From the sitar to the kora, the highland pipes, the fiddle and the bodhran, this year’s edition of Għanafest brings together a host of musical styles from Commonwealth countries.
It is quite ironic that folk music, which was the music of the masses, became a musical undercurrent. Yet, through being an undercurrent, it has also helped to revive and strengthen many music styles and genres – from Brahms’s Hungarian Dances to John Barleycorn in Traffic and hundreds of other examples in between.
In turn, folk has been revived thanks to many young talents who understood the pristine and genuine appeal that this music has.
Malta has also been experiencing such folk revivals time and again, and the recent spate of talents that have graced the scene over the past decade is a clear indication of a movement that has also moved with the times.
Such a movement has also manifested itself in Għanafest, Malta’ s own folk music festival which has also grown not just in popularity but also in its presentation and diversity.
The local and foreign acts, time and again interacting, have attracted considerable attention not just from diehard folk music lovers but also a new generation and also a lot of foreigners who have come to appreciate Maltese and Mediterranean music.
The same can be said for the various talks and presentations of various Maltese folk instruments like the flejguta (flute), żafżafa (friction drum) and the żaqq (bagpipe).
Supported by the Malta Chogm Task Force in anticipation of the CHOGM meeting to be held in Malta in November, this year’s edition of the festival is expected to take a different approach from previous editions.
Music on this year’s programme features instruments that are associated with Commonwealth countries and which, over the years, have gained considerable popularity thanks to their exposure in the UK, the cradle of popular music.
Jali Diabate, who comes from a renowned family of musicians, will be displaying his expertise on the kora, the traditional 21-string West African harp, popular all across the continent.
Besides being popular in France, where a considerable number of musicians from former colonies have migrated and performed, the kora has also been adopted by some young British musicians like Josh Doughty.
Based in Catania, Sicily, Jali Diabate is a youthful, tenacious musician who has contributed significantly to preserving kora playing in the traditional Mandinka ethnic style, but he also did a lot towards charting a future through his compositions and eclectic performances featuring African and Italian musicians.
Celtic music will be represented for the first time in the festival thanks to Rura
The sitar, an ancient Indian instrument got its big break in pop music thanks to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones back in the 1960s and was used extensively by many other rock bands thereafter, such as Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin among others.
Ashwin Batish was certainly aware of all these happenings with this majestic influence, not least in California, where he is based and from where so many sitar-influenced psychedelic bands originated some 50 years ago. Batish also comes from a popular music family: his father is the legendary Bollywood singer and music director Pandit Shiv Dayal Bashir.
Ashwin Batish however, has also carved his own niche with his unique sitar playing and his songs Bombay Boogie, Sitar Magic and India Beat, sold successfully in India. His ways of combining classical Indian sitar with funk, calypso, jazz and dance rhythms will be a high point at this year’s Għanafest.
Celtic music will be represented for the first time in the festival thanks to Rura. Rooted in Scottish folk traditions, this multi-award winning, Highlands-based bands have been renowned for their gritty, melodic and emotive music.
Their haunting, jagged music shows a new angle to Scottish folk, retaining its fiercely independent and assertive delivery which has made it unique and outstanding. They do so thanks to a powerhouse mix of highland pipes, whistle, flute, fiddle and bodhran playing.
Maltese għana will also once again feature prominently, with many veteran acts deliver-ing heartfelt, sometimes spontaneous folk songs in various different styles.
Folk’s power lies in its telling of simple stories, the stirring tunes, the stunning rich voices and the regeneration of folk styles from young talents.
The programme this year includes a collaboration between Rita Pace and Yvette Buhagiar with guitarist Evan Plumpton, while Corazon teams up with Walter Vella and Domenic Galea.
Flamenco dancing, a fast growing popular style, will also feature thanks to the Allegria Dance Company and there will also be lectures and workshops from the performers, as well as a children’s workshop on folk music.
Tberfil, the decorative painted lettering often found on old buses, will again feature in this workshop thanks to its overwhelming success in recent years.
Despite its increasing popularity, the festival is still intimate enough for its details to be curated lovingly.
Even the food is carefully picked to a theme. No commercial entities are in sight. You are likelier to find pastizzi, imqaret and all things traditionally Maltese, making this festival – devoted to music, food and crafts – much more than just a series of concerts.
Għanafest takes place between June 12 and 14 at the Argotti Gardens in Floriana and Marsamxett Harbour in Valletta . The festival is organised by the Arts Council Malta. Tickets are available online.
The programme
June 12 – 6.30pm Maltese folksong; 7.30pm Evan Plumpton guitar ensemble featuring Rita Pace & Yvette Buhagiar; 8pm Children’s programme; 8.30pm The African Kora, a presentation by Jali Diabate; 9pm Maltese folksong; 10pm Afro Bougna Band.
June 13 – 6.30pm Maltese folksong; 7.30pm Corazon featuring Dominic Galea & Walter Vella; 8pm Children’s programme; 8.30 pm The Indian Sitar, a presentation by Ashwin Batish; 9PM Maltese folksong; 10pm Sitar Power Trio.
June 14 – 6.30pm Maltese folksong; 7.30pm A fusion of flamenco and għana by Allegria Dance Company; 8pm Children’s programme; 8.30pm The Scottish Bagpipe, a presentation by Rura; 9pm Għana; 10pm Rura.
www.maltafolkmusicfestival.org