Joined by three very talented percussionists (Jean-Christophe Leroy, Christian Baugher, Jonah Payne) I will present a special discussion and performance of liturgical passages from the Afro-Cuban Lucumí “oro seco,” first on batá drums and then on Afro-Brazilian berimbau musical bows. The Lucumí religion, known as Regla de Ocha – Ifá, is a richly narrative nature-based religion with deep cultural roots in Yorubaland, Nigeria. Its liturgical practice involves drumming, singing, and dancing. The powerful and elegant musical language of the batá drums literally speak a language that connects humans to a pantheon of gods and goddesses known as Oricha. In Arcomusical’s unique musical bow arrangement, this drumming language takes on harmonic sophistication as the berimbaus’ strings are tuned to intervallic ratios that are informed by the ascribed numerology of each of the orichas represented, in this case: Elegua = 3, Ogun = 7, Ochosi = 7.
