The first appointment in Modern Music Days’ Regional Concert Series will see Pietru Caxaro’s 15 th-century poem, Il-Kantilena, come to life in a new composition by Luc Houtkamp. The Dutch composer chats to Iggy Fenech about what audiences can expect from the electronic music procession taking place at Ta’ Bistra Catacombs.

Luc Houtkamp. Photo: Marteen Laupman

As the educational authorities questioningly suggest turning our national language into a foreign one within our very own shores, others are seeing the beauty in our literature and using it as inspiration for their work. One such person is Dutch composer Luc Houtkamp, who I met at his apartment overlooking the beautiful marina in Cospicua.

“Welcome to our home!” he tells me as I follow him through a series of rooms and into the kitchen.

As he starts making us coffee, Luc begins telling me about his career, particularly the Pow Ensemble, a live band and computer troupe which he founded and which has performed in several countries including Malta as part of the Malta International Arts Festival in 2016.

“I’m now working on a Maltese line-up for Pow, so we can play here more frequently, too!” he says, as he smiles.

Luc has been a full-time musician for over 40 years and is an internationally-renowned saxophonist and electronic music performer. Among his more unusual talents, however, Luc is a programming maverick who creates his own computer software to produce digital sounds.

In fact, Luc is using his own software and sound design configuration for his latest composition entitled Kantilena Procession, a site-specific electronic work for Ta’ Bistra Catacombs.

So site-specific, in fact, the live element of the music will be performed by violinist Brianne Curran who, just like the Pied Piper, will lead the audience through the 90 metre-long complex where 57 tombs are laid out over 16 chambers.

“I became interested in working on a piece based on Il-Kantilena the moment I learnt about the poem,” he explains when I inquire about why hehad decided to use the oldest-known text in the Maltese language as his inspiration.

Il-Kantilena reminds Luc of the North African poetry he has loved and followed for many years

“It’s such a magical poem,” he continues. “As a civil servant, Caxaro’s heart must have ached seeing the walls of the town hall in Mdina beginning to crumble and fall apart. And we can see that in the poem, which dates back to the 15th century, but was only re-discovered in the late 1960s. But, as a philosopher, those walls are likely to have inspired a deeper poignancy than simply an account of the physical experience. The walls are a metaphor of life.”

Another factor that drew Luc’s interest is that the poem stands testament to the Arab influence on the Maltese language. And, because of that, Il-Kantilena reminds Luc of the North African poetry he has loved and followed for many years. But there is one more thing that made Luc opt for this poem.

“I believe that contemporary art often lacks setting and situation,” he tells me. “I’m in Malta now, so I want to write music that is about Malta and its history, culture and people.”

Luc, who moved to the Island three-and-a-half years ago after his partner got a job here, has fallen in love with Malta and its culture. Moreover, he is a person who clearly puts his money where his mouth is, as he has already composed another piece about Strait Street’s past, entitled Hidden Histories.

“I’ve always enjoyed composing,” he adds, “but I’m too old to have principles and taste when it comes to stylistics. I also never think about creating ‘a masterpiece’ so, instead, I do what I feel works best and create the music I have in my mind.”

Of course, Luc doesn’t speak Maltese and had to work off an English translation of a modern Maltese version of Caxaro’s text. That, however, goes to show the timelessness and the universal appeal of Il-Kantilena, which was written in archaic Maltese. The final piece by Luc is a 25-minute composition that brings together live violin, recorded spoken word, electronic music, improvisation and sound effects. The music reflects the history of both the farmhouse where the procession will kick off (now the Visitors’ Centre) and the catacombs themselves. Composed in a contemporary idiom, Kantilena Procession, is an electronic music composition that also follows in the footsteps of 20th century composers such as Kerlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio.

“I worked with the syllables in the text,” he explains. “In fact, the violin part could technically be sung as it follows the syllables in the original poem. Moreover, the piece and the concert are set in three sections, mirroring the structure of the poem. At each interval in the itinerary, audiences will stop to appreciate the music and take in the beauty of the complex.

“With my piece, however, I would like audiences to go through an unusual experience of sounds, music and environment. Also, while knowing the poem will make it easier to follow, it is not necessary to enjoy the performance,” he concludes.

This performance, which will take place on April 7 and 8 at 8pm, is the first event within the Regional Concert Series of Modern Music Days (MMD), and is being organised by the Malta Association of Contemporary Music, the Manoel Theatre and the Valletta 2018 Foundation in collaboration with Heritage Malta as part of the culture programme of Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture.

MMD, as its artistic director, composer Ruben Zahra, has explained before, is committed to promote the performance and understanding of contemporary music. Furthermore, the strategy behind this initiative is to take music out of the traditional concert hall to unique venues across the six regions of the Maltese islands. Indeed, it endorses the Valletta 2018 objectives of outreach and accessibility perfectly.

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