Darna - "Olukumi" for Wind Quintet

Composed by Alexandros Darna
Written for the Windscape Quintet
Performed by the Windscape Quintet
The expression “Olukumi” means "my friend” or "my confidant," and comes from the Yoruba language, the language of the Yoruba people who inhabit West Africa.
I first came across this expression while learning about the Santería religion of Cuba, which is a syncretic Afro-Cuban religion that combines elements of West African religions and Roman Catholicism. It is also known as “Regla Lucumí” or simply “Lucumí.” This is probably owing to the fact that in Cuba, the African slaves of Yoruba origin were called “Lucumí," perhaps because they addressed each other as “Olukumi," meaning "My friend.”
Olukumi is a piece about friendship and the warm and sweet feelings that we all share inside. In spite of that, I also wanted this piece to be a modest statement of dissatisfaction regarding the terrible action of enslavement.
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