Five generations of Nani musicians

Abstract

The surname NANI is almost unique in Malta. To many young people, it might not mean much, except that they might associate it with the Nani music-shops in Valletta and in Sliema. But for the older generation of music-lovers, the surname Nani straight away brings to mind the names of Dr. Paolo, Antonio and Paul. However, the musical roots of the family go much deeper than these three. In fact, very few people have heard of Angelo and Emmanuele. In Malta alone five generations of Nanis were artistically very active and they cover a period of two hundred years. Angelo Nani (1751 - 1844) was the first Nani to come to Malta and he established the family on the island. Next on the scene we find his son Emmanuele (1769 - 1860), and then Dr. Paolo Nani (1814 - 1904) (Emmanuele's nephew and Angelo's grandson) continued the family tradition. Dr. Paolo's son Antonio (1842 - 1929) took up and continued his father's musical activities. Lastly comes Paul Nani (1906 - ), Antonio's only son who is still alive and is the present-day link in the long chain of this famous family of musicians. Between them, these five musicians cover a whole gamut of musical activities ranging from that of orchestra director, music teacher, composer, violinist, 'maestro di cappella', 'maestro concertatore' and even as a side line, that of impresario. The primary aim of this dissertation is to write an updated biography and social involvement of these people in the musical life of these islands, and not a critical appraisal of their works. The main difficulty was that previous references to the Nanis have not always referred to first sources with the result that they often contradict one another. It is possible that some authors obtained their material from personal interviews with the Nani musicians themselves, and when some details are confronted with extant documented evidence, one finds that in a number of cases these do not tally. As a consequence it is often difficult to distinguish fact from mere hear-say. The first task was therefore to find as many first source material as possible. In due course, this verified, disproved, modified as well as added to what had been written about the Nani family. Finally, this dissertation is by no means completely exhaustive and much research can still he done on this subject. It is hoped that it has at least shed some new light on previously unknown facts regarding the Nani family and that it may stimulate others to carry further.