Sometimes an event comes along that makes you clear your diary and circle the date in red. This one will even make you set your alarm extra early for what promises to be an unprecedented musical performance staged at none other than the oldest free-standing structure in the world and starring a 2,000 year old war horn.

Intrigued? So are we. 

Performed at sunset today, 23rd June, and again at sunrise tomorrow, 24th June, at Mnajdra Temple, Ritual is the third in a series of six concerts within the framework of Modern Music Days, an initiative committed to promoting the performance and understanding of contemporary music and 20th century repertoire in Malta.

“The ethos behind this concert series is to take music out of the concert hall and into the community,” explains Ruben Zahra, artistic director of Modern Music Days which is organised by Teatru Manoel, the Malta Association for Contemporary Music and the Valletta 2018 Foundation. 

“The venues have been carefully selected for their unique aesthetics, historical narrative and intimate setting,” he adds.

The Mnajdra Temple sunrise concert will coincide with the Summer solstice, when the first rays of sun light up the edge of a megalith found to the left of the central doorway connecting the first pair of chambers to the inner chamber underlining the connection between the temple’s alignment with the seasons. 

And as if that phenomenon were not enough to give you a thrill, it will be followed by a programme of evocative sounds on ancient instruments such as the conch (sea shell) and the carnyx, a Celtic war horn, performed by internationally acclaimed Scottish trombonist and composer John Kenny. 

The carnyx was a lip-reed instrument of the Iron Age Celts used between 300 BC and 200 AD to terrify the enemy during battle. Images of the carnyx appear on numerous metal or stone objects of Celtic and Graeceo-Roman origin, but a complete instrument was never found. The most substantial fragment was found in Deskford in Northern Scotland in 1816. The instrument was made of bronze surmounted by a stylised wild boar’s head, complete with a hinged jaw and lolling wooden tongue, and when played, the head would stand an impressive four metres high. 

Through his organisation Carnyx & Co which he co-founded with Ian Ritchie, John Kenny has worked in partnership with the European Music Archaeology Project on the reconstruction of Iron Age musical instruments such as the Tintignac Carnyx from France and the Etruscan litus and cornu, giving these ancient instruments a 21st century voice. 

During the concerts at Mnajdra, John Kenny will trace the evolution of the modern day brass instruments from the seashell to the carnyx with its incredible dynamic range through to today’s trombone. 

Ritual will be performed on 23rd June at 7:30pm and 24th June at 6am at Mnajdra Temple, Qrendi. Tickets from Heritage Malta.