Organett

Abstract

The term organett is a variant of the Italian word organetto (accordion). However, in Gozo, Malta’s sister island, this term refers also to an ensemble consisting of an accordion as the leading instrument, guitar and several Maltese traditional percussion instruments including the rabbaba (friction drum), trepied (which in this context is meant to be either a triangle or any struck metallic object), castanets with handle, il-martell (two pivoted hammers struck together) and the tanbur (tambourine). The highly distinctive sound of these male-dominated ensembles can be heard during Carnival days in Gozo, when the musicians come together and play publicly, with rare exceptions, without rehearsal.