The man who turns murder and tragedy into Maltese folk music

Żeppi Spagnol’s work is similar to that of a detective. He investigates, researches, and interviews bereaved families.

And he must have his facts straight.

However, instead of compiling a report, Spagnol composes a long song, known as a Fatt (fact), that can last well over half an hour.

Such songs will now be the bedrock of a new radio show about Spagnol’s work, which begins on Saturday.

“A Fatt is very often either about a murder or a tragedy,” said the folk singer, who began singing this particular genre of għana 30 years ago.

In those three decades, 76-year-old Spagnol has written about some of Malta’s most notorious events, most recently the 1975 Vulcan plane crash that killed five crew members and a civilian, Żabbar woman Vincenza Zammit.

Spagnol performed the Fatt at the Żabbar Boċċi Club on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.

The folk singer, who first began playing guitar some 55 years ago, was speaking at his Żejtun garage, where the walls are full of photos featuring him with other prominent figures from the għana scene.

Known as Iż-Żejtuni, Spagnol explained his artistic process.

“The first thing I do is approach the family and ask if they would give me permission to write about what has happened. Then I start compiling details,” he explains.

He always makes it a point to mention when the people he is writing about were born, how old they were when they died, what sort of work they did and what hobbies they had.

“I also mention facts like what time they left the house on the day they died and all they were doing throughout the day. The story needs to begin from when someone was born to when they were buried. There’s one Fatt that I really want to do, for example, but I can’t till I figure out in which church the funeral was held,” Spagnol said.

Once he has all the information, Spagnol gets to work on the song.

“Before anything, I pray to the Lord for inspiration,” he said. “Whatever it is – it could be about water, the grass, a flower, or, of course, a murder or a tragedy – the words come to me... I might not have formal schooling, but I have a good mind,” Spagnol quipped.

His focus is on the words and the melody of his singing, rather than the accompanying guitar, which retain a similar structure throughout his songs.

“It’s the words that matter and how they fit,” he said. “In fact, while I’m writing, I am singing at the same time.”

Once done, Spagnol must memorise the words and the melody. “I study carefully, till I know it all. But, after that, usually in the last week before a performance, the Fatt becomes part of me.”

Songs of murder and tragedy

Among the folk songs he has created is a Fatt about the 1908 murder of 10-year-old Ġużeppi Seguna, who was killed by a jealous relative in Żabbar after a rich uncle had promised his inheritance to the young boy.

Another is about the 2008 Simshar fishing boat explosion that left four people dead, including 11-year-old Theo Bugeja.

But a story that hits closer to home for former dockyard worker Spagnol is the Fatt he wrote about the Um El-Faroud tanker explosion that left nine people dead at dock three at the Cottonera shipyard in early 1995.

“I was there on dock six when I saw the explosion and I went running to the dock where it happened. I was among the first there along with two others. I saw four of the victims dead that day,” he said. “I started building their stories and it was easier because I knew them.”

Beside tragedies and murders, Fatt singers also write biographies of well-known persons who have died. One such Fatt is about one of Malta’s most well-known folk singers, Fredu Abela.

“I knew him from when we were young and knew most things about him but still, I needed to get some facts from his family,” Spagnol said.

A book in the pipeline

Spagnol has recently begun collaborating with veteran broadcaster and academic Toni Sant, who intends to publish a book of Spagnol’s work in the near future.

Now, Spagnol’s work will also feature on a Campus 103.7 FM radio programme every Saturday at 3pm, with a repetition on Sunday at noon. In the programme, Sant will interview Spagnol about his works.

The show, Ġrajjiet u Fatti fl-Għana (narrative and facts in folk singing), will include original recordings of Spagnol singing as well as his own commentary on the context of each Fatt.

Sant said the programme will also include discussions about the cultural and historical importance of għana as a long-standing means of communication and also offer a fresh perspective on how għana can remain relevant in contemporary contexts.