When dealing with the revival of a specific place or culture, a subject which is particularly contentious, it is rather difficult to produce activities and events that would be both sensitive to the historical baggage of the context and also be unique. This is a challenge which requires knowledge of the past, of traditional and also new art forms, to exploit the conditions of present life itself so as to ensure the eternality of creative thought. Current times are particularly auspicious, with the Valletta 2018 project injecting much-needed energy into Malta's burgeoning cultural scene.
Valletta 2018 is working on the development of spaces; cultural ones as well as other communities which are not typically associated with cultural innovation. One integral space to the entire project is Valletta's Strait Street which has been the subject of much recent debate. Under the artistic direction of Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, the Strada Stretta Concept has organised a number of intriguing events which have looked back into the street's past to understand the exigencies of its present life.
The upcoming event (Wednesday 24th February 2016) will deal with the contingency of life itself, or the ability for life to transcend the moment of death. The title AFFANN was deliberately chosen to for its meaning as the transitionary moment between life and death. Dr. Schembri Bonaci describes it as the 'strange powerful moment when just seconds before death the body, or the soul for that matter, gives its last 'powerful' sign of life just seconds before nothingness, and this is what is called 'affann''.
The difficult yet fascinating task of choosing to delve into this particular concept is that of finding a suitable method of representing the worldly and simultaneously other-worldly, temporal and also spiritual implications of such an intense moment. Dr. Schembri Bonaci presented the idea to Gjorgji Cincievski, principal double bass player of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, who immediately accepted the challenge presented to him.
Focusing on one performer, AFFANN is an attempt to place the spotlight on the unaccompanied double bass, a situation unusual to both player and instrument. Cincievski is approaching this as a task to present the special qualities of the instrument itself, one which the musician explains is traditionally misunderstood as lacking in melodic capabilities, as well as representing one's own thoughts and ideas. The performance will allow the musician to exploit the full capacity of the instrument, something which is rarely seen or heard. It will be an intimate dialogue between the musician, his instrument and also the series of composers and scores which form part of AFFANN's repertoire. As Cincievski explains; 'there is no hiding, it is all out there in some rather 'naked' way... the solo performance is an unconcealed act...whereas the double bass typically stands on the margins of the stage, it is now central and unaccompanied.'
The majority of the repertoire was selected by Cincievski himself, with the intention of creating a musical journey for the audience despite the employment of a solo instrument. These pieces to Cincievski represent the 'circle of life'. V. Fuka's Prelude from "Three miniatures", S. Garcias' "The Transience of Life", being premiered in Malta at this event, the energetic "Motivy" by Tabakov and Gajdos "Capriccio in E", finishing into 'nothingness', or one single pizzicato note, with the deeply meaningful and thought provoking "Invocation" by M. Gajdos. This programme 'truly represents all aspects of life through music, birth, joy, sorrow, happiness, anger, passion, love, loss and inevitable death...'
However, two pieces were specifically chosen by the artistic director for their significance to the theme being explored, which are not originally written for the double bass. One is "Meditation on Thais" by J. Massenet, which deals precisely with mortality, eternality and incarnation. Cincievski will also be performing his own unusual version of D. Shostakovich's Waltz No.2, from his second Jazz Suite for Orchestra, which for the musician is a celebration of 'life as it is, where even though the melody is smooth and wonderful there is a very deep and scary meaning behind it filled with joy, humor, sarcasm and irony of life, which are very typical characteristics of Shostakovich's musical language.'
Although brought together by a profound passion for music the theme of the event holds rather opposing connotations for Dr. Schembri Bonaci and for Cincievski. The former's incessant preoccupation with nothingness and death contrasts with the latter's belief that absolute nothingness does not exist. Dr. Schembri Bonaci attaches personal meaning to the artistic life of Strait Street, himself being from this dynamic and chaotic place; 'All my family, particularly the Fiteni-Bonaci side, have all found themselves uprooted from the Due Balli zone where Strada Stretta is considered as its central spine. The Schembri side hail from the Mandraġġ, another Valletta zone. Due to these 'religious' genetic roots I have seen the death of the zone, death of the Due Balli culture and the very death of Strada Stretta. And what is happening today may be its re-birth or its affann.'
This point of re-birth is strongly emphasised by Cincievski, who sees death as a transformation, a new form, and not something finite and definite. ''Affann' by all means for me does not represent 'the last dying breath', but means the beginning and birth of something new, transformed and wonderful... a new beginning rather than an end...' The musician explains how even the circumstances of the event, being performed out on the street in mid-winter, was planned to seek life and beauty within the uncomfortable.
All these factors are what have driven Cincievski to prepare tirelessly for this performance, which he himself describes as being the most challenging task he has ever accepted for a recital. Dr. Schembri Bonaci reiterates the ambitious nature of this project, even referring to it as risky. For him, AFFANN is 'a spiritual tribute of the nothingness of roots', and he strongly believes in the potential of the double bass to articulate 'this nothingness of death'. Memories of the sensory experiences of growing up in The Gut are being explored through this performance, an articulation of space and spirituality. 'Walls, Graffiti, stone-slabs, and the Proustian madeleine transformed into dettol scent.....'
AFFANN is in itself not an attempt to revive that which once was but is an imagining of the present life of this urban creative space, a unique performance which fits comfortably within the context of Strait Street's past and promising present. Artistic experimentation was encouraged on this street, allowing the development of new and alternative forms of expression, a dialectical opposite to the established norms and rules of official art. AFFANN is an example of how we should be tackling the potential revival of the street's artistic energy, by constantly exploiting and reinventing the possibilities of art.