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.
","abstract_html":"<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Scarfullery, Rafael"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Todd Fish","Dr. Juan Ureña"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-12-08T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-12-08T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z","subjects":["rafael","scarfullery","fiesta","espiritu","santo","dominican","African American Studies","African History","African Languages and Societies","Caribbean Languages and Societies","Composition","Ethics in Religion","Ethnic Studies","Ethnomusicology","History of Religion","Latin American History","Modern Languages","Music Performance","Music Theory","Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies","Social History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/523","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Todd Fish","Dr. Juan Ureña"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Scarfullery, Rafael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-12-10T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["rafael","scarfullery","fiesta","espiritu","santo","dominican","African American Studies","African History","African Languages and Societies","Caribbean Languages and Societies","Composition","Ethics in Religion","Ethnic Studies","Ethnomusicology","History of Religion","Latin American History","Modern Languages","Music Performance","Music Theory","Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies","Social History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/523"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["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"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Todd Fish","Dr. Juan Ureña"],"dc:creator":["Scarfullery, Rafael"],"dc:date.available":["2023-12-10T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/523"],"dc:subject":["rafael","scarfullery","fiesta","espiritu","santo","dominican","African American Studies","African History","African Languages and Societies","Caribbean Languages and Societies","Composition","Ethics in Religion","Ethnic Studies","Ethnomusicology","History of Religion","Latin American History","Modern Languages","Music Performance","Music Theory","Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies","Social History"],"dc:title":["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"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z"}