Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci
There are things which occur in society which a person may consider as normal everyday events and which seem to have no effect on the habitual goings on of one's day. Things occur which are ignored or which go unnoticed, and these will be new visible or even concealed forces, currents which cause gradual change. When a sudden outburst occurs, we get a shock. And then we notice that nature had been sending out signals for a long time.
This may be likened to a situation in which a person does not feel well, and nature sends out warning signs which are ignored. The situation worsens; nature continues to deliver messages of caution which are continuously cast aside. Then it may be too late. Society is the same. Things will be changing radically yet subtly at the base of society, and then sudden change will erupt and cause havoc.
It is art which has the capacity to profoundly reflect and show these hidden changes. We must begin a process of studying these fundamental changes. Art teaches us that all which is in existence, all that happens, is a metaphor. Meaning that all which occurs differs from that which is seen superficially in value and even in definition. The metaphor is our own existence, and art is this metaphor. Empirical, industrial society, the computerized and globalized world of today, is trying to render the metaphor obsolete, by equating art with life directly. Everything is art, and thus we no longer need the metaphor.
I remember my English teacher Mr Cachia - to whom I send my fondest salutations - had opened my eyes to the meaning of metaphor. How poetry is able to show you hidden reality due to other thoughts; how one may find truth but only behind superficial appearances, and one needs to dig to uncover such truths. And this understanding opened up a beautiful world for me. I began to see the world with a new lens and new colours. Everything signifies something other than that which I am seeing. And that which doesn't show is truth.
To give a deeper meaning to that which you see in front of you opens up a plethora of avenue. You witness forces which determine social behaviour in all its forms, both in cultural and in artistic forms. As an example of this I will refer to a work by Karl Fiorini which was developed from the Innu Malti, not that by Dun Karm but the proletarian Innu Malti written by Manwel Dimech, a contemporary of the National Poet. In other words, there was an event in which one of the leading Maltese composers dedicated all his energy to the writings of Dimech, a person who is 'prohibited' from invading our collective consciousness.
I have already written on this event in the past. All I would like to add here is that an event such as this one is testimony to the changes which are shifting our way of thinking, and not only are these mental shifts but also ones seeping into our socioeconomic basis. That event was a strong rebuttal to the archaic conservative section of hegemonic power.
Obviously, if you perceive it as an individual and particular musical activity for the masses or for the elite, nothing will ever change. It was a metaphor for the phenomenal change which Malta is undergoing.
We arrive at the 27th February 2015, in the Church of St. Augustine, Valletta. A composition by Alex Vella Gregory, an important composer and a pianist who played his works 'Knejjes IV' and 'Mill-Qamar sal-Qabar' together with the soprano Miriam Cauchi. The choice of texts was highly intriguing. In the Baroque church dedicated to one of the greatest dogmatists of the Catholic Church, St. Augustine, was the beautiful dedication to "nibi Muhammad".
Alex put to music the 'Prayer of Majmuna' (which I shall here quote in Maltese):
"B'Isem Alla l-Ħanin, u sella għalih in-nibi Muħammad/ u għal niesu, u sellem għalihom tislima...dan hu l-qabar ta' Majmuna, bint Ħasan." Beautiful words from the 12th century, with contemporary music, in a Baroque church.
A mosaic such as this one means that Maltese society is greatly enriching itself. Vella Gregory went further, and led us on a journey through the cultural forest of our country. It is not surprising that he concluded his other beautiful works with the words of Manwel Dimech, this time with the song of enlightenment: "Min hu għaref twieled bħali/ egħref minni le ma kien/ le nsir bħalu żmien baqagħli/ jekk inħabrek irrid jien/ tiegħi hija/ kollha il-ħtija/ jekk ħmar għadni sa dan iż-żmien."
And here I also began to think: the words of Dimech, an advocate for free thought and revolutionary education, sung to contemporary music within the same church which excommunicated him. As the composer himself told me, the validity of the choice depends on many factors. However, I believe that forces exist which, even if one is unaware, may still determine the choice of idiom and also of the subject. Yet what is also important is the choice of space which in one way or another must be integrated with the idea. Vella Gregory chose churches which are themselves endowed with hidden stories.
He had to search for these stories within their walls; stories which do not show and which were never heard. And so the choice of Dimech began to make sense.
It seems that he is offering the church space as our collective subconscious. A church is, he told me, a document. I will add to this by saying that it is a hidden mental document of its surrounding peoples, and thus a beacon of identity may exist which maybe was not yet made manifest.
The wounds from the last centuries, especially of the previous one, are maybe finally healing and emerging from our subconscious to create works like this one which awaken our memory.
Article edited and translated by Nikki Petroni
Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci is the artistic director of the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale which will be held between 13 November 2015 and 7 January 2016. APS is the main partner of the Mdina Biennale