Brass band music in Naples between the ritual dimension and innovation: the case-study of Madonna dell’Arco’s divisioni musicali

This article examines the musical practices enacted by informal bands active in ritual and festive contexts in the province of Naples (Italy) – in particular, those connected to the Catholic cult of the Madonna dell’Arco and to the Feste dei Gigli popular in several towns around Naples. My main purpose is to enlighten how the complexity of the stylistic background which characterises local bands’ musical practices undermines a number of supposed dichotomies – between folklore and pop culture; between local aesthetics and that of the wider global sphere –, and musicians emerge as key figures who facilitate the renewal of local aesthetics. Endowed with competences and knowledge that allow them to turn the often generic requests of local actors into clearly outlined aesthetical and stylistic options, they adapt new genres, styles and repertoires to the traditional ritual and festive symbolic frame, creating what local actors call “new traditions”.This article examines the musical practices enacted by informal bands active in ritual and festive contexts in the province of Naples (Italy) – in particular, those connected to the Catholic cult of the Madonna dell’Arco and to the Feste dei Gigli popular in several towns around Naples. My main purpose is to enlighten how the complexity of the stylistic background which characterises local bands’ musical practices undermines a number of supposed dichotomies – between folklore and pop culture; between local aesthetics and that of the wider global sphere –, and musicians emerge as key figures who facilitate the renewal of local aesthetics. Endowed with competences and knowledge that allow them to turn the often generic requests of local actors into clearly outlined aesthetical and stylistic options, they adapt new genres, styles and repertoires to the traditional ritual and festive symbolic frame, creating what local actors call “new traditions”