Whatever name is used to describe the Mediterranean sea, one fact remains true: in this corner of the world, we are all united by it through migration. This sea has defined our culture, our history, our language, our gastronomy and our very sense of identity. It has been a theatre of war, a busy trade route and, to this very day, a passageway to a new life fraught with danger and uncertainty.

Now, the Mediterranean will take centre stage in a new concept performance combining poetry with music and song being produced by the POW Ensemble premiering on 20th June, to coincide with the United Nations World Refugee Day.

Founded in 2001 by Dutch composer and saxophonist Luc Houtkamp, POW Ensemble describes itself as “a chamber ensemble of the 21st century” using live electronics and computers as musical instruments. And for this performance, they have teamed up with Maltese poet and writer Antoine Cassar to put together a concert centred around his poem, Map of the Mediterranean, which highlights the perils of migration in this region. 

POW Ensemble has gained an international reputation for its approach in presenting contemporary, electronic music to the audience in a comprehensive way, with each project using a specific group of musicians ranging from harpsichord to oud and involving a variety of artistes such as a tapdancer, a blues singer and a DJ.

"Al-Bahr al-Abyad al Mutawassit, 
Mare Nostrum, Mesogeios,
Akdeniz, Hayyam Hattikhon,
Names upon names rinsed 
and washed out 
Down to the deepest crevice of speech."

“We work on different projects in which a balance is sought between live electronics, acoustic instruments and voice,” explains Luc, who has composed the songs for this concert together with Guy Harries. “We make adventurous music, experimental but not freaky music. We open the ears of the audience and present them music that they have never heard before.” And it promises to be an involving experience. “It is a concert with songs and music, alternated with recited poems. We want the audience to be focused on listening to the music and the text. It is not dance music,” points out Luc. 

Migration through the Mediterranean was the point of departure for this project. While POW is not a political ensemble, they wanted the performance to coincide with the UN World Refugee Day as a symbolic way of connecting with migrants living in Malta.

“In our show we emphasise both the positive and negative aspects of migration. On the positive side there is the food, music, spices, culture, wine etc. On the other hand, migration offers a chance for a new life but also presents problems with integrating into a new society, problems facing the society ‘receiving’ the migrants,” says Luc.

It is the cultural mix produced by migration that interested Luc and his colleagues when coming up with the concept for this performance. “We are interested in a cultural and musical exchange, in how people view their identities and how they shape these identities under the influence of many experiences and encounters with other people. Migration in general provides a multitude of such rich exchanges and encounters.”

“Without migration, the Mediterranean would not be what it is now: a richly diverse amalgam of people with an array of cultural backgrounds and heritages,” states Luc.

Originally from the Netherlands, Luc moved to Malta three and a half years ago. “In a sense we are all migrants, although some settled here many generations ago and so may see themselves as 'original' inhabitants. Malta as a nation is small and densely populated, so in that sense we do understand the hesitations and resistance of some Maltese against migration. However, when they get to know foreigners as individuals, Maltese people are warmly welcoming,” he observes.

This theme served as the basis from which Map of the Mediterranean grew. The fate, the hopes and sorrows of the migrants themselves are explored in Antoine Cassar’s poem, around which the performance is based. A poet, translator and self-confessed "creative activist for universal freedom", Antoine is something of a nomad himself having lived in several European countries before returning to Malta to “relearn a language he had almost forgotten”.

“My poem describes the shapes of the Mediterranean Sea from the four cardinal directions, in relation to the history of its peoples, including ancient and contemporary migrations,” explains Antoine. “The original Maltese poem was published in 2013 and first performed with musicians Effie Azzopardi and Samwel Grima. For this concert with POW Ensemble, stanzas in Maltese and English will form the backbone of the performance, stringing together the various songs composed by Luc, Guy and Tom Armitage.”

Map of the Mediterranean concerts will be held on 20th, 21st and 22nd June at Maori, Valletta.