Huggiega is a collage of art forms glowing in unison to celebrate the mythical realm of fire with its alluring manifestations throughout History and across our very own communities. Composers Alex Vella Gregory, Véronique Vella, Albert Garzia and Euchar Gravina have embarked on an artistic journey to score contemporary music for the 12th May Symphonic Band. The music draws inspiration in great part from the fire-themed libretto penned by Sebastian Saliba as well as the composers’ personal and artistic experiences.  ... 

Through its thematic network, Huggiega evokes the ever-present image of fire in its mythological, aesthetical and emotional domains. With its own consuming flames, it casts dancing shadows  over the destruction of an element, only to induce the creation of another. Hence, the tension between life and death, love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, war and peace.  Due to this paradoxical nature, the fire element emerges as a colossus of stark contrasts and dramatic transformations that give Huggiega its haunting aura.

The music will be under the direction of Mro. Hermann Farrugia Frantz with the participation of soprano Francesca Aquilina together with actors Carmel Gauci and Karl Schembri. The audience will be  treated to a visual installation by local artist Gerald Agius Ordway who comes with a strong portfolio of works involving the play of light in synch with  music. Agius Ordway will be developing the fire theme into a setup that will translate thelyrics and music of the four compositions into a visual language by means of contemporary installation work. This visual workwill lend itself to  a memorable representation of the first ever collaboration of such nature. The artistic director of  Huggiega is Pawlu Mizzi.

This project is supported by Arts Council Malta – Malta Arts fund. The following comments by the evaluator artists offer a glimpse of what Huggiega promises to leave in its wake; an incandescent night.

The underlying idea here is strong and relevant in its fusion of the grammar and idiom of the marching band with the more experimental trends of cutting-edge composition, through the diversity of the fire metaphor itself. A worthy project. 

 The audience engagement plan promises to be effective whilst opening itself up to an extended cross-communal audience.