Malta: Art works

Malta issued a set of four stamps in 2004 celebrating works of art. The 20c stamp (Scott 1182) pictures organ pipes and a bit of music. The organ pipes are from the instrument in the Cathedral in Mdina. Robert Buhagiar has a very nice description of the organ and the work he has done on it. The Scott catalog tells us that the musical example on the stamp is from a work by Begninon Zerafa. He was director of cathedral music 1744-1787. The stamp set exist as individual stamps but are also combined on a souvenir sheet (Scott 1185).

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Malta: Christmas

Malta issued three sets of stamps in 1973 that all utilized the same general look and format. The third set of three stamps includes two stamps that include stylized organ pipes. The first  (Scott B13) features angels singing; the second (B15) shows a building, candles and a tambourine with pipes barely showing behind. The stamps are all artistic renditions, so no specific pipe organ is shown. Scott does not specify the recipient of the surcharge funds.

Malta: Francesco Azopardi

The island nation of Malta issued this stamp in 1985, the European Music Year, as part of a set of two stamps honoring Maltese composers. The low-value of the set features Nicolo Baldacchino. The present stamp of Azopardi includes organ pipes in the background. Azopardi (1748-1809) was a composer and music theorist. He was musician at St Paul's Cathedral, Mdina after study in Naples, and later added music leadership at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta to his bailiwick. Azopardi has at least one chamber work which includes organ in the instrumentation. I have not done enough exploration to know if there are other organ works by him. The organ in the cathedral was begun in 1774 by Domenico Antonio Rossi. Restoration work beginning in 2003 was by Robert Buhagiar. He has helpful information on his firm's website. It is difficult to discern if the pipe faces shown on the stamp are indeed from the cathedral organ or not.