Treasures from Malta

Meet Music historian Anna Borg Cardona

Francesca Balzan Season 2 Episode 8

Anna Borg Cardona is a musician and music researcher whose eyes fire up with incredible excitement whenever she talks about the discoveries she keeps making in our many rich historic archives here in Malta. Through the decades she has discovered musicians and musical instrument makers from the past, she has uncovered and played long forgotten sheet music, and pieced together much of Malta’s rich ethnographic music history. She has lectured extensively at the University and delivered many public presentations, she has formed a musical ensemble to promote Malta’s musical heritage both locally and in performances overseas, and has published books on Maltese music history that have become landmark studies in the discipline. She has also curated exhibitions on musical instruments the most recent being the major Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti exhibition ‘Music in Malta: From Prehistory to Vinyl’ held in 2019 as well as publishing myriad articles, papers and studies that continue to build on our previously sketchy knowledge of the musical legacy of Malta. 

An excerpt from the following track can be heard in the podcast: 

‘Ghana Melody’ played by the Ġukulari Ensemble, 2005 from the CD – Doqqli Daqqa! Traditional Music of the Maltese Islands. Copyright:  Anna Borg Cardona