Il-Wiċċ l-Ieħor: a novel that reads like a musical score

Since Ġorġ Peresso and Reuben Pace met in 2016 and began artistic collaboration on the creation of the first ever Maltese opera cycle Belt il-Bniedem (City of Humanity), their artistic spirits have become more and more intertwined. This artistic interweaving became stronger, more energetic and intense when last year they were joined by prodigal young author Amy Borg with whom they have finished the libretto of the second opera in the cycle. In this article Pace and Borg talk about Peresso’s latest novel from a unique musical perspective.

There are a hundred and one ways to read a book. For example, from the cover page straight to the back page, stopping at instances to wonder in awe at the illustrations which might enhance the story. In the case of this novel by Ġorġ Peresso, the cover page itself is immediately striking, being adapted from the famous painting ‘The Kiss’ by Gustav Klimt. However, the most compelling and unique features in this novel are the allusions to the music of Gustav Mahler (Austria 1860-1911) and the textual language used which is itself based upon musical structures.

This is not the first time that Peresso uses musical references in his novels. In ‘Meta l-Ħarifa Tiskot’ (The Silence of Autumn - 2007), ‘Il-Qassis tal-Belt’ (The Priest from Valletta -2011), and ‘Il-Werrieta tar-Riħ’ (Those who Inherit the Wind - 2013), one finds frequent references and integration of Franz Liszt (Hungary 1811-1886)’s music. According to Peresso himself in one of his interviews, he particularly chose Liszt not only because of the beauty expressed through his innovative forms, but also because of his status in the history of music, having been active in both the Romantic and Modern Periods.

In ‘Ir-Raġel ta’ Waħdu’ ( The Solitary Man - 2012) and ‘It-Tfajla li Ġiet miċ-Ċpar’ (The Girl who Came from the Fog -2015), there are frequent references to several of Giacomo Puccini (Italy 1858 – 1924)’s operas.

The novel which Peresso published prior to ‘Il-Wiċċ l-Ieħor’ which is ‘Vjola l-Kulur talImħabba’ (Purple, the Colour of Love -2017)includes constant references to the music of Dire Straits, a marked shift in musical idiom from the previous classical music.

In his latest novel, Peresso takes musical influences a step, or rather, 2 steps forward.

The first step is that the musical references evolve. The protagonist of the novel is obsessed with the music of Gustav Mahler, mainly his symphonies. During the novel we see a progressive evolution from Mahler’s first symphony (188896) with its grotesque funeral march based on a children’s tune (Frère Jacques) to the 8th Symphony (1907) which uses the text from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Germany 1749 – 1832)’s final scene of the tragic play ‘Faust’. The reference to Mahler’s music is not simply used for cultural frivolity, but it becomes the soundtrack to the book itself, a rare trait in Maltese literature. In fact, Peresso writes that Mahler’s music to the main horoscope character becomes the for his moods.

The second step forward in musical influences is more intrinsic and deep– the structure of words and sentences are based on particular structures in music. For example, there are sudden intentional changes from the first to the third person as well as a mixture of the perfect and imperfect tenses. These are paralleled by similar structures in the music of Mahler and composers who came after him, in which the music changes direction abruptly, or a phrase is left unfinished, suspended in mid-air. Also evident is the use of the musical cluster – a group of notes which are very close in pitch.

Especially notable are the sudden and recurrent changes between long sentences and short, sometimes one word long, sentences. This is meant to imitate changes in tempi and time signatures, a characteristic of Mahler’s music.

In addition, there are repetitions of certain phrases throughout the novel, similar to the repetition of musical material, or phrases, within a piece of music.

This continuous allusion to music and music structure itself lends to a grammar of consonance and dissonance with which the feeling of the characters can be easily associated, although necessarily in the same way that it is used in narrative music.

The final effect from the stylistic point of view of this novel is the beauty of the language musicality. Hence, the justification of the title of this short article about Peresso’s ‘Il-Wiċċ l-Ieħor’.