Ħrejjef, 2013
Artists: Ruben Zahra, Dawn Tricia Williams & Joseph Galea
Synopsis
A retelling of four traditional Maltese folktales, accompanied by live piano music and digital animation. Stories of Maltese fantasy characters – the Giant, the Witch, the Dragon – are brought to life through voice and gesture, while new music provides a musical commentary. The digital animation is created in a shadow-puppet style, featuring decorative elements inspired by lace, filigree, and other Maltese aesthetic motifs. An artist will guide children to draw the characters, which are then brought to life digitally. Each child will become the proud owner of a personalised e-book, featuring their own illustrations.
Programme Note
ĦREJJEF ‘Maltese Folktales’ is a captivating, interdisciplinary production which brings together traditional folktales, shadow puppetry, contemporary music and digital animation. At its core lies a collection of four Maltese folktales, presented in the style of a traditional storyteller accompanied by a live music score that acts as a soundtrack to the stories. The music of Ruben Zahra for this project was originally composed as a piano solo. For Żigużajg 2013 Ruben Zahra has adapted the music for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion. The animations have been developed to reflect the style of shadow puppetry. The digital puppets are highly ornamented with decorative perforations inspired from Maltese baroque motifs, filigree and traditional lace. Furthermore, Żigużajg 2013 has developed ĦREJJEF into a cinematic 3D experience in collaboration with the Embassy Cinema complex. While the actor narrates the folktales the characters of the stories come to life on the silver screen.
ĦREJJEF is a Soundscapes production conceived and composed by Ruben Zahra; narrator: Joseph Galea; script: Trevor Zahra; animation produced by Shadeena, directed and animated by Martin Bonniċi; production design by Nel Pace; Videos commissioned by Żigużajg Arts Festival for Children and Young People 2012/13. Ruben Zahra
THE VENUE
Palazzo de La Salle, in the heart of Valletta, is a distinguished late-16th-century residence whose history encompasses the Knights of St John, Baroque patronage and more than a century of Maltese artistic life. Probably built during the 1570s, the Palazzo appears originally to have consisted of two separate buildings, later united into a single residence, with its substantial central wall and courtyards preserving traces of this earlier architectural history.
For more than two centuries the Palazzo was associated with members of the Order of St John. Among its distinguished occupants was Fra Stefano Maria Lomellini, Prior of England and later Venice, an important patron of the arts who financed the decoration of the ceiling of the Oratory of St John’s Conventual Church, executed by Mattia Preti. The Palazzo subsequently passed through the hands of Fra Camillo Albertini, Prior of Barletta, and members of the family of Grand Master Raymond Perellos Roccafull, before becoming associated with the de La Salle brothers, from whom it takes its present name.
The building itself preserves remarkable evidence of this aristocratic and Hospitaller past. Its most spectacular historic interior is the Sala dei Cavalieri, created in 1732 from what had previously been an open terrace. Conceived as a grand secular and ceremonial room, it is richly decorated with a life-size gilded figure of St John the Baptist, busts of Grand Masters and later portraits celebrating the Palazzo’s connections with the Order. Equally precious is its private chapel, with a 17th-century decorated altar surround and rare Baroque wall paintings, complemented by an 18th-century frieze of coats of arms and scenes from the life of St John.
Since 1923, Palazzo de La Salle has been the home of the Malta Society of Arts, founded in 1852 and Malta’s oldest institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts and crafts. Today, this historic residence remains very much a living house of culture: its rooms accommodate exhibitions, concerts, recitals, lectures, education and artistic exchange.
Its historic interiors now sit alongside purpose-designed contemporary cultural spaces. Four interconnected galleries lead towards the Sala dei Cavalieri, while the upper floor houses the Concert Hall, created during the Palazzo’s major restoration and inaugurated in 2017. Designed with particular attention to acoustics, and equipped with a Steinway grand piano, the intimate 130-seat hall has become an important setting for chamber music, solo recitals and other performances.
Palazzo de La Salle therefore brings together several centuries of Maltese cultural history under one roof: a Knights’ residence transformed into a vibrant centre for music and the arts, where Baroque architecture and decoration provide the setting for contemporary creativity and performance.
Ruben Zahra - composer
Ruben Zahra is a composer, video artist and producer committed to contemporary interdisciplinary expression. His productions tour internationally in major festivals and opera houses portraying a blend of contemporary music, video-art, theatre and choreography. After graduating from the University of Malta in Music & Theatre Studies he was awarded a scholarship by the Italian Cultural Institute to further his studies in Italy. He studied composition and orchestration with Azio Corghi at the National Music Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, electronic music with Giorgio Nottoli and film music with Ennio Morricone. In 2000 he moved to the USA following a master’s degree in composition at Mills College in Oakland, California. In 2002 he moved to Los Angeles and spent two years working for the Hollywood film industry as a soundtrack composer and music editor. Since 2004 he has been based in Malta and works internationally as a freelance composer and producer.
Tricia Dawn Williams - pianist
Tricia Dawn Williams is a Maltese pianist of Irish and Welsh descent who is known for applying multimedia innovation and experimental technologies to contemporary music. She creates immersive performances blending video art, electronic soundscapes and extended piano techniques that include motion-capture technology via the MYO band. Her international career features landmark performances at venues including Les Invalides (Paris), Kennedy Center of Performing Arts (Washington) Montreal’s Satosphère. A champion of new music, she has commissioned and premiered the work of various composers and earned international recognition for her project Transition, selected for the Classical:Next live showcase in 2019 among 11 major innovative projects. Williams has also developed an international following among toy piano enthusiasts. Recent highlights include the Kinderklavier Concerto with the Brno Contemporary Orchestra and the ToyPiano+ project, involving 13 composers and video artists.
Joseph Galea - actor
Joseph Galea works as a theater and television actor, producer, and director, as well as an author. He trained in theatrical arts at the Mikelanġ Borġ Drama Centre between 1996 and 1999. As an actor, director, and writer, his works have been featured at the Manoel Theatre, Spazju Kreattiv, and during various festivals in Malta. Galea was one of the founders of the Cospicua Short Play Festival. In recent years, he has had several theater projects featured as part of the Culture Pass program in schools. Il-Qarċilla, an ancient Carnival tradition, was reintroduced under Galea’s direction in 2014. On television, Joseph has had roles in various drama productions, including Pupi, for which he won the Best Actor award at the 2007 Malta Television Awards. Since 2001, he has produced and directed television series on local stations, including entertainment programs, drama, satire, docudrama, and documentaries. Galea always seeks to collaborate with other entities, groups, and artists, believing this to be the best way to create innovative, high-quality projects. In 2022, together with Tyrone Grima, he won the Arts Award for Innovation with the production Zoom.
In collaboration, Wirt iż-Żejtun, Ta’ Xbiex Kunsill Lokali & Isla Kunsill Lokali