Bandmaster and Composer
Paolo (or Paul as he was better known) was born in Valletta, the son of Giuseppe Arnaud and Carmela née Cassar. He was the youngest among six children. His father Giuseppe used to play the regular saxophone with the La Valette Philharmnoic Society. Paul Arnaud was from the cradle inspired by his father and started his musical education with the same La Valette Philharmonic Society at the age of eight. He started playing with the band club two years later. He had among his tutors Cardenio Botti, Prof. Gaffarelli, and J. Camenzuli. He was 12 years old when he made his debut with his clarinet piccolo and he had to step on a box to read the score on the music stand.
He also studied harmony and theory under Carmelo Pace*. Later on he obtained the A.Mus. LCM. and later his LLCM as bandmaster in London.
Meanwhile, Paul also had his formal and educational formation at the Government Primary School of Valletta.
He was the youngest musician who accompanied the La Valette Philharmonic Society when it won an international competition of band clubs at Como, Italy, in 1931. He played his clarinett piccolo and was just 20 years old at the time.
Arnaud was one of the first saxophonists when the first little orchestras started emerging to play music in dance halls in the 1930s. He was also the bandmaster of the pioneering The Hungarians Dance Band and Orchestra which used to play at ix-Chalet, Għar id-Dud, Sliema, and at the Premier, Valletta. In 1932, he was the Director of the first formal band of the Malta Carnival. Paul Arnaud himself wrote in a local newspaper that in the early thirties, the Malta Carnival went through a time of pique between the companies among which were those of La Valette, King’s Own, ‘tal-Mandraġġ’ and of Pawlu Cannavò of Bormla.
Arnaud was conspicuous in the Feast of Folly at a time when companies were represented by their costumes which were so original such as the Dragon of La Valette, the Woman and Man of King’s Own, the Octopus and the Lamp of Cannavò. At the time, Arnaud and his entourage took part in the Malta Carnival which was held in the Mainguard Square besides ‘Strada Reale’ (Kingsway, now Republic Street), at Valletta, where the Magistrates’ Palace (now the Presidential Palace) stood.
Arnaud formed several other orchestras or bands and took part in establishments such at the Rexford and Maxims. He also conducted local and international song festivals and shows for charity.
In 1940, Paul Arnaud was conscripted by the Royal Malta Artillery on the outbreak of World War Two and he was put in charge of the task to lead the musical sextet of the Regiment. He with the other musicians was only sent to act as a watchman because he was not capable of using the musket. He was encouraged by his musical companions to remain together with them as an orchestra once World War Two was over. In fact, they continued to play for a time on the style of Benny Goodman.
In 1947, Paul Arnaud and his orchestra tried his luck by playing in an Anglo-Maltese ball but three of his musicians returned to Malta two months afterwards because they could not acclimatise themselves. He re-engaged with Cafè Premier, Valletta, and composed the song Ċetta from Valletta which made him very popular.
In 1949, Paul had an annus mirabilis. He returned to London for the second time and his son Paul Arnaud who also played the saxophone and the clarinet applied to engage with the Golden Age Musical Show. Arnaud was employed as a Musical Director with them and toured many towns across the United Kingdom performing in various clubs for a whole year. In the same year 1949, Paul Arnaud took his wife and children to England where they remained for another twelve years. He spent, thus, sixteen whole years in England. He helped many Maltese musicians to take a chance such as Sammy Galea and his first cousin Salvu Messina.
Paul Arnaud was an intimate friend of Manwel Bugeja, the Maltese actor who directed the then Malta Carnival but later emigrated to Australia. Arnaud’s heydays coincided with a time when Carnival was an annual feast in the course of which distinguished persons participated in float and costume competitions and the jury panels included cabaret and nightclub dancers.
Paul Arnaud* with his “Hungarians” after the celebration of Carnival used to play in ballroom dances which would be organised at the Orpheum, Manoel Theatres, and other halls and theatres. Arnaud and the “Hungarians” played the last time at the Tivoli Theatre in Paola, Raħal Ġdid.
He was employed for some years as bandmaster on various Cunard cruise liners, including the Queen Elizabeth, visiting the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. He also performed on the Empress of England and Oronsay. He formed a 40-piece band under the name of Arnaud Variety Orchestra soon after he returned to Malta. He brought together instrumentalists as volunteers who played music ranging from Bach to Boogie Woogie. He held the first orchestra concert at the Catholic Institute which had just been built at Floriana in 1955. He directed for seven years the orchestra at Buskett Roadhouse, Rabat, and he performed for several singers and dances in Malta and abroad. He also directed the orchestra of Sicilia Canora in Catania for two years. He conducted the orchestra of the Malta Song Festival on a number of occasions. He was very disillusioned when he directed the orchestra in Malta when Renato with Singing This Song won the right to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest but contrary to previous editions and against expectations a foreign Musical Director was contacted to accompany the Maltese singer in Stockholm.
Arnaud was the person who discovered the talent of Frankie Vaughan after the English singer asked him to give him the opportunity to sing under him on stage at Cafè Premier, Valletta. Paul Arnaud re-invited Vaughan to sing when he was in England. Paul Arnaud not only gave Vaughan his baptism of fire but led the English singer to become one of the most popular in his country's hit parades and at the end a co-star in a Hollywood film side by side with Marilyn Monroe.
Arnaud’s eye for talent led to his introducing another well-known clarinettist Freddie Mizzi to the public at the Catholic Institute in a performance of Weber’s Clarinet Concerto n. 2. Arnaud made an appearance on Thames TV describing his discovery of Vaughan. Arnaud had another feather in his cap as when he formed the first Maltese band in London playing direct on George Dougall’s weekly broadcast to Malta on the BBC.
Paul Arnaud sat on several jury panels during competitions of songs and marches.
Arnaud was one of the founders and first President of the musician’s union, UKAM, and of the Bandmasters’ Union. He was also President of the Musicians and Entertainers Union, as well as chairman, adviser, and judge with the Malta Band Club Association. Arnaud was a member of the Board of the National Academy of Music and was awarded the Life Achievement Award during the Malta Music Awards 1995.
Paul Arnaud went to Australia and America many a time to visit members of his family and to perform music.
Arnaud was the guest of honour at a concert held in his honour, on Sunday 21 January 2001 at the La Vallette band club on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Arnaud was the first Bandmaster of the Holy Trinity Band Club (Marsa) before World War Two, and the Musical Director of Stella Maris Band Club (Sliema) for some time after the same war.
He has composed music in various genres including dance music, folk band marches, funeral marches, a romance for cello, and a bolero under the title of Arabesque. He had some of his most popular songs recorded, and included Karnival, Fenkata, Mixja fuq Bormla, Saħħa, and Ċetta from Valletta. He wrote articles for local newspapers and for the La Valette quarterly bulletin.
Arnaud had a quiet, social, and patient character. He was rather nervous when he taught music to a relative. He used to relate when once upon a time a dog went on stage while he was directing an orchestra. He used to collect newspaper cuttings of him and his children or family members. He wrote letters to editors on the needs of musicians. He loved swimming and saw to it to teach it to his children and nephews. He supported his hometown football team of Valletta City F.C. He performed in the hymn and organised a band to perform Forza Valletta City whenever the team won an honour and celebrations were held.
Arnaud was married to Pauline Cremona at St Paul's Shipwrecked, Valletta, on 11 November 1931. They lived in many places like Valletta, Ġżira, Ħamrun, and Marsa. They had six children: Carmen, Paul, Doris, Joe, Margaret, and Miriam.
He died at St Luke’s Hospital and was buried at the Addolorata Cemetery.
Paul Arnaud was a person full of recollections and would love to go down memory lane whenever somebody ran across him while he stood by the entrance of the seat of La Valette Philharmonic City at the beginning of Strada Reale (Kingsway, now Republic Street), Valletta. Paul was a musical giant and a great personality in his motherland.
This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.