Rev. Monsignors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
As we come to the conclusion of this interdisciplinary gathering dedicated to Don Benigno Zerafa at the Cathedral of Malta, we do so with a profound sense of gratitude; and, perhaps even more importantly, with a renewed sense of responsibility.
We have gathered to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of one of Malta’s foremost composers. Yet this event of research, music and reflection has reminded us that an anniversary is not merely a looking back. It is an invitation to look forward.
Over the course of this gathering, we have encountered Zerafa not simply as a name in the history of Maltese music, but as a creative personality whose work belongs to a much wider European musical and cultural context. His music speaks of Malta, yet it also reminds us that artistic creativity has never been confined to political or geographical boundaries.
Three centuries after his birth, Zerafa’s music gives us an opportunity to reconsider Malta’s place within the history of European music. It challenges us to listen more carefully to our own musical heritage and, at the same time, to place that heritage within the broader currents that shaped the cultural life of the Mediterranean and Europe. That is one of the most valuable achievements of a gathering such as this.
We have heard distinguished scholars examine historical sources, musical works, and cultural contexts. And, through the exchange of ideas among scholars from different backgrounds, we have seen how research becomes most meaningful when it leads us back to music and the arts.
This seminar should help us to look ahead. Will the compositions of Zerafa receive further scholarly attention? Will young musicians discover his music? Will future generations be given the opportunity to hear, study and understand this important period of Malta’s cultural heritage? These are the questions that now confront us.
A composer’s legacy survives not simply because we commemorate him, but because we continue to perform, study, teach, publish and listen to his music. The 300th anniversary of Zerafa’s birth should therefore be understood not as the conclusion of a commemorative journey, but as the beginning of a new chapter.
This is particularly important for Malta, a country whose history has been shaped by encounters between cultures, peoples and traditions. Our musical heritage reflects that same history of exchange. To rediscover composers such as Zerafa is to rediscover something fundamental about Malta itself: its creativity, its openness to cultural influences, and its capacity to transform those influences into something distinctly its own.
But heritage is not the property of the past. Heritage is a responsibility entrusted to the present for the benefit of the future. This responsibility belongs to all of us: to scholars, musicians, cultural institutions, historians, the Church and, above all, to the wider community.
Let us therefore ensure that Benigno Zerafa is not remembered only because we celebrated his 300th birthday. Let him be remembered because, three hundred years after his birth, we heard his music again. Let musicians approach his music with curiosity and imagination. And let audiences encounter Zerafa not as a distant historical figure, but as a composer whose artistic voice can still speak to us.
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Malta Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter, the Cathedral archives, and to all those who have made this international seminar possible, and those who worked on the beautiful celebratory publication. My particular thanks go to those who have dedicated years of patient scholarship to preserve and bring to light Malta’s musical heritage. You have helped demonstrate that the study of Maltese music is not a marginal subject, but part of a larger European and Mediterranean cultural conversation. Such work is often undertaken quietly, far from the spotlight, but it is precisely this dedication that allows forgotten or neglected music to return to public life.
And finally, I thank you all for participating in this international seminar. Three hundred years ago, Benigno Zerafa was born into a Malta very different from the Malta we know today. He could not have imagined the world in which we now live, nor could he have imagined that, three centuries later, musicians and scholars would gather to discuss his life and work, and the context that shaped him. Yet there is something remarkably simple that connects us across those three centuries.
A composer writes. Musicians perform. An audience listens. And, for a moment, the distance between past and present disappears. May we ensure that such moments continue. May this anniversary renew our commitment to Malta’s musical heritage. May it encourage a new generation to discover Benigno Zerafa. And may his music continue to resonate – not only as a monument to the past, but as a living contribution to the cultural life of Malta, Europe and the world.
✠ Joseph Galea Curmi
Isqof Awżiljarju