A ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’: the relational space of wind bands: the case of São Jorge Azores island

Abstract

The study I am developing is centred on the island of S. Jorge, in Azores archipelago, where the wind bands have a history of more than 150 years, and where we observed an expressive number of bands relative to the number of inhabitants (approximately one band per 600 inhabitants). I argue that the counterpoint of the “invariant” transnational world of the wind bands, with the specific meaning these acquired locally in public life, leverage the musician’s paths and enabled them to confront the migratory exodus, mobility and their insular condition itself. The research reveals that since the last decades of the 20th century the wind band repertoire (be it the musical pieces, instruments practice or the performance knowledge and values) functioned as bridges which enabled tocadores to go ahead (despite their social condition or geography), namely undertaking successful journeys to the heart of diverse territories.