From the Din l-Art Ħelwa Archives – George E. Camilleri

From the DIN L-ART ĦELWA ARCHIVES

By George E. Camilleri

The First Bir Miftuħ Music Festival Concert

The success of the first major Din l-Art Ħelwa restoration effort at the medieval church of Ħal Millieri in Zurrieq, had encouraged the Council of Din l-Art Ħelwa to cast their eyes upon another medieval chapel, Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuħ.

Tentative approaches in March 1968 resulted in positive responses from both the Gudja Parish priest and the Kumitat Civiku Gudja through Anthony Mangion, their secretary, later to become the Din l-Art Ħelwa warden of the chapel for many years.

This was the start of a long saga which evolved into a complex restoration project involving a wide range of people. The pioneering cleaning activities by the group ‘Teenagers Din l-Art Ħelwa’, led by Mario Buhagiar and George Serracino Inglott, spearheaded the actions of international and local experts on the building and paintings, and particularly on the unique frescoes. This took a number of years and specific inauguration events.

The Din l-Art Ħelwa Council decided, on a major occasion, to commemorate the formal restoration of the chapel at Bir Miftuħ and to acknowledge the generous support of Malta International Airport. This was organised in the nature of three music concerts held at the chapel. A special painting for the programme was painted and donated by Kenneth Zammit Tabona. The highly successful first concert was held on Saturday 31st May 1997, and given by Madelene Mitchell (Violin), a Professor at the Royal College of Music and now a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and Joanna MacGregor, CBE (Piano), Professor at the University of London. The British Council had supported their visit.

The second exhilarating concert was by the young star Italian pianist Maurizio Baglini, sponsored by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, whilst the final concert sponsored by the Alliance Française was by various Maltaconnected artists who played French pieces. The lovely music, impeccably played in idyllic surroundings, were the ingredients for the initial Bir Miftuħ music concert which was to be the first of the highly successful Bir Miftuh Music Festival Concert series which still continues today. n

George Camilleri is a retired dental surgeon and former dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the University of Malta. He is now researching the history of dentistry in Malta and is a volunteer archivist at Din l-Art Ħelwa.