Malta loses a great composer

Maestro Charles Camilleri, one of Malta's most significant and talented composers, died yesterday aged 77.

Mro Camilleri, whose popularity extended beyond Malta, conducted, wrote operas, orchestral works, chamber ensembles, concertos, operas, a ballet, and the famous Malta Suite, among others.

His Missa Mundi, a five movement piece for organ, has been described as the organ's "rite of spring". He has over 300 compositions, half of which are recorded on 35 CDs sold all over the world. He was the first coordinator of Music Studies at the University of Malta, and as a council member of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts between 2003 and 2006, he devoted much time and thought to the setting up of an Academy of Music.

His passing was met with expressions of sadness by friends and people who were inspired by his works.

In a statement, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, paid tribute to Mro Camilleri:

"He wanted to do for Malta what Chopin did for Poland, or Bartok did for Hungary, that is, getting hold of simple folk music and using it in complex, but subtle ways to express a contemporary idiom. In his second period, he went beyond that and developed a personal style characterised by what he called the 'atomisation of the beat'."

Architect Richard England, a close friend of Mro Camilleri, said that Malta had lost a great composer.

"He was the most lovable person imaginable... we worked together on a number of compositions," he said.

Fr Peter Serracino Inglott, a friend and collaborator of Mro Camilleri, reflected how "music was absolute for him. He lived for music and concentrated everything on it, making everything else subservient to it."

Recounting how they first met as students, he said that even then, Mro Camilleri was already conceiving the basis which would lead to his future compositions.

"From the start, music was a vocation for him. He wanted to be a professional in music even when he was not well equipped, as he started playing on the piano-accordion, of which he was a real virtuoso."

Fr Serracino Inglott emphasised the legacy that Mro Camilleri left through his teaching at University. "There is now a whole generation of excellent composers who have brought up the level of Maltese music which had been lagging behind in the past."

University lecturer, friend and poet Daniel Massa described Mro Camilleri as one of the major international composers of his generation who had given the world a vast array of musical works which would be enjoyed for generations to come.

On a personal level, he said he would remember Mro Camilleri not only as a great musician untiringly committed to his work, but as a great friend was always ready to help and push forward any project or idea "that sought to place his beloved Malta on the map".

Joe Friggieri, university lecturer, poet and one of the maestro's first and closest collaborators, said: "I feel honoured and grateful to Charles for having given me the opportunity to be his artistic collaborator and close friend for so many years.

"I shall never forget the long hours we spent together in his study at San Pawl tat-Tarġa, and the childlike joy he used to show when he saw my words fitting his music so well.

"Working with Charles was the easiest and most enjoyable experience any poet could hope for."

Mro Camilleri is survived by his wife Doris, son Charles and daughter Anja. The funeral will be held at Naxxar parish church tomorrow at 10 a.m.