The power of song: music and dance in the mission communities of northern New Spain, 1590-1810

Abstract

The Power of Song explores the music and dance of Franciscan and Jesuit mission communities throughout the entire northern frontier of New Spain. Its purpose is to examine the roles music played: in teaching, evangelization, celebration, and the formation of group identities. There is no other work which looks comprehensively at the music of this region and time period, or which utilizes music as a way to study the cultural interactions between Indians and missionaries.