Thursday, June 20, 2013

Il-Budaj

Frans Baldacchino, my uncle, known as Il-Budaj was born in Zejtun on the 16th of May 1943.  He fell in love with Ghana (Maltese folk songs) and poetry at a very your age.  Since those primary school days, rhythm and rhyme captured his heart, as did the intellectual words of well-known poets, even though, at such a young age, he barely understood what was being said.  Il-Budaj was already interpreting Maltese folk songs before the age twelve.  He soon developed versatility in both the canta storie and the cycles referred to as spirtu pront, which is Ghana composed on the spur of the moment.

Being also a keen poet, Il-Budaj introduced poetry into his own unique style of ghana, thus changing the belief that the proper nature of Ghana is only an exchange of insults in a rhythmic manner.  His style of Ghana had in fact let him to sing in front of several audiences, included high authorities.  Il-Budaj feels he has made a breakthrough in the way in which Ghana is now perceived, particularly when he was accepted to sing Ghana in churches.

Frans has performed in several musicals, comedies and other stage productions.  He has also toured the Mediterranean and North America performing his Ghana.  In 1992, accompanied by another vocalist and two guitarists, he gave four concerts in Paris to appreciative audiences, mainly composed of folk historians.  A compact disc was launched following these appearances.  In Malta, Frans has also produced two other CD's.

Il-Budaj was very fond of Karmenu Vassallo's poetry and also enjoys painting, in which he is self-taught, in his free time.  He is the author of Imriezaq ta Mohhi, a book featuring poetry and Ghana, and has also written plays and two comedies about the fictitious characters Wenzu u Rozi.

Frans was often seen on television and during cultural evenings.  in 2001 he won L-Ghanja tal-Poplu Song Festival with Tisimghu Tissahhar, which he sand together with Priscilla Psaila, who wrote the music.

Jun 21st, 2013 will mark the 7th year of his passing.  I often dream of him singing privately for the family in his Birkirkara home.  He was a beautiful man inside and out. 

By keeping his memory alive, his spirit lives on in the hearts of everyone that hears his music, looks at his art or reads his poems.

http://wirtizzejtun.com/ghannejja-frans-baldacchino-il-budaj/

http://www.allmalta.com/Funeral2/

http://www.manuelcasha.com/Tislima%20lil%20Budaj.html

http://www.yourepeat.com/watch/?v=Piky6ONbT2Y

No comments:

WELCOME!

Welcome to BACK to MALTA blog!

There are more Maltese outside the Maltese Islands than there are citizens residing in the country itself. The Maltese outside Malta are either emigrants or descendents of emigrants. The countries which have most traditionally hosted the Maltese diaspora are Australia, Canada, the U.S.A., and Britain. Nevertheless, there are Maltese living in virtually every country around the world and this blog will travel the world in hopes of bringing the Maltese back to Malta.

Total Pageviews