LA FIESTA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO: AN ORIGINAL WORK FOR CHOIR, SOLOISTS, AND SMALL ENSEMBLE INFLUENCED BY THE SANTERIA MUSIC OF THE AFRICAN-DOMINICAN COMMUNITY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Author

Rafael ScarfulleryFollow

Date of Award

Fall 12-8-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Music

Department

School of Music

First Advisor

Dr. Stephen Lias

Second Advisor

Dr. Todd Fish

Third Advisor

Dr. Juan Ureña

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Benjamin Morris

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of Santería music as practiced by African Dominicans in Villa Mella, a neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This musical tradition comes from the culture and religion of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa, and features complex drum rhythms and call-and-response chants. This paper deals with the historical and social context of Santería music within the Dominican Republic, but its principal objective is to adopt the musical language of this tradition and use it to create a new contemporary work for mixed choir and small ensemble.

One of the most influential musical groups for this thesis was La Cofradía de los Congos del Espíritu Santo de Villa Mella, because it follows the original practices and rituals, and it has a large presence on Youtube. The use of this musical tradition, along with contemporary composition techniques and Christian religious texts about the Holy Spirit, resulted in a composition that choral groups in the Dominican Republic can perform during the high feast of Pentecost in the church calendar.

Repository Citation

Scarfullery, Rafael, "LA FIESTA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO: AN ORIGINAL WORK FOR CHOIR, SOLOISTS, AND SMALL ENSEMBLE INFLUENCED BY THE SANTERIA MUSIC OF THE AFRICAN-DOMINICAN COMMUNITY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 523.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/523

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.