The safeguarding of Colombian musical heritage as seen in the National Band Contest in Paipa-Boyacá: A performance style guide

Abstract

Colombia’s long history of bands of all types and strong music programs are now being recognized and praised in festivals and contests around the world. Contests like the National Band Contest in Paipa-Boyacá contribute to the development of Colombian bands, the quality of music performed, and the creation of new music, and all are under an umbrella of safeguarding and reinforcement of a tri-ethnical and multicultural identity. In 2013 the Colombian Ministry of Culture added Paipa-Boyacá’s national contest to the country’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Consequently, the organizing body of the Paipa-Boyacá contest, the CORBANDAS corporation, took their award-winning arrangements and compositions from 1973 to 2019 and created a list of recommended/required works, called the Representative Safeguard List. The music on this list serves as the foundation of this study, from which an enhanced catalog (CNB-OGAN) has been created, a catalog that will be shared with CORBANDAS. The main purpose of the thesis is to examine how Paipa-Boyacá’s national contest serves to celebrate and preserve Colombia’s musical heritage. The study examines the various Colombian regions and the dance types and rhythms that are indigenous to them and are at the heart of authentic Colombian music performance. An explanation of the historical origin of these Colombian dance types, as well as stylistic suggestions for performance, are offered. Using this information, the study culminates with a performance guide of the only (known) band arrangement of the Fantasía Sobre Motivos Colombianos, a standard work in Colombian repertoire by composer Pedro Morales Pino. As a Latin American conductor, I have had opportunities to perform and conduct music from different parts of the world. It has become very clear to me, that as musicians, the understanding, acceptance, and embracing of unfamiliar musical styles is one way of recognizing and honoring differences, and this makes working as a community with one goal in mind a much easier process to accomplish.