Musicians had to compete against the fireworks let off last night in honour of St Joseph during Kalkara's feast, which was postponed to accommodate the World Cup.
The parish delayed its festivities by a week since it clashed with the World Cup final on July 11, little realising the new dates coincided with the jazz festival organised across the Grand Harbour at Ta' Liesse, Valletta.
This forced international jazz musician Esperanza Spalding to adapt to Malta's "soundscape" when the aerial fireworks display was detonated at about 11 p.m. sparking its own deafening medley.
Envisaging the situation, the organisers agreed with Ms Spalding beforehand to delay her act and start after the fireworks' grand finale so people could enjoy both.
This incident is a déjà vu for music buffs since this year's festival is an identical echo of the 1998 edition when American singer Diana Krall's soft notes were drowned out by the final burst of incessant fireworks. In this case, the World Cup too had led to this clash on the cultural calendar.
Realising her music was no contest, Ms Krall had changed her tune and banged rock notes on the piano, throwing her head back and laughing at the situation, saying: "I didn't know we were going to have some extra percussion tonight."
Twelve years on, festival director Sandro Zerafa is hoping musicians will adopt MsKrall's sense of humour and the din does not disrupt the otherwise smooth organisation of the event. "It is a bit hard to compete with the kaxxa infernali (aerial fireworks display), but there is really nothing we can do about it.
The news that the festival had coincided with Kalkara’s feast of St Joseph came as a surprise to Mr Zerafa, who only learnt about it when he was taking part in a live breakfast show and some enthusiast mentioned it.
Musicians already got a sample of the din in store on Thursday night when Maltese singer Francesca Galea’s bossa nova number was drowned out by intermittent bangs.
When contacted, Kalkara parish priest Fr Anton Galea Scannura confirmed the feast should have been celebrated on July 11 but the date clashed with the World Cup’s last matches, including the final.
Past experience had shown that whenever the World Cup games were on, the streets remained bare and there was no way the festivities could compete. “It’s either the big screen or the procession”.
Fr Galea Scannura said the parish had no idea the feast would coincide with the jazz festival but pointed out that, in summer, it was impossible not to clash with the numerous outdoor cultural activities.
Mr Zerafa admitted that holding outdoor events during the summer could be problematic and it was not the first time music events were disrupted by fireworks, which were “particularly loud” in Malta. “We’re trying to explain the island’s cultural landscape to the international jazz musicians and hope they understand our soundscape.”
“If the fireworks coincide with a loud set it can somehow be seen as added value but it can be highly irritating if it’s intimate music,” Mr Zerafa said.