Etnika’s performance is part of the celebration of Caravaggio’s art, Una Mostra Impossibile and tickets are available at St James’ Cavalier every day between 10am and 9pm. The telephone number is 2122-3216.

The Etnika project was launched in August 2000 to build awareness of traditional Maltese music and to revive Maltese music traditions which have either become extinct or are near to extinction. Etnika’s recovery of ancient folk instruments has sparked popular interest by weaving together island and regional traditional strains with classical European influences and a variety of contemporary sounds from rock to electronica.

In England, Maltese researcher and music enthusiast Steve Borg stumbled upon 16 Maltese folk melodies, airs and dances and in Malta he found mid-20th century recordings of the instrument known as iz-zaqq (the stomach), which is a type of bagpipes, in the archives of PBS.

Borg enlisted the help of enthnomusicologist Guzi Gatt to reconstruct Maltese folk instruments that had fallen into disuse. Gatt tracked down former players, and experimented with local natural materials to produce replicas of iz-zaqq. He also developed a prototype iz-zummara, a reed pipe with a single cane and reed, usually amplified with a cow’s horn bell. He went on to reproduce il-fifra (cane whistle flute), it-tanbur (a frame drum with a goatskin head) and iz-zafzafa (a friction drum with a ceramic body and goatskin membrane).

Maltese composer Ruben Zahra taught himself to play the instruments and used them to compose new music. He says: “I have tried to create a unique modern sound, not a museum piece.”

Etnika has since cultivated an expanding audience. “People hadn’t actually heard these instruments before,” says Andrew Alamango.

“When they did, it was a revelation. The music is vivid, not nostalgic. It is a stark invocation of a traditional sound that links North Africa, the Levant, and southern Europe.”

For other events at the Caraffa Stores, visit www.caravaggio.com