Social roles, group dynamics and sound structure in multipart vocal performance: the female repertoire for the Good Friday at Cassano allo Jonio (South Italy)

For a long time the interest of ethnomusicologists in multipart singing has been focused mainly upon aspects of musical structure. But a performance of multipart vocal music, as any other performance where more than one individual is involved, is a special case of interpersonal relationships. The study of a female processional repertoire for the Holy Week in a Calabrian village, based on field research, music analysis and video documentation, shows the complex interaction between social roles, group dynamics and sound structure.