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Abstract
Quelbe ([kwel bā]), formally adopted as the official traditional music of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a musical synthesis arising from the convergence of European, African (via the slave trade), and indigenous peoples who have inhabited the region since colonial times. Governed by the Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Knights of Malta, and Danes, the U.S. Virgin Islands possess a diverse sociocultural landscape that has fostered a similarly varied musical soundscape.
Quelbe incorporates African cinquillo and tresillo rhythmic patterns, more localized bombolo and cariso rhythmic patterns, bamboula chants, quadrille dance forms, as well as being heavily influenced by European/American military marches. The themes explored by quelbe, its vernacular, its role in various functions, and performance spaces have become intricately intertwined with the sociopolitical aspects of daily life, forming a distinctive Virgin Islands art form that endures in today's musical landscape.
Prior to the United States' acquisition of the territory in the early twentieth century, wind band music had already become a quite common form of musical expression. This suggests that significant exponents of wind band repertoire in the region might demonstrate cultural markers of the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, research reveals a definitive lack of such examples within the standard repertoire of Virgin Islands wind band music. Alton A. Adams (1889-1987) became one of the most locally prominent classical Virgin Islander composers in the early twentieth century, who composed two works that gained local and national recognition: the Virgin Islands March and The Governor's Own. While these works are significant, they do not incorporate any culturally distinctive Virgin Islander attributes in the music. This discovery prompted the following inquiry: How might a wind band piece conceived within a classical concert stage framework sound and look like if it were based on traditional quelbe elements?
This study, at its core, demonstrates the continuity of this folk musical tradition, linking the present to the past. It culminates in a newly composed work for wind band, broadening the contemporary musical landscape of wind band repertoire in the US Virgin Islands.
Quelbe incorporates African cinquillo and tresillo rhythmic patterns, more localized bombolo and cariso rhythmic patterns, bamboula chants, quadrille dance forms, as well as being heavily influenced by European/American military marches. The themes explored by quelbe, its vernacular, its role in various functions, and performance spaces have become intricately intertwined with the sociopolitical aspects of daily life, forming a distinctive Virgin Islands art form that endures in today's musical landscape.
Prior to the United States' acquisition of the territory in the early twentieth century, wind band music had already become a quite common form of musical expression. This suggests that significant exponents of wind band repertoire in the region might demonstrate cultural markers of the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, research reveals a definitive lack of such examples within the standard repertoire of Virgin Islands wind band music. Alton A. Adams (1889-1987) became one of the most locally prominent classical Virgin Islander composers in the early twentieth century, who composed two works that gained local and national recognition: the Virgin Islands March and The Governor's Own. While these works are significant, they do not incorporate any culturally distinctive Virgin Islander attributes in the music. This discovery prompted the following inquiry: How might a wind band piece conceived within a classical concert stage framework sound and look like if it were based on traditional quelbe elements?
This study, at its core, demonstrates the continuity of this folk musical tradition, linking the present to the past. It culminates in a newly composed work for wind band, broadening the contemporary musical landscape of wind band repertoire in the US Virgin Islands.