With its 43rd edition coming up at the end of August, the L-Għanja tal-Poplu festival has rightfully become an annual fixture in the local cultural calendar and remains an important platform for the promotion and exposure of Maltese-language songs. Michael Bugeja speaks to L-Għanja tal-Poplu committee chairman Charles Schembri about the festival now that this year’s submissions have been received and work is about to begin on the selection process.
When was the festival first staged and what were the original aims and aspirations of the organising body?
The first edition, which dates back to 1973, was organised by members of the Youth Travel Circle (YTC). I was not a member back then, but Albert Friggieri, the Maltese Ambassador in Germany, tells me that the idea was conceived following a discussion involving YTC director Fr Maurice Mifsud and Manwel Mifsud, who is a professor of the Maltese language. The intention was for the organisation’s youth travellers to have their own Maltese songs to sing when they joined foreign youths on their travels. The festival setup was simple: young people performed their folk songs – just voice and guitar – live in front of a jury who would then pick a winner.
Was it obligatory for the participating songs to stick to a predetermined theme?
The festival had a variety of themes, but the themes connected to relevant social topics seemed to appeal more to the songwriters. In the 1970s, protest songs were very popular, so this was obviously reflected in the songs submitted for the festival. To give you a few examples, in 1975 Manwel Mifsud’s Għanja Għall-Libertà was the winning song, and in 1978, Ħondoq ir-Rummien, a song protesting the destruction of our natural heritage, placed first.
Gradually, the trend evolved, with entries seeking to appeal melodically to the listener while also conveying a message that criticised important issues that affected Maltese society. A good example of this is Martin Attard’s tongue-in-cheek Pajjiż tal-Miki Maws, the winning entry in 1995, which was performed by John Bundy.
Some radio stations are less enthusiastic than others to include Maltese songs in their playlists
This song paved the way for many other entries to address a variety of existing problems and issues over the years, ranging from global warming, substance abuse and broken families to gender equality, domestic violence and mental health awareness, to name but a few. The increase in submissions focusing on social issues led the organising committee to remove the prize for Best Social Theme, revising the rules to allow artists and songwriters to write songs about any topic they wish whatever musical genre they prefer.
The festival has grown considerably within the local scene, attracting a number of established artists apart from the emerging talent. How has this shift in the balance of participants affected the festival and what it stands for?
The festival focuses on the songs, not the singers. During the elimination process, the votes given are based on the lyrics and music of the song. The festival welcomes new talent as much as the established artists and songwriters. We are proud to say that a good number of the established artists in the local scene had participated in the festival when they were just starting out, among them Christabelle Borg, Brooke, Nadine Axisa, Chiara, Philip Vella, Debbie Scerri, Walter Micallef and Corazon among several others.
Has the festival’s rebranding – it now also incorporates the Festival tal-Kanzunetta Maltija – impacted the original aspirations?
I’d like to first thank the GTP committee, without whose ongoing work and dedication the festival would never have got this far and public interest in Maltese language music would surely have waned, if not disappeared long ago. This is a festival that believes in freedom of expression, and while it gives importance to both the singer and the songwriter, in similar fashion perhaps to Italy’s San Remo festival it is ultimately the song that is the winner. We do, however, give a separate prize to the singer who gives the best interpretation. Today with the help of Arts Council Malta’s cultural partnership agreement and the collaboration of Pjazza Teatru Rjal and the Malta Concert Orchestra, we can now offer participants a better opportunity to present their songs as they please, be it with their own band of musicians and with or without an accompanying orchestra. Our role is to offer an established and popular platform for the songs to be performed in public. Naturally, we appreciate those songs that truly reflect the emotions and expressions of the singer and/or the songwriter.
How has the GTP committee sought to improve the festival?
The challenges that GTP faces primarily revolve around the aim to improve the quality of the Maltese song. In recent years, we’ve realised that the singer has become the protagonist instead of the songwriter or the song. In fact, the increased demand on songwriters to write more songs has led to a lot of compositions that lack authenticity. To address this, the GTP committee has this year introduced a new rule that, while allowing songwriters to submit as many songs as they wish, only two songs by the same songwriter or writers will be allowed in the final. The message here is that we are after quality not quantity.
Meanwhile the committee is also exploring other aspects that can be improved and for this reason we recently conducted an online survey inviting interested parties to give us feedback and suggestions. Further to the findings of the survey, we noted that after the festival, the songs needed to be promoted more in the local media. This is a challenge in itself as some radio stations are less enthusiastic than others to include Maltese songs in their playlists.
Other suggestions included the reintroduction of a scoreboard during the festival, enquiries about seminars for artists to develop their musical ability, and questions from artists who are eager to participate in the festival but haven’t managed so far. Another new regulation introduced this year will hopefully allow more artists into the final, as each singer will only be allowed to perform one song in the final.
Now that the date for submissions for this year’s edition has closed, what is the next step in the process?
Now that the submissions are in hand, the first panel of judges will listen to all the songs received and vote accordingly. The top 40 songs will qualify for the second voting session, which will be held on June 11 and 12, where they will be sung live in front of a new panel of judges, whose votes will determine the 16 finalists.
The 43rd edition of L-Għanja tal-Poplu – Festival tal-Kanzunetta Maltija will be held at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta on August 31 at 8.30pm. For more information, visit www.ghanjafest.com or www.facebook.com/GhanjaTalPoplu.