The man who invented a musical instrument made of fireworks

A Siġġiewi pyrotechnician has invented a secret technique to tune ground fireworks (ġigġifogu) to specific musical notes, creating a world-first display that plays a melody before burning itself to the ground.

Brian Borg, 40, turned Maltese ground fireworks into a musical instrument after it occurred to him that he could tune whistling crackers (suffarelli) to specific musical notes.

The crackers are a staple of the Maltese feast. They are known for creating a loud, shrieking whistle as they burn and emit colourful fires. Borg found a way to tune each one to produce a specific musical note when it whistles.

The Qormi-born enthusiast, who now lives in Siġġiewi, told Times of Malta he is the only person in the world who knows how to master what he calls “pyromelody” – quite simply because he invented it.

He says it takes eight people thousands of hours and an entire year to build one wheel that produces a four-minute fireworks display.

The display will be one of the main attractions this Saturday, on the eve of the feast of St Nicholas in Siġġiewi. This year’s wheel is an intricate one loaded with 800 individual whistling crackers, each tuned to play themes from Forrest Gump and The Phantom of the Opera, among others.

Last year’s wheel. To the unsuspecting onlooker, it looks exactly like one of the regular ground fireworks… until it lights up. Photo: Brian Borg

“One cracker takes the team about three to four hours to make,” he said.

“Essentially, we are building an instrument that’s only played once. And then it burns itself. If you want to play something else, you must start building it again from scratch.”

For Borg and his team, this year’s wheel has taken them over 2,800 hours to build – the equivalent of 116 days of round-the-clock work – all for a display that will burn for just four-and-a-half minutes.

But the sacrifice is all worthwhile because the sight of their year-long masterpiece lighting up the square consumes Borg with deep emotions. On the night of the feast, he stands in the square to witness the result alongside the public for the very first time.

“Last year, I cried watching it go,” Borg said, admitting the experience gives him shivers just talking about it.

“The emotion I feel during the show is so powerful that it leaves me speechless every time. Last year, I became so emotional I couldn’t stand on my feet. I had to sit on the ground during the display.”

An idea born out of whistling

Borg’s invention began eight years ago with an epiphany.

“I love to whistle along to music and, one day, I was at work washing my hands and whistling, as I often do,” Borg recalled. “I looked up at the mirror and thought: What if I could tune whistling crackers to different notes?”

He discussed it with his wife and, after getting her go-ahead and support, Borg secured his fireworks licence and has spent the years since producing different wheels for the annual feast, all the while perfecting the trade secret. His wife has also joined the team making the wheels each year.

Borg would not say how they produce the tunes. That secret will remain closely guarded.

In 2022, the team built one of their most complex structures yet: a massive wheel of 3,000 sparklers that successfully belted out a portion of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Aida.

In addition to the musical display, Borg is pushing more boundaries this year by attempting a new national record.

The team has engineered a novel chemical mixture that alternates between red and green colours 20 times within 45 seconds – a rate that is double the average capability of standard Maltese fireworks.

He says the immense labour involved and scepticism from peers initially weighed heavily on him.

“At first, before we produced the very first one, not many people believed it would work. They would ask us what the hell we were doing with those sparklers,” he said.

Now, the display draws crowds from across the Maltese islands, requiring a full week of setup in the village square.

“It takes us a whole year of work. I often get tired, and it’s frustrating sometimes. But I never regret it,” Borg says. “The day of the display is the best day of the year for me. Every year.”