You have written a great deal about Maltese traditional music. What is your latest book, entitled ‘Daqq, Ghana u Zfin Malti’ about?

My book is about the musical instruments, singing and dancing which feature in Malta’s traditional music culture. The book is written in simple language with full-colour pictures throughout. At the end of each section, there are suggestions for further reading so that the reader whose appetite has been whetted need not be left unsatisfied. Furthermore, my book can also be read hand in hand with Doqqli Daqqa, the music album by Gukulari Ensemble, as in each section I mention tracks which feature a particular instrument or traditional song. Like this, the reader can also hear the specific sounds. The book and the CD are sold separately.

A large part of the book is devoted to the many instruments. Several of these traditional instruments are found naturally in the environment. The bronja is a huge shell, which produces a booming sound. The bronja would be blown by the miller first to inform farmers that the wind is right for grinding wheat and again to inform them that the wheat has been ground and can be collected.

Another naturally-found instrument is the bedbut. This is a reed (qasba) which can be made into a whistle. In the book I also offer instructions on how to make this common instrument, which in the past all children would have known how to make. The bedbut also forms part of other complex instruments such as the zaqq.

Another instrument I write about in the book is the cuqlajta. Many different instruments go by the name cuqlajta varying from the small clapper ones used in a traditional band to the huge one hanging in the belfry of the Mdina Cathedral. A small bone cuqlajta was even found in the Roman domus in Rabat.

In the book there are also instructions on how to make the zafzafa, an instrument used specifically during Carnival. Like the bedbut, the zafzafa, also known as a rabbaba, is very much a homemade instrument. In Africa, this instrument was generally associated with initiation rites and journeys into adulthood. The qarn (horn) is another instrument associated with Carnival. The animal horn, from which a sound producer can be made, is actually very rough therefore it has to be smoothed and thinned out with glass.

Some of the instruments are recalled by elderly people and are therefore easy to reconstruct. Other instruments haven’t been played for a long time and so no one is 100 per cent sure of how they were made. This is particularly the case with several string instruments of the past.

An instrument which is very unique to Malta, is our version of the bagpipes – the zaqq. Around the world, one can find examples of bagpipes which have some similarities, however in no country is it exactly like our zaqq. It takes great skill to make a zaqq the Maltese way, as all the bones and flesh have to be removed from the neck opening without damaging the skin in any way. In Tunisia, for example, the animal skin is removed from the wider side by the back legs rather than from the very narrow neck opening. It seems like the intention was to make the Maltese instrument as life-like as possible.

And of course, I mentioned the guitar, which is so important in the accompaniment of Maltese folk singing (ghana).

I devote a section of my book to ghana. Since the 15th century, there has definitely been some sort of ghana in Malta. It is quite fortunate that in one case a French traveller noted the words of some songs while a German traveller noted the melody of the same ghanjiet. Therefore I managed to connect the two together to form one whole thing.

Some people might think ghana is boring because they do not know what is going on, so I gave a simple explanation of the different types of ghana. Indeed ghana has become very structured. In ghana spirtu pront there are usually four singers – A, B, C, D. A would address C, although his singing would be followed by B. Like this, C would have time to think out a reply. In turn, B would address D, and so on.

When it comes to zfin, it is unfortunate that we have let so much slip away. The watercolours by Ducros are priceless with their scenes of dancing. Dancing was commonplace in Malta, as was witnessed by so many travellers.. During Carnival, there used to be even more dancing. Today, the parata has changed substantially. Previously this was a men’s dance. Men all dressed in white, came from the villages and would dance mock battles with sword and shield. They would finally lift up a little girl who may be seen as representing a new season and a new crop. The connection with nature was clearly very strong. Around the 19th century, ironically after the Knights had left Malta, the dance evolved into a mock fight between Turks and Knights. However it is not clear whether one dance evolved into another or whether they were originally two different dances with the first dance dying out. Then, there is also il-Maltija. In contrast with the other dances, this was danced by men and women in beautiful 18th century costumes and often took place in a court setting. Another version of this was Zepp u Grezz, which was danced with a faster tempo. What saddens me is that so many of our dances are dying out, although some of the steps and dances are documented. All that is needed is a dedicated professional choreographer to reconstruct the steps.

What did your research entail?

By merely speaking to elderly people, I gathered a lot of information over the years, which I then pieced together to form one solid picture. As for documentation of Malta’s performing art – daqq, ghana and zfin – I often had to venture abroad. It seems that for the Maltese all this music and dancing was commonplace, with impromptu jamming sessions occasionally arising, so the Maltese themselves would often not write about their own music and instruments. On the other hand, travellers on their Grand Tour found the music and dancing captivating and wrote about it in their travel books and diaries. These are a wonderful source of information.

Some of our musical traditions are very male-oriented and it is hard for a woman to enter this close-knit crowd. It is one of the few times when I would prefer to be a man. Fortunately, I am blessed with a husband who supports my passion and joins me on my fieldwork, helping me break the ice with the people I encounter.

What audience were you aiming at with ‘Daqq, Ghana u Zfin Malti’?

The book is very colourful and the layout is not complicated which makes the book ideal for a younger reader and ideal for schools. The fact that it runs hand in hand with Doqqli Daqqa, also makes the book more interactive. There are also step-by-step instructions on how to build certain instruments – though of course not the zaqq which is very difficult to make. However this does not mean that the book is only for children. The Qari iehor (Further reading) sections provide even more information about the music, singing and dancing which the older reader will also appreciate.

What is the history of Gukulari Ensemble and how long have you played with the ensemble?

The Gukulari Ensemble was originally created in order to perform Maltese or Maltese-related music which had been discovered. Prof. Wettinger had passed on to me some documents he discovered in England which I then published with actual notation together with other music I had myself discovered in Malta and abroad. It was only natural to start playing the music and therefore keep it alive. I had also been researching musical instruments for a number of years and that was the chance to start using the instruments in our performances. Gukulari Ensemble has a two-fold purpose – we give pleasure to our listeners but we also like to educate them. Malta is rather slow when it comes to understanding that our home-grown product is also excellent and we really have a lot we should be proud of.

What made you interested in Maltese folklore?

My father was always very interested in Maltese folklore, so the seed must have been sown early in my life. When I was 18 years old, I went to France. There were students from all over the world and we all were asked to perform something from our own country. I remember as a Maltese group we were not capable of coming up with something and this was humiliating.

However, it may have served as impetus for me to start my search. In addition, I have played the piano since I was six years old. I would play Hungarian rhapsodies, Polish and Irish dances and wonder, “Where are the Maltese rhapsodies? Where are the Maltese dances?”