A first for a highly important music piece composed by the late Charles Camilleri, rendering homage to poet Dun Karm, was missed when the person who possesses the piece failed to present it to the committee set up by St Philip Band Club to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the poet’s death.

This debut for Mro Camilleri’s piece will be replaced by another first for the għanja popolari of the 19th century that inspired Robert Samut’s music for the national anthem. The għanja “tal-belt”, anonymous like all other songs of its folk genre, was reproduced – music and lyrics – in George Percy Badger’s Description of Malta and Gozo of 1938.

It is obvious that when Samut was asked by his Edinburgh hosts during a medical convention to play the national anthem (which was still non-existent) of his country of origin he composed the music ad hoc on the basis of the folk song which he either knew by heart or found in Badger’s book.

A year later he was asked by his relative (through marriage) Albert Laferla, then director of education, to compose a hymn to be sung by schoolchildren instead of Ġan Anton Vassallo’s Int Sabiħa O Malta Tagħna, which was more of a sing-song on the “iambic pentameter” pattern found in Maltese għana till today. Samut handed him the music piece he had composed in Edinburgh. Subsequently Laferla asked Dun Karm to write the lyrics and hey presto! our national anthem was ready to face the turmoil of the language question then at its height.

Strickland’s party had made what may perhaps be considered as its greatest contribution to Maltese cultural history.

Today, the audience gathering for Dun Karm’s anniversary in Żebbuġ will be able to enjoy the original music of the għanja popolari set to modern instruments by Mro Richard Bugeja. We may expect a brilliant performance for this “first” being accorded to a folk song that has been immortalised in the guise of our national anthem.