 |
Maltese folklorist Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop is dead
By MaltaMedia News
Dec 19, 2007 - 5:29:37 PM
|
|
Prominent Maltese folklorist Dr Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop died on Wednesday at the age of 56. He was an enthusiastic champion of Maltese traditions, particularly oral storytelling and għana.
Since 1998 he was the driving force behind the National Għana Festival, which has helped preserve Malta's traditional genre of singing and introduce it to a whole new generation. He was also active in recording and disseminating traditional culture in various radio and television programmes for more than two decades.
Dr Mifsud-Chircop was a lecturer at the University of Malta and taught at the Junior College. Previously he also taught at St. Aloysius College. His ethnographic studies on Maltese traditions have been published in Maltese, English and Italian.
In a press release, the National Book Council said that "he believed that one of the foremost duties of an anthropologist or folklorist is to help make people aware of their own Culture. Clearly, Dr
Ġorġ Mifsud Chircop did this." The Council also said that he was a point of reference on Maltese folklore and he worked
against its death by inculcating into his students and colleagues a love for
everything Maltese.
Political parties and other bodies released tributes and reactions to his death on Wednesday.
His funeral will be held on Saturday at 8.30am at the Mosta parish church where Mass praesente cadavere will be said, followed by interment at the Mosta cemetery.
He is survived by his wife Marlene née Said, his daughter Berenice, and his son Jerome.
The MaltaMedia OnLine Network has webcast programmes presented by Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop, including a series on Maltese
għana, in 1999.
MaltaMedia is podcasting a two-part special Christmas-related programme presented by
him.
See also:
Dr
Ġorġ Mifsud-Chircop: an appreciation
from Toni Sant's blog
© Copyright 2007 by MaltaMedia.com
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Top of Page
|
|
|
Latest update:
Dec 20, 2007 - 6:53:16 PM CET
|
