the art of Victor Pasmore here claims a lion’s share. The space vacated when the exhibits are dismantled will be taken up by the more extensive permanent collection from Pasmore’s Malta years, a tribute to a giant of twentieth-century art who spent a significant part of his life enriching, and being enriched by, Malta. The Victor Pasmore Gallery will, at the same time, be benefitting from a revamped website.

On the publishing front, the next significant volume will be the first one from a new series of Histories of Malta. After a ten-year hiatus, the previous twelvevolume run of microhistories will restart, but in a different format and with additional perspectives. Like the earlier one, the new series will spread over several publications, each covering one overarching theme. The first volume deals with criminals in Maltese history, the second: women’s roles in the frailer annals of Malta.

Immediately after Histories, our next publication will overview the story of cinematography in Malta. This goes back to early times, and intertwines with the social, political, cultural, and economic destinies of the island. The recent controversial interest in filming activity based on Malta points to a promising audience. Film historian Charlie Cauchi’s book will be the first to provide context and depth to a subject so scarcely researched so far.

Our publications department has recently introduced peer-reviewing of articles and books to ensure high academic standards in whatever Patrimonju sends to press. We cannot thank sufficiently these scholars, together with our small team of photographers, who contribute so passionately to fulfil our mission statements.

Patrimonju’s Palazzo Falson never ceases to be on the go: The EduFun programme for children to learn and play remains active; specially curated tours on notable occasions are successfully organised. In summer, the staff made available daily lunchtime tours. The restoration, by Atelier del Restuaro, of the lithographs and paintings from Olof Gollcher’s studio is now complete; The EU, the Gollcher Foundation, and Majjistral Action Group generously supported this project.

On a national scale, artistic and cultural activity in Malta shows no signs of flagging. The 250th anniversary of the death of Francesco Zahra in 1773 has been commemorated by two exhibitions, one at the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana, which houses many of his works, and an earlier one at the indefatigable Ħaġar Museum in Victoria, Gozo, both accompanied by significant catalogues.

A deepwater archaeological park near Xlendi, Gozo, finally makes the rare Punic shipwrecks, amphoræ, and extinct coral reefs accessible to bona fide divers.

This brings to fruition the project heralded in our 2014 book, Xlendi and its Ancient Shipwrecks, by John Woods.

A fulfilling Christmas to all our staff, collaborators, authors, and readers.

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Treasures of Malta

is published three times a year, at Christmas, Easter and in the Summer General Editor: Giovanni Bonello Senior Editor: Giulia Privitelli Creative Director: Michael Lowell Publisher / Editorial Office Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti 63, Old Mint Street, Valletta VLT 1518, Malta tel: (356) 21228145 / (356) 21231515 email: giovannibonello@patrimonju.org / info@patrimonju.org / publish@patrimonju.org www.patrimonju.org Production, Sales, Subscriptions and Marketing

www.kitegroup.com.mt Printer Print It, Salendar Group Co. Ltd., KW3, Corradino Industrial Estate, Paola, Malta Advertising M.M. Enterprises 27 Magazines Street, Mdina MDN 1201, Malta tel: (356) 21456625 email: rachellemanduca@hotmail.com; manduca@onvol.net © Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti

All material, pictorial and/or editorial, published in Treasures of Malta is the property of the respective author and/or photographer. Reproduction without the necessary permission in writing from the rightful owner is strictly prohibited.

issn 1028-3013

Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti VO/1762

Conseil d’Honneur His Excellency the President, Dr George Vella The Hon. Prime Minister, Dr Robert Abela His Grace the Archbishop, Mgr Charles J. Scicluna Hon. President The Hon. Dr Owen Bonnici Minister for National Heritage, the Arts, and Local Government Hon. Life Founder President Dr Michael Frendo Life Founder Members Rita Flamini, the late Maurice de Giorgio Founder Members John Lowell, the late John Manduca Nicholas de Piro Board of Governors Joseph Grioli, Chairman Giovanni Bonello, Deputy Chairman Francesca Balzan Joseph V. Bannister Pascal A. Demajo Max Ganado Michael Grech Matthew von Brockdorff Michael Lowell, Chief Executive Officer

FONDAZZJONI PATRIMONJU MALTI

The Chairman and Board of Governors of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti would like to thank the following donors for their support

ASSOCIATES

BENEFACTORS

THE MARTIN LAING FOUNDATION

MR JEAN CLAUDE GANDUR

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS

A full list of Personal and Corporate Patrons may be found on the following page

FONDAZZJONI PATRIMONJU MALTI

The Chairman and Board of Governors of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti would like to thank the following donors for their support

PERSONAL SUPPORTERS Mr & Mrs Andrew Hamish Forsyth

PATRONS PERSONAL Simon Abrahams & Francesca Del Rio Mr Neville Agius & Dr Sabine Agius Cabourdin Baroness Apap Bologna Sceberras D’Amico lnguanez Simon & Annabelle Ellul Sullivan Mrs Janatha Stubbs Mr Andrew Norman Vincenti

CORPORATE Antes Insurance Brokers Ltd – Mr Kevin Galea Pace Atlas Insurance – Mr Matthew von Brockdorff Aviaserve – Mr Kenneth De Martino CamilleriParis Mode – Mr Paul Camilleri Eden Leisure Group – Mr Ian De Cesare Eyetech Ltd – Mr Patrick Cutajar Forestals Group of Companies – Mr Tancred Tabone Gianpula – Dr Roger de Giorgio Good Earth Distributors Ltd – Mr Nikolai de Giorgio GVZH Advocates – Dr Michael Grech IIG Bank (Malta) Ltd – Mr Raymond Busuttil John Ripard & Son (Shipping) – Mr Joseph Chetcuti Joinwell – Mr Sebastian de Giorgio Kite Group Limited – Mr Gordon Pisani

Lombard Bank Malta plc – Mr Joseph Said Mapfre Middlesea plc – Mr Martin Galea Miller Distributors Ltd – Mr Malcolm G. Miller O. F. Gollcher and Sons Ltd – Mr Karl Gollcher PwC – Mr David Valencia RiskCap International Ltd – Dr Paul Magro Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Ltd – Mr Vincent J. Rizzo Satariano – Ms Natasha Chapelle Paleologo Shireburn Software Limited – Ms Yasmin de Giorgio Sigma Coatings (Malta) Ltd – Mr Anthony Critien The Alfred Mizzi Foundation – Mr Julian Sammut The Gasan Foundation – Ms Sarah Carbonaro Tug Malta Ltd – Dr George Abela Virtù Steamship Co. Ltd – Mr Charles A. Portelli

(As at time of going to press)

CALLING THE LINE A CONVERSATION BETWEEN ROBERT BREWER YOUNG AND SARAH CHIRCOP

Now showing at the new Victor Pasmore Gallery, IN SEARCH OF LINE, is Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s latest exhibition which explores the nature of the line and how it has manifested itself over time, a subject that has challenged, inspired, and intrigued artists over many centuries. Through this selection of works, mostly of Maltese twentieth-century artists, as well as some works from the Victor Pasmore collection, the exhibition, designed by FPM Creative Director Michael Lowell and curated by Sarah Chircop, also from FPM, dives deep into the artists’ drive to create and represent images, meanings, and emotions through line.

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Sarah sat down with Robert Brewer Young from the European Graduate School (EGS). Robert is a distinguished luthier and accomplished researcher who studies and helps to preserve violins of exceptional significance. He is also a polymath who has brought to EGS exceptional learning related to ancient languages and in other fields, such as in the philosophy of geometry. FPM has been in dialogue with Robert since the inception of this exhibition project. Here is their conversation on the search for line through thought, action, and experience.

INTO SEARCH

SARAH The title for me is always a great starting place; the ‘in search of ’, the idea of the search, the searching for and of line. What does it mean to be in search of something, and for that quest to be almost the very point itself, the point and the line, and the encounter between the two?

ROBERT Your title is an active title, a reflective title, and also an invitation. For me, from the beginning, I loved the title, because of that aspect of invitation. It is not just an invitation to come as a passive witness, but is actually an invitation to collaborate on the investigation or consideration of a theme, the theme which is remarkably open but at the same time twodimensional, and could be considered two-dimensional if you considered it in geometric terms. But there is an openness within that which I find quite compelling.

What does it mean to be in search of something? Is that with someone else? Or is it a solitary investigation in searching for something? Are you searching through history to find elements or instantiations of line, which you clearly are? But are you searching for that in practice? And the emphasis on the gesture for me is not just looking for it being instantiated in the work of an artist, but actually being drawn out of the experience in considering the line. So, suddenly you think about a gesture differently because you are in search of a line, reflecting on it, simply because of this title.

S The title is also establishing that we are embarking on something together. There is no assumption that we have established what things are— it is the viewing public who needs to be in search of; we are searching together. This is why it was important for me to start with the idea of ‘invention’, understanding invention as something closest to artistic thought—the openness of it, the uncertainty of it, the spontaneity of something happening. Invention has a lot to do with the search.

R There is an equalising effect in the title: you are not just again presenting something as an establishment to entice the passive listener to come in, and to have some sort of response to it. As a witness, there is again an activity being called for that has a collaborative element which I like and from the beginning pulled me in, I would say, to the subject.

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Fig. 1 Installation and video shoot at Manikata as part of the Edinburgh Arts Festival, 1975.

(Courtesy of the Richard Demarco Archive and the University of Dundee)

Richard Demarco

Fostering Cross-Cultural Links Between Malta, Scotland, and Beyond Joseph Borg recalls the indefatigable contributions of a Scottish artist and art impresario caught under the spell of the Maltese ‘mystical environment’

In an early 70s commentary on contemporary art in Malta, a renowned art critic and historian Albert Charles Sewter reflected on Malta’s ‘cultural isolation’ and the tendency towards the continuation of existing and established styles which inevitably degenerated into decay.1 He linked this to the general lack of education and exposure to the history and context of ‘modern art.’ To some extent compensating for this, foreign—mostly British—artists who were regular visitors or sometimes permanent residents in Malta in the post-Independence years contributed in diverse ways to the local cultural development. Notable amongst these for his engagement with Maltese artists and the art scene is Richard Demarco, an artist and art impresario and one of Scotland’s most influential advocates and promoters of contemporary art centred around Edinburgh.

Joseph Borg holds a M.Sc. in Spatial Planning (University of Malta) specialising in cultural landscape assessment and has served as a member of the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee.

His main artistic interest lies in modern and contemporary art and has contributed various articles on the subject in relation to Malta.

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Closer Encounters with Maltese Folk Music Sofía Almagro Carrasco

‘Folk music is an inheritance of the past and it represents the expression of the spirit of the humanity in the sound’.1 The Maltese Islands possess a great wealth of ‘material’ and ‘intangible’ heritage due to the countless cultural exchanges that have involved the Islands across the centuries. Despite their past, some aspects of traditional Maltese culture have disappeared bit-by-bit as the impact of globalisation has taken hold.2 This is true of Maltese folk music and, along with it, the loss of traditional musical instruments3 as these have not only fallen into disuse but are now rejected by younger generations.

This issue was already evident in the early 1970s when Dr Karl Partridge noted that ‘there was little interest in Malta in documenting traditional music’.4 He observed that these instruments were considered ‘old-fashioned and anachronistic’,5 only awakening the interest of tourists at Lejla Maltija.6 Furthermore, the generational transmission of making musical instruments by hand and passing on the skills needed to play them and keep them in working order were also being lost.

These circumstances have led to the present situation where, as Francesco Sultana and Dr Anna Borg Cardona explain, ‘there is almost no one who can now teach how to make traditional instruments. People have lost contact with these instruments and are very reluctant to accept them, especially as many find they sound unpleasant and no one wants to dance to them…’.7 According to Borg Cardona, ‘we do not have enough pride in our own roots […]’.8 Hence,

it seems that there is no longer any affinity between this heritage and the local population. Folk music has, it seems, been relegated to historical festivals such as L-Imnarja, bars, private houses, and a few festivals such as Għanafest.9 All in all, this heritage is at risk of disappearing completely and with it the inestimable contribution it makes to the reconciliation, exchange, and understanding between humans,10 especially since its cultural identity is associated with the Maltese community.

In any case, in the last few decades, this heritage has started to attract the interest of a number of professional musicians and folklorists with the result that they have begun to document and disseminate this form of music.

Furthermore, Malta’s ratification of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 201711 has positively contributed towards the preservation of Malta’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)12 and, in this respect, traditional Maltese għana singing has now been listed13 as an ‘Expression of Interest’ within the Maltese National Inventory of ICH.14 But the question remains as to what role educational bodies, museums, and other centres should play in facilitating the transmission, conservation, and promotion of Maltese folk music. Are these institutions currently fostering any interest in traditional music and culture and getting Maltese society to take an interest in their own cultural heritage?

Maltese folk music in the education system Fig. 1 Toni Cachia ‘Il-Ħammarun’ and Karl Partridge playing the żaqq and the tanbur, 1972.

(Courtesy of Karl Partridge)

As far back as 1979, Mary Vella undertook the responsibility of educating the youngest generations with regards to conserving and defending their own musical

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Fig. 1 (Detail) Blanche Ellul Sullivan, Ephemeria, oil on canvas, 450 x 590mm.

(Private Collection, Malta)

Art in All Forms

The Work and Life of Blanche Ellul Sullivan (1907–2002) Margherita Amodeo offers some personal reflections and recollections on the life and work of a largely overlooked woman artist in twentieth-century Malta

Blanche Ellul Sullivan, artist, pianist and bohemian, lived her life as a work of art. Art was her calling, as was philanthropy.

With her pale powdery complexion and wide blue eyes, she seemed to look at the world in permanent wonder and curiosity. I remember her dressed in pale pinks, lilacs, and mauves—her favourite colours, and a palette she often used in her paintings. Yet, this delicately beautiful woman was also a chain-smoker, who painted, cooked, or played the piano often with a cigarette dangling out of the corner of her mouth. She also loved a fierce game of tennis. She was a true eccentric who, despite her pioneer role as a woman artist and art teacher, was unassuming and modest.

Margherita Amodeo joined the United Nations in New York City in 1974. Throughout the following thirtyfive years, Austria, Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, and Switzerland are among the many places she worked in, mainly in communications.

She holds a M.A. in International Relations and Economics (Webster University, Geneva, Switzerland), and, after leaving the UN, she embarked on a new journey in the field of the arts, creativity, and psychotherapy obtaining degrees from Malta, Spain, and Switzerland.

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Fig. 1 Selection of compositions and notes from Poutiatine’s teaching journals.

(Courtesy of Tanya Bayona / Photo: Lisa Attard)

In Pursuit of ‘Intangible’ Histories Princess Nathalie Poutiatine’s Art of Teaching Ballet

Through notes, memoirs, and embodied experiences, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel attempts to reconstruct the structure and ethos of the classes developed by a Princess who almost single-handedly pioneered the art of Russian Ballet in Malta

In 1937, the Russian émigré Nathalie Poutiatine (1904–1984) moved her dance classes from the front room of a house on Parallel Street into a bespoke building on Tigné Terrace (now Matteo Pulis Street) in Sliema. With a dance studio built to the dimensions of the Royal Opera House’s stage in Valletta, Poutiatine’s school symbolised a beacon of hope, aspiration, and inspiration for generations of dancers.

Poutiatine’s art of teaching ballet was a cultural marker from the 1930s through to the return to classes after the war on Saturday 4 November 1945 until the late 1970s. Prior to the publication of Princess Poutiatine and the Art of Ballet in Malta (FPM, 2020), Poutiatine’s legacy was largely unseen, hidden in the memories of her former students, and in the materiality of photographs, teaching notebooks, musical notes, and a few short videos that capture Poutiatine and her choreography as artefacts of the past. I came across these artefacts when, in 2014, Tanya Bayona gave me unlimited access to these teaching journals, and many of her students shared their treasures with me between 2015 and 2019.

Dr Kathrina FarrugiaKriel is a dance scholar, published author, and speaker. Her main research interest is in dance and performance histories. Her books include Princess Poutiatine and the Art of Ballet in Malta (FPM and Midsea Books, 2020) and The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet (Oxford University Press, 2020). Her third book project, with Dr Adesola Akinleye, tackles ballet pedagogy in contemporary times (OUP, forthcoming).

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A Prominent Patron of the Arts

Cosmana Navarra (1600–1687) Nadette Xuereb

Women have held prominent positions as patrons throughout the story of art, although some have been somewhat overlooked over the years. The Maltese noblewoman Cosmana Navarra (c.1600–1687)1 has contrarily been lauded as a distinguished benefactor and philanthropist.2 Considered to be the first known female patron of the arts, she is mostly known for the prominent project of the reconstruction and embellishment of St Paul’s Parish Church in her hometown of Rabat,3 which she dedicated much energy to during the second part of her life, and is, to date, one of the most significant and devotional artistic projects created during the Baroque period in Malta.4 She is also commemorated by two portraits and a death mask.

Cosmana Navarra lived in the city of Mdina as well as the town of Rabat, close to the seat of the bishop, and in the vicinity of the church of St Paul. She was born into a noble family; the fourth sibling from five out of Dr Giovanni Cumbo’s marriage to Cornelia Navarra.

Navarra’s father, a lawyer, came from the Cumbo family of judges and jurists. Her mother was of Spanish nobility, the Navarra family which settled in the Maltese Islands during the fourteenth century.5 Cosmana’s first husband, Dr Melchior Vella Cagliares, whom she wed in 1615, was a lawyer with relations to the Curia and the nephew of Bishop Fra Baldassare Cagliares (1575–1633).6 They had one son, Ignazio, who died prematurely in 1640. Her husband passed away in 1624, but, a year later, Cosmana married Lorenzo Cassar. Despite her still young age of around twenty-five years, she did not bear any more children.7

overleaf: Fig. 1 Anonymous (seventeenth-century Maltese artist), full-length portrait of Cosmana Navarra.

(Courtesy of the Wignacourt Collegiate Museum, Rabat / Photo: Joe P. Borg)

Cosmana’s proximity to the church of Rabat and her noble status gave her the opportunity to finance many artistic projects together with her second husband. Most of her commissions were continued or finalised after his death in 1660, as was typical in female patrons, who mostly emerged as significant artistic benefactors after the death of their husbands.

The full-length portrait of Cosmana Navarra (Fig. 1) was painted by an anonymous Maltese artist during the 1680s. It sets the female patron as the most prominent benefactor of the church of St Paul in Rabat, displaying her as the sole convenor to an ambitious project. It is testimony to the high regard that she was held in towards the end of her life. Navarra was one of the few female patrons during this period to be portrayed on her own, and the first woman to be painting in full length in Malta.8 The mature Cosmana stands in front of her own residence and looks directly at the viewer, proudly showing her dignified status. She holds a plan of the church of St Paul in her right hand as if to emphasise her link to the rebuilding and setting up of the church. The church, its parvis, and the statue of the patron saint, all of which were commissioned by her, are depicted in the background. The inscription at the bottom of the painting identifies her as the noblewoman who built for St Paul: Cosmanae Effiges Navarae Cerniterista, Quae Magno Paolo Costrixit Nobile Fanum.

A second portrait of the female patron (Fig. 2), carried out posthumously, also survives—the only portrait of a woman which is displayed in the sacristy of the church of St Paul. In this half-length portrait, she wears the same dignified expression, and is also accompanied by an inscription identifying her and her achievements.

This portrait was commissioned in 1735 by the rector of the jus patronatus of St Anthony9 to occupy the space in which it still is in today, abutting the chapel in which she is buried.

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Fig. 1 Detail from the medallion with the effigy of St Joseph on top of the 1697 surgentina made by Carlo Troisi.

(Courtesy of the Archconfraternity of St Joseph, Rabat / Photo: Lisa Attard)

The Silver that Started the Revolt Jeremy Debono examines the church silverware belonging to the Archconfraternity of St Joseph of Rabat which was going to be auctioned by the French government and why the confratelli risked their lives to save it

The 268-years-long rule of the Order of St John in Malta came abruptly to an end with the coming of the French army led by General Napoleon Bonaparte, in June 1798. Due to financial problems, especially after the French Revolution, the Order had already started melting silver from the Palace, the auberges, the hospital, and the navy. The Order in Malta was then nearly bankrupt. The French inherited the Order’s financial woes, adding to them the upkeep of the French garrison and the repayment of the debts of the Order amounting to six million francs. Like the Grand Masters, they opted to do the same, augmenting the list of objects to liquefy to include new possessions.

Jeremy Debono is a Senior Assistant Librarian at the National Library of Malta. He graduated with a B.A. (Hons) in History, in 2013, and with a Diploma in Archives and Records Management, in 2015, from the University of Malta. Since 2014, he has been employed with Malta Libraries, has worked on several exhibitions organised by the entity, and was also involved in compiling the respective catalogues. He is presently researching the several collections of the National Library and their development.

Debono wrote several articles published in local Festa magazines, mainly about his hometown, Rabat, and the feast of St Joseph. In 2020, he published his first book, San Ġużepp tar-Rabat tal-Imdina: Storja ta’ Devozzjoni u Arti.

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Warriors, Garrisons, Militias and Fortifications in Malta Through the Ages: Part IV (1429–1530) Charles Debono

During the 1420s, there were two successive attacks by the Hafsids of Tunisia. The first heavy attack occurred in 1423, which brought destruction of fields and villages and the loss of many Maltese inhabitants, including Bishop Maurus who happened to be on the island and was taken into captivity.1 About six years later, another massive Moorish attack and landing took place. A contemporary Arab writer of this Moorish razzia of 1429, who has written about Malta, is Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd alQadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi (764–845 AH; 1364– 1442 AD). Through al-Maqrizi’s interest in the history

of the Ismaili Fatimid dynasty, we have an important reference to Malta.2 This attack took place a year after the islands of Malta and Gozo were integrated with the regia dominium of Alfonso V, in 1428. Abu Fares led an army of Arabs from Tunisia who attacked Mazara and Malta during the summer. The distances between Tunisia and Southern Sicily and Malta are short and, therefore, he took advantage of this situation. Abu Fares’ army which attacked Mazara consisted of 200 soldiers on horseback together with 15,000 warriors. After the siege and fall of Mazara, without leaving any garrison behind in the

Fig. 1 Detail of the Barbary Coast on the Mediterranean, much of which belonged to the Hafsid Kingdom by the end of the fourteenth century, taken from a reproduction of the Catalan world map at the Biblioteca Estensa (C.G.A.1), c.1450–1460. This reproduction is by George H. Kimble, published by the Royal Geographic Society in 1934.

(Courtesy of the National Library of Australia)

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Fig. 2 Giambattista Conti, 1956 apse painting showing Saints Paul, Agatha and George helping the Maltese overcome the Moors during the razzia of 1429, at the Basilica of St George, Victoria, Gozo.

(Courtesy of the Parish of St George, Gozo / Photo: Daniel Cilia)

conquered city, the fleet sailed on to Malta. According to Christian sources, the Arab fleet was made up of seventy vessels, fifty of which were galleys. The army was under the command of Qaid Ridwán.3 The Arab army which arrived in Malta was a little smaller in size due to the losses suffered in Sicily. Al-Maqrizi does not mention the number of casualties on the larger and nearby island. According to the narrative of al-Maqrizi, after a skirmish that took place outside the walls of Mdina, when ‘a garrison of the “Franks” turned back to save one of their leaders, fifty of the best people on the island died while one of their leaders was caught and sent to Abu Fares.

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On hearing the news, Abu Fares sent more men, implying that the siege may have been prolonged’.4 Since the Crusades, the Christians were known in the Arab World as Franks because most of the early Crusaders came from Frankish territory.5 Around 900 of Malta’s best soldiers perished.6 The number of Maltese losses, however, must have been exaggerated. Nonetheless, one should ask, who were these soldiers? They could have been part of reinforcements sent from the castrum maris or were, perhaps, Maltese militiamen. We know that in 1417 there was already some form of a standing militia at Mdina, which by 1429 was

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Fig. 1 Details of the four main patterns of British naval swords, from left: current 1846 pattern, this one is dated between1856–1858; 1827 pattern with pipe back blade; 1805 plain pattern for Lieutenants and below (in scabbard); 1805 pattern for Commanders and above with the blue and gilt blade. The blades often get thinner as they get more modern.

(Courtesy of the Mark Barton Collection)

Maltese Maritime Swords from French to Modern Times In this second instalment, Mark Barton and Franco Davies take a look at the maritime weapons used in Malta from the start of the French occupation until today

Our paper in the previous issue of this journal examined the evidence regarding the maritime edged weapons used by the Knights of St John’s maritime forces. Equally missing though is any previous study on what swords were used by Maltese personnel operating in the maritime environment from the two periods of occupation (French and British) which have so informed the weapons held in both the Maltese Police and Military forces to this day. This paper corrects that by looking at the maritime weapons used from the start of the French occupation to now. This helps set the numerous examples of such swords that were left behind and safeguarded by their keepers and in some organisations in context.

Dr Mark Barton BEng MA PhD FRINA retired as Commander from the Royal Navy after thirty five years. He has written four books, including co-authoring British Naval Swords and Swordsmanship and contributed many journal articles on naval social history linked to objects. He is Honorary Secretary of the Society of Nautical Research.

Franco Davies BSc MSc MA SRP is a physiotherapist with an active interest in martial arts. His research revolves around the history of martial training in Europe, and has authored several papers on the topic and published his first book, Swords of the Religion, in early 2022.

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Cultural Review

Cecilia Xuereb unpacks the music archives of the Mdina Cathedral and the inspiration they provide in developing music programmes for local contemporary festivals

The last event of the 2023 Valletta Baroque Festival in January premiered Marco Mencoboni’s edition of a Mass by Gerolamo Abos, performed by the members of the Monteverdi Project and the Cantar Lontano Ensemble from Italy. Gerolamo Abos was a third-generation Maltese composer whose paternal grandfather came from the south of France and settled in Malta round about 1667. Although Abos left Malta at the age of nine to study in Naples, where he eventually settled, he maintained close ties with his birthplace, tutoring several Maltese musicians studying in Naples and who eventually became maestri di cappella at the Mdina Cathedral. Among these were Benigno Zerafa and Francesco Azopardi, two of the most important musicians of the seventeenth century, both of whom were a great influence on the development of Maltese music. In this way, Abos left an important imprint on the works of Maltese Baroque composers.

From the second half of the twentieth century right to our time, there has been a new interest in the history and development of Maltese music, both locally and

The earliest extant composition in the archives is a Beatus Vir by Giuseppe Balzano dating back to 1652.

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internationally. From its very early days, towards the end of the fifteenth century, the Mdina Cathedral had a very active cappella musicale that accompanied liturgical services.

Musicians—singers, instrumentalists, conductors—came over mostly from Sicily and were employed on a full-time basis by the Cathedral Chapter.

Eventually, these were supplanted by local musicians who were sent to train first in Sicily and, later, in Rome, Naples, and Venice. Initially, they joined the foreign ensembles, but, by 1711, the Chapter was directed exclusively by Maltese musicians.

Over the years, the Cathedral built up a collection of musical scores. These, however, lay hidden and forgotten somewhere in the buildings of the Cathedral until 1969, when a new state-of-the art museum was officially opened in the building that once housed the Archbishop’s Seminary.

Previously, the Cathedral Museum was located in the upper sacristies of the Cathedral where the rich legacy of the late Count Saverio Marchese (1757–1833) and other works of art donated by various members of the Cathedral Chapter were very poorly exhibited. In 1968, Mgr Edward Coleiro, who spearheaded the project for the new museum, persuaded the Cathedral Chapter to transfer the Cathedral archives to the old Seminary building. These archives contained very important historical material and their transfer to the new premises

made them more accessible to researchers. At the time, the archives included documents of the Cathedral Chapter, the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition in Malta, and those of the Provicariato of the old Episcopal Curia of Mdina. The archives now form part of a new collection, together with other objects belonging to the Cathedral. To date, however, there were no music archives.

Chev. Vincenzo Bonello, who was assisting Mgr Coleiro in setting up the new collection, thought it very strange that none of the music that had animated liturgical services at the Mdina Cathedral over so many centuries and performed by so many cappellae directed by foreign and local composers had survived.

During the period leading to the opening of the new museum, Mgr Coleiro and Chev. Bonello had been scouring the Cathedral precincts for items that should be transferred from the Cathedral and exhibited in the new museum. It happened that, on one occasion, the two gentlemen came across a large old cupboard which had apparently not been opened for many years. The keys to this cupboard were nowhere to be found.

Bonello suggested that a carpenter should be called in to force the lock. But, true to form, the Monsignor withstood no delays and, after asking Bonello to step aside, he took a flying leap and kicked the doors in. This huge cabinet contained the Cathedral’s complete historic musical archives—an important

treasure of forgotten music scores by renowned foreign and Maltese composers!

The collection of 159 printed works includes a considerable number of unique works or editions of part-books, the majority of which were published in Sicily. Most of the works are of a liturgical nature with only twenty works of secular music. The 883 partbooks include 107 complete works. The titlepage of these part-books generally features an ornamental frame enclosing text with the coat of arms of the artistic patron and possibly a holy image in the centre. Among the unique examples is an important collection of motets composed in the eighteenth century by Don Andrea Rinaldi, chapel master in Syracuse who was previously active in the Mdina Cathedral. The only non-Italian prints are two works by French composers Du Caurroy and Du Mont, published in Paris in 1610 and 1652, respectively.

Another collection consists of manuscript scores by Italian composers between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries. These include some masses and vespers but is particularly rich in motets.

It also includes twenty-four secular pieces.

Among the more important composers are the Sicilian Vincenzo Tozzi, Vincenzo Amato, Giacomo Carissimi, and Monteverdi’s unique work which is an adaptation for liturgical purposes of his canzonetta, Chiome d’oro, from his seventh book of madrigals. This was performed in 1984 during the Victoria International Arts Festival in Gozo.

The rest of the attributed manuscript scores are anthologies of motets, psalms, and part-books by unknown compilers. These also include an apparently unique motet by Carissimi, Dominus illuminatio mea, as well as works by Atanasio da Pisticci, Paolo Agostini, and Domenico Borgianni, which are not found elsewhere in the collection, and five works by Aloysio Mataron—a composer who so far has not been traced anywhere else.

There are also 142 unattributed scores that include a number of non-liturgical compositions consisting of dialogues, cantatas, pastoral themes, and a cantilena; only four of the texts are not in Italian or in Latin and only eight are dated, the oldest being a 1667 motet for eight voices. The handwriting on several scores might suggest that they are unattributed scores by Giuseppe Balzano, a supposition enforced by a list of compositions by him, including works with exactly the same titles, number of voices, and specifications.

Works by Rubino, Marotta, Monteverdi, and Muscari have also been identified.

The collection recovered from the Cathedral, in 1968, includes three signed scores by the Balzano brothers, the earliest

known Maltese composers, scores by Azopardi, Benigno Zerafa, and his nephew, Vincenzo, Pietro Paolo and Vincenzo Bugeja, and Giuseppe Vella. Composers of the Neapolitan school, including Rispoli and Jommelli, also feature in this section, together with works by organists or composers who wished to dedicate a work to the Cathedral Chapter and have it archived in the Cathedral’s collection.

Today, the contents of the archive are classified by composer and the scores are supported by ample historical documentation found in the Museum Archives on the running of the Mdina Cathedral cappella over a period of four centuries. They include choral books, the oldest of which are two antiphonaries, which are on display in the Museum, six large graduals on parchment dating back to 1573, and two smaller antiphonaries, one bearing the arms of Bishop Gargallo.

The collection, furthermore, includes a number of manuscript musical treatises—the grammars and copybooks of several Maltese composers who studied in Naples, including Azopardi, Emanuele Galea, Pietro Paolo Bugeja, Luigi Vella, and Giuseppe Burlo.

Since 1968, the collection has been enriched by a number of scores that were donated to the Cathedral Museum and its library, previously held by families of composers, by collectors, and parishes. The most recent composition in the catalogue was composed in 2019 by Christopher Muscat, Qui cantat bis orat. It is a sacred cantata for cantor, schola gregoriana, SATB choir, and orchestra. As maestro di cappella of the Cathedral, Muscat also deposits his works, both liturgical and other general sacred works, in the archives.

Since that time, interest from both local and foreign scholars and musicians in the archives has gone unabated. An early performance based on music from the archives was given in 1985 by Alberto Borg, with music by two seventeenth-century Sicilian composers who were active in Malta—Andrea Rinaldi and Antonio Campochiaro. This concert also presented a work by the Maltese composer Pietro Gristi. A few years later, in 1987, Rev. John Galea conducted a concert of music by the important eighteenth-century Maltese composer Benigno Zerafa.

Moreover, concerts were performed under various music directors who, in most cases, also edited the music. Of major importance were the concerts sponsored

by APS Bank which were recorded and subsequently issued on CD. These explored music by Maltese composers from the archives, including Abos, Zerafa, Azopardi, the Nani composers, Giuseppe Vella, and Luigi Vella.

The creation of the Valletta International Baroque Ensemble, an offshoot of the annual Valletta International Baroque Festival, and of the Monteverdi project specialising in the performance of Baroque music has also given a new impetus to the performance of Maltese music from the Cathedral Archives.

A very successful series of three CDs, entitled Les Inedits de la Cathedral de Malte, was published in the 1990s by the Cedime Studio SM. These featured seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music from the Cathedral Archives by leading Italian composers, including Giacomo Carissimi, Vincenzo Amato, and Claudio Monteverdi, and Maltese composers such as Domenico Balzano, Aloisio Mataron, Benigno Zerafa, and Francesco Azopardi, all of whom had an important influence on the development of Maltese music. Other important CDs with music from the Cathedral Archives by Giuseppe and Domenico Balzano, Mataron, Abos, and Nicolo Isouard, performed by the Laudate Pueri Choir under the direction of Joseph Vella, were produced by Fondazzjoni Memorji Kulturali. Others still were published by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture in 2007 (a recording of the concert, The Family Nani, conducted by Christopher Muscat), and by Tactus of Bologna (Bonaventura Rubino’s Messa di Morti a 5 Concertata performed by the Cappella Musicale Sta Maria di Campitelli under Vincenzo di Betta).

Today, the collection no longer forms part of the Cathedral Museum; it has joined the Cathedral Archives in a separate building. The archivists are constantly on the lookout for new material that might become available on the market and, indeed, copies of works by Maltese composers have recently been acquired. When this is not possible, photocopies of works by Maltese composers found in repositories outside Malta are acquired instead. So far, these have included scores by Don Michelangelo Vella, Isouard, and Abos, whose originals are conserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Maiella, and the Monastero San Gregorio Armeno, both in Naples, and at the Conservatorio in Palermo.

Scan to view the score of Christopher Muscat’s Qui cantat bis orat, the most recent item in the Archives catalogue.

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Calendar Highlights

A selection of upcoming events happening around Malta and Gozo over the next few months

Music MPO Chamber Series #4 The MPO brass ensemble, led by principal horn Etienne Cutajar, team up for a varied programme including a work by Mro Joseph Vella and Christopher Muscat’s Quintessence.

Robert Samut Hall, Floriana 7 January 2024 www.maltaorchestra.com Valletta Baroque Festival Since its launch in 2013, the Valletta Baroque Festival has treated audiences to a unique event featuring some of the best soloists and ensembles in the Baroque music scene.

Spanning over three weeks, the festival offers a quintessential experience of all that is Baroque as it takes place in exquisite venues.

Around Malta 11–28 January 2024 www.festivals.mt

MUSIC PICK Candlelight Classical Concerts The Phoenicia Hotel, Floriana 19–20 January 2024 Held all over the world, these magical concerts are now coming to Malta.

Musicians take their seats amidst a sea of LED candles creating a truly enchanting experience. Best works from Hans Zimmer and Vivaldi, respectively, will be performed on two consecutive days. www.feverup.com

Il-Qtates ta’ max-Xatt: L’Opra għat-Tfal The story explores the sensitive subject of loss through the lens of a group of singing cats who live on the street and finding it difficult to understand why two of the most important people in their lives have disappeared.

Teatru Manoel, Valletta 9–11 February 2024 www.teatrumanoel.com.mt

Esplora Interactive Science Centre, Kalkara 20–25 February 2024 www.esplora.org.mt

Her Say not Hearsay

Operatic Concert: Maltese-Bulgarian music legacy A concert featuring vocal classical music to commemorate the day of liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke.

Malta Society of Arts, Valletta 2 March 2024 www.artsmalta.org

Performing Arts

Spazju Kreattiv Theatre, Valletta 8–10 March 2024 Under the visionary direction and production of Charlotte Grech, this production unveils a tapestry of distinct voices, illuminating the power and depth of women’s storytelling. Through evocative words and captivating performances, the stage becomes a canvas for personal journeys, societal reflections, and profound human connections. Scripts

by Lara Calleja, Kim Dalli, and Simone Spiteri. www.kreattivita.org

Beauty and the Beast What is Christmas without a panto? Join Belle (Hannah Spiteri) and her delightful Nanny (Alan Montanaro) as they set out to find Belle’s missing father. Written and directed by Chiara Hyzler.

Teatru Manoel, Valletta 22 December 2023 – 7 January 2024 www.madc.com.mt Is-Snin li Tħoss With rave reviews from its run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Soho Theatre as well as earning a nomination in the 2023 Olivier Awards, Haylee McGee’s Age is a Feeling is now set to premiere in Malta with a Maltese translation of the script by Clare Azzopardi. Produced by Udjenza under the direction of Toni Attard, this never-the-sametwice solo show performed by Clare Agius follows the ageing journey of one’s life with charm, wit, honesty, and vulnerability.

GUTZ Written by Alex Weenink and Kurt Gabriel Meli, GUTZ is a coming-of-age classroom play for post-secondary schools that explores young people’s relationships with power, shame, and the act of standing up and speaking out against the louder voices in our lives. After touring Sixth Forms in Malta, the show will head to Slovenia in April.

Spazju Kreattiv Theatre, Valletta 16–25 February 2024 www.kreattivita.org

Sixth Form schools around Malta March 2024 www.teatrumalta.org.mt

The Best European Show Directed by Haris Pašović, and co-produced by five European theatres, among which is Teatru Malta, this satirical comedy follows an eclectic European jury that needs to determine the winners of the last theatre festival ever before the theatre finally gives way to the ongoing digitalisation and retires into history books.

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THEATRE PICK

Westside Story Teatru Astra is proud to present Leonard Bernstein’s powerful masterpiece—an iconic story about two young lovers caught in between the prejudice and warring of New York street gangs.

Teatru Astra, Gozo 15–24 March 2024 www.teatruastra.org.mt

7 December 2023 – 14 January 2024 www.kreattivita.org

Visual Arts

EXHIBITION PICK Dream [of ] land

In Search of Line Both on the page as well as into space and time, the line has manifested itself in many ways, from drawing to weaving, writing, mark-making, singing and storytelling. FPM’s latest exhibition explores these fascinations and breaks down ‘line’ to its core elements, exploring the artists’ drive to create and represent images, meanings, and emotions through line. Through research and conversation, the endless support and generosity of private lenders, as well as the collaboration with public institutions, this exhibition invites us out for a walk, and just like Klee’s line, aims to freely explore and understand the vast spectrum which is line.

Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta 15 December 2023 – 11 February 2024 www.kreattivita.org Glasshouse Robert Zahra, Jesmond Vassallo, and Gilbert Calleja explore creative production as a process through which the individual can reflect on lived experience.

Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta 19 January – 25 February 2024 www.kreattivita.org

Victor Pasmore Gallery at 275, APS House, St Paul Street, Valletta 30 September 2023 – 14 January 2024 www.victorpasmoregallery.com Sheepsbodies Visual artist Matthew F. Cassar, author Lara Calleja, and musician Michael Azzopardi create environments that mix and layer their three disciplines, questioning the idea of self and authenticity. Curated by Katarina Lennmarker.

Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta

Human[kind] A thought-provoking exhibition by G. Luigi Rossi, a German artist residing in Malta, that delves deep into the core social issues affecting our society.

Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta 16 February – 21 April 2024 An interdisciplinary project which combines narratives of identity, belonging, familiarity and home through the complex overlap of artmaking and crafts. The project is an invitation to reflect upon the past, present and future, whilst engaging audiences to explore subjective narratives and appropriate them to build unique and personal experiences. Curated by Elyse Tonna and Sarah Chircop with Margerita Pulè as project manager. www.kreattivita.org

Through the Eye of the Needle Drawing inspiration from the needle as a symbol of healing, the textile works by Stefan Spiteri explore the wounded relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Malta Society of Arts, Valletta 8–29 February 2024 www.artsmalta.org

Index continued from page 103 CULTURAL REVIEW The 326-page hardback volume features extensively various buildings designed by Gustave R. Vincenti. The architectural projects include Vincenti Buildings in Strait Street Valletta, Palazzina Vincenti in St Julian’s, and townhouses in Sliema, Floriana and Birkirkara. Drawings of these projects are being published for the first time.

Specifications: 297 x 210mm | 326 pgs | Hardback + Jacket

Signed copies available from www.kitegroup.com.mt Kite Group, 13, Triq il-Franġiskani, Ħamrun

CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS compiled by Antonia Critien Vol. XXIX, No. 1, 99 Vol. XXIX, No. 2, 88 Vol. XXIX, No. 3, 95 INDEX Treasures of Malta, Vol. XXVIII Vol. XXIX, No. 1, 96

YEARS of

info@kitegroup.com.mt

Xuereb, Cecilia Vol. XXIX, No. 1, 97 Vol. XXIX, No. 2, 86 Vol. XXIX, No. 3, 93

+356 9993 2592

A Subject Index to the Illustrations in Treasures of Malta, Vol. XXVIII – Paul Xuereb Vol. XXVIII, No. 1, 93-95

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