'L-Għanja tal-Poplu' : a festival for the nation : a socio-musicological evaluation

Abstract

Festivals in Malta are a topic of interest in the history of Maltese Popular music. This dissertation examines ‘L-Għanja tal-Poplu’, a festival that has been running for almost fifty years, with forty-six editions in total, and upon studying and analysing, I aim to provide a better understanding of how it has developed throughout both musically and socially. The Youth Travel Circle was the youth club, ran by Fr. Maurice Mifsud, which gave birth to this yearly event that launched in 1973: This research will delve into how the festival has worked its way towards promoting the Maltese language through the beauty of folk and popular music. The significant changes of the festival will be highlighted further, and with the use of case studies, it shall discuss major winners that had left an impact on the music of Malta; from the pioneers of the very first festivals, to the most recent well-known artists in Malta. Additionally, it considers the usage of themes that are embedded into the winning songs, and how the singer-songwriter aspect was, and remains, the most important characteristic in this context. Besides a provided history of the youth club and the festival, each unique artist, along with their winning song, will be examined into detail, including the inspiration behind their work, and the meaning behind their poetic words. Optimistically, I do hope that the outcome of this research will give a greater insight on how this festival has left such an influence on the history of music in Malta, how its artists were given a platform to voice their opinion through song, and how its role and purpose in today’s Maltese music society has fully grown into a genre of its own.