An old custom that fizzled out in the 1930s established that musical bands would distribute to bystanders programmes of the pieces played. These they mostly, though not invariably, printed on the backs of cheap postcards.
This fashion started in the late 1890s but then avalanched throughout Malta. No Gozo programmes have been traced so far. Exceptionally, some programmes were printed on fancy perforated and embossed kartonċin.
These old throw-away programmes, now very rare, remain a mine of information, mostly shedding light on musical genres then prevalent in Malta but also on sponsored advertising practices, and on printing display tastes. Few, if any, band club archives seem to have preserved copies.
The Band of Noto, Sicily, performed this musical programme in Valletta for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 15, 1904. Being ‘an Italian band’, the programme is printed in red and green.
The Queen Victoria Band performed this programme in Valletta on August 3, 1905.
Programme of the King’s Own Band, Valletta, performance on October 10, 1913. Note the Cousis cigarettes’ sticker: packet of 10 for two pence.
Programme for La Vallette Band performance in Senglea on October 7 and 8, 1910.
La Vallette Band performing at the Argotti Gardens on May 17, 1908. Two-colour programme in art nouveau style.
One of the earlier programmes for the La Vilhena Floriana band, July 23, 1899.
Artwork for programme by the King’s Own Band at the Argotti Gardens, on November 14, 1920.
Senglea Queen’s Own Band. Programme for the Carmelite feast, Valletta, July 16, 1919.
Joint programme, La Vallette and Queen’s Own bands, May 16, 1909.
Joint programme, St Mikiel Band, Żabbar and Band of St Joseph Institute, September 7-8, 1906.
The band of the Greek warship Spetsai performed in Malta on July 9, 1905.
Though unsafe to generalise, it appears that popular choices predominantly favoured Italian music – operatic excerpts and lighter catchy Neapolitan songs. Equally noticeable is the almost total absence of Germanic, northern, baroque and orchestral classical music. Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak, Wagner, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky mostly inhabited alien worlds.
Almost all of these programmes carried commercial promotions that made their free distribution possible. The cutthroat tobacco industry virtually monopolised programme adverts, with A.C. Cousis, owned by Joseph Howard, the first prime minister of self-governing Malta, claiming the lion’s share.
Anna Borg Cardona, William Zammit and I are working on a volume to bring together and study all the known survivors. We believe this book will be a useful revelation for those who consider musical bands an integral part of the Maltese cultural and social heritage.
We have already put together a few hundred programmes, but we believe there could be many more, particularly ones for village bands. We appeal to all those who know of these antique postcard-size programmes to contact one of us.