VALLETTA - The unique Nile Troupe for Folkloric Music astonished their European audience in Valetta last night, while participating in the 'Django World Music Festival', which was organised by the Ambassador of Belgian to Malta. The festival, which was held to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), attracted many European viewers and was a great chance for artists to show off their talents and interact with new cultures. The audience waited for the Egyptian performance, although it didn't start till 9:30pm. They were fascinated by the Egyptian style. Egypt was the only Arab country participating in the three-day festival. "I had heard about the Nile band and its skilful players before, so when the idea of the festival came up we choose them to perform here in Malta. I knew about their professionalism because people kept talking about them," Jean-Franois Delahaut, the Ambassador of Belgium to Malta and the organiser of the event, told this newspaper. The Nile troupe (who were wearing galabias) played folkloric instruments like the rababa, kawala (mizmar), sagat and dohola (kind of drums) that are rarely found in Europe, giving their performance a unique Arab flavour. "All the Egyptian folk instruments they use are somehow related to European ones. We are related somehow. Arab instruments and music are a gift from the Arabs to Europeans. Arab music has had a great impact on European music. "It was really great. I'm not a specialist, but I felt how impressive it was. This music moved me. We are in the same world," Delahaut added. The audience were impressed by the skill of the troupe and their strange instruments. "It was a wonderful performance. I really enjoyed it. It was familiar to me because I've lived and worked in Tunis, which means I'm not new to Arab music," Caroline Gudenus, Ambassador of Austria to Malta, told The Egyptian Gazette. "I loved the rababa and the sagat. Although there are instruments like the rababa in some other African countries and the sagat is similar to lots of other musical instruments, Egypt has its own flavour. It was great," she added. After playing some well-known Upper Egyptian musical pieces, they did some tanura dancing, which was very impressive too and something new for the audience. "I'm very proud of what the Egyptians have done today. You can't imagine how I feel. We are a mirror for Egypt and the Nile band have proved that Egypt is always great," said Amal Fahmi, the representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, who was attending the festival with the troupe. Amal was able to put the band at their ease, allowing them to give out their best last night. She also suggested that the troupe play a famous European melody in the concert to show that it is easy for Egyptians to do anything Egyptian. "It is easy for Egyptians to imitate anybody else, but no-one can imitate them. They have their own character," she added. The Egyptian Embassy in Malta also played an important role in bringing the Egyptian troupe there. "I was very nostalgic. It took me back 30 years. I'm really proud of them," said Abdel-Mawgoud el-Habashi, Egyptian Ambassador to Malta. "Fantastic. I've never seen anything like it before. I was really astonished; they're great," said Baron Testaferrata Moroni Vilani. "Very nice, fantastic. I travelled to Egypt two years ago. I listened to this kind of music and I like it a lot," said Baroness Testaferrata Moroni Vilani. Baron and Baroness Testaferrata Moroni Vilani hosted the Egyptian troupe in one of their elegant hotels in St. Julian at their own expense. Baron Testaferrata, one of Malta's most famous tycoons, owns almost half Malta. Because of the massive turnout for the Egyptian troupe, the Egyptian Embassy is getting them to give one a last performance Sunday, at Malta Airport.
