Oldest Maltese poem features in new music album

Frans Sammut

Jun 25th 2009, 17:35

@Dr Calleja
The Istitut Socjo-Kulturali San Pawl is already doing that. Doreen will be singing "Xidew il-Qada" at an activity organized by the same Institute at the Topaz, Bugibba this Sunday at 7.30 p.m. The Local Council of St Paul's Bay has informed all the citizens living within its precincts of the event encouraging them to take part in this cultural activity. Other localities could follow suit. Words alone don't count. But actions do.

Dr. Noel Calleja

Jun 25th 2009, 16:09

I will not go into any further comments about literature. Doreen Galea's maltese accent and her vocalistic attributes to the blues and jazz style makes for sure an album of pleasent listening.

Combined with the artistic music scoring composed by Dominic Galea makes this album the ideal album for any music lover most especially of music made in Malta by Maltese artists like Doreen and Dominic.

I must also comment on the various recording techniques used by Manolito which are of an outstanding capabilities and end-results, again coming from a Maltese artist. A very well done to all who opted to share time, experience and knowledge and produce such an album, masterminded by the executive producer Steve. A must have!

And on a last note, when are such initiatives going to have the local authorities back-up and support?

Frans Sammut

Jun 25th 2009, 13:17

@Fr Montebello
I am glad you appreciate my opinion of Kabazi. What irks me with such people is that they presume they know it all either because they are Arabs or due to their classical education. Where Andalusi is concerned, neither one nor the other suffices. Andalusi is a subject unto itself. I can mention some names of really erudite scholars in this field, but, significantly, none of them is Arab: Colin, Corriente, Garcia Gomez, Bosch, Borg (yes, Alexander Borg), Griffin, Barbera ... What put me off Kabazi was his enormously superfluous manner in which he described Caxaro's poem: a zajal or qasida. It's very much like saying "t's either an Elizabethan sonnet or a Ted Hughes-like blank verse." Kabazi is either ignorant of Abu Nuwas's reforming contribution to Classical Arabic Poetry and how his new ''school' contributed to popular poetry in the West or else he thought he did not need to waste his time elaborating since he was writing for us ignoramuses on this little Island lost in the middle of the sea. You can tell me what you think of his attitude on Sunday, 7.30 p.m. at the Topaz, Bugibba.

Mark Montebello

Jun 25th 2009, 11:16

@Frans Sammut. I agree entirely with you (re. Kabazi). Point two: I find your new suggestions very interesting and provoking. My comment (hereunder) was only made to indicate that new suggestions on the reading of the Cantilena, or even its source, have been made before.

My only quandary with your new suggestion is whether it is proven or speculative. Of course, both are acceptable in academia, but the difference is significant and important. I wonder, for instance, whether the direct link between Al-Andalus and Malta is clearly established. The link with the Kingdom of Aragon, I think, is beyond doubt, even Peter Caxaro’s direct and indirect contact with the Aragonese/humanistic culture. But what about the link you claim to have discovered?

By the way. At what time will your talk be delivered next Sunday?

Frans Sammut

Jun 24th 2009, 21:43

@Mark Montebello.
Since I know you as less than fastidious, I will be equally blunt. The Fuad Bakazi you mention does not know what he is talking about. Since he wrote in Italian I will describe him in Dante's language: e` uno sprovveduto in materia. He does not know the difference between a zajal and a qasida, he is unable to translate correctly the words in Caxaro's poem, he even made the blunder of assuming that "vintura" was an "Italian" loan-word in Maltese, little knowing it seems, that so many similar words existed in Andalusi Arabic prior to Caxaro's lifetime. You might be interested to know that "qabitlu" (Maltese "kapitlu", English "Cathedral chapter") was commonly used in Andalusi Arabic as was "arcidjakun" and so forth. Kabazi does not even manage to translate "tamara", another Andalusi Arabic word.

Frans Sammut

Jun 24th 2009, 21:43

@Mark Montebello.
Since I know you as less than fastidious, I will be equally blunt. The Fuad Bakazi you mention does not know what he is talking about. Since he wrote in Italian I will describe him in Dante's language: e` uno sprovveduto in materia. He does not know the difference between a zajal and a qasida, he is unable to translate correctly the words in Caxaro's poem, he even made the blunder of assuming that "vintura" was an "Italian" loan-word in Maltese, little knowing it seems, that so many similar words existed in Andalusi Arabic prior to Caxaro's lifetime. You might be interested to know that "qabitlu" (Maltese "kapitlu", English "Cathedral chapter") was commonly used in Andalusi Arabic as was "arcidjakun" and so forth. Kabazi does not even manage to translate "tamara", another Andalusi Arabic word. Do you want to know what this word means? Come to the Topaz on Sunday (7.30 p.m. sharp) and I will let you know.

Frans Sammut

Jun 24th 2009, 21:21

@Mr De Giorgio. I'm sorry not to have noticed your post.I was busy preparing for the public talk I will be giving on Sunday at the Topaz regarding the origins of this zajal. Your questions are highly pertinent. The poem may be loosely called a "cantilena" for the very reason mentioned by your goodself. Indeed in Brandano's time they would be called "cantilenas" because of the neo-Latin influence taking over the scene from the Andalusi - Siculo - Arabic culture. But the name is very "inaccurate" when one considers that the genre was established as the Andalusi zajal, the most popular form of poetry appreciated by the people of Al-Andalus (and, of course, of Sicily). One must remember that Pietro Caxaro studied in Palermo where he secured his notarial qualifications. How it came down to Brandano cannot be ascertained. What is not so mysterious is the fact that both Pietro and Brandano belonged to the Mdina high class and as such would be expected to recite such poems as was the custom among the high class of Palermo. It must also be noted that Caxaro is a Jewish Siclian surname and Caxaros live in Sicily to this day.

Mark Montebello

Jun 24th 2009, 16:51

Mr De Giorgio makes an interesting point. It was Brandano Caxaro who called the composition a "cantilenam" in the prologue to the poem. He was none other than a member of the Caxaro family itself. If the poem was a zajal, wouldn’t he have known?

One may mention that, in 1990, Fuad Kabazi (in “Ulteriori considerazioni linguistiche sulla Cantilena di Pietro Caxaro”, Journal of Maltese Studies, 19-20, 1989-1990, p. 42) held that he had an "impressione 'esasensoriale' [sic] che [la Cantilena] non si tratti d'una composizione del Caxaro stesso, bensi' di una sua innocente trascrizione in lettere latine da notaio maltese d'una 'qasida' magrebina o andalusa pervenutagli e rintracciata chissa' dove".

Others also commented on Caxaro’s possible Arabic influences, such as Edward Fenech (Il-Mument, 2 April 1972, p. 12); Oliver Friggieri (Lehen is-Sewwa, 6 August 1983, p. 7); Edward Fenech again (Il-Hajja, 29 August 1985, p. 7) and Kabazi again, in the article quoted above, p. 42. Oliver Friggieri, in Storja tal-Letteratur Maltija, I, 1979, p. 87, further commented on Caxaro’s possible Spanish Mosarabic influences.

These suggestions made with regard to Caxaro’s influences or sources were, and maybe still are, in the line of speculation.

James De Giorgio

Jun 23rd 2009, 21:42

@Frans Sammut. Frans, something that perplexes me is the title. Why would a zajal have a romanic name, "Kantilena"? Was this poem named as such by the discoverers of the poem, or by historians at the time of discovery? Or is it its real name? Remember, Cantilenas were popular pieces of poetry in the Italian city states at the time of writing, therefore could Pietru Caxaru's work, who judging by his name and time was certainly a Christian who came from a culture which demonised the Arabs, be exclusively of Arab influence or would it be a style popular throughout large swathes of the Mediterranean in the fifteenth century?

Awaiting your opinion!

Frans Sammut

Jun 23rd 2009, 19:32

Readers will be interested to know that Caxaro's poem is a zajal. I have confirmed this by comparing it to the genre created by Ibn Quzman. Indeed many words in the poem are the same used by the Neo-Arabic poet from Al-Andalus (modern Spain and Portugal). The notion of genre is very important both as a means of writing literary history, and as a technique of evaluating works as part of a canon. In order to work well, categories of distinction need to be based on a feature that is a sine qua non for each category. Therefore, understanding all the words in the poem was of paramount importance. Following the wrong linguistic path this vital part of the poem's critique was never hitherto accomplished. I explained all this at a public lecture in Bacchus, Mdina and will do so again at the Topaz, Bugibba on Sunday. In Mdina more than 80 people attended, ranging from professors to lovers of poetry. I am looking forward to an even bigger audience in Bugibba. I regret I am not yet familiar with Doreen's music and cannot comment on it. Maybe I'll be able to do so in the near future.

a attard

Jun 23rd 2009, 17:58

Well done to the whole team it sounds like a great product and one that Makes Malta proud. I cannot wait to buy it.