Do you know Rafelbunyol? It is a Valencian municipality of around nine thousand inhabitants where an unprecedented and pioneering initiative in our country has been launched that will surely put it on the map. Rafelbunyol is going to host Spain’s first concert for dogs!
The concert will take place next September 18 in “La Senyera” Park and will inaugurate the fifth edition of the Rafel Festival of Contemporary Music project. It will be Spain’s first concert featuring music for dogs. This means that the music will consist of ultrasounds audible only to canines. Something unprecedented in our country!
“Canine Fantasy” is a creation by Jesús Salvador Chapi and is designed so that dogs will be the listeners and protagonists of the event. In other words, for the first time, dogs will not attend as human companions; humans will be accompanying them instead.
Regarding its creator, Jesús Salvador Chapi, it is worth highlighting that he is a highly acclaimed composer, twice nominated for the Max Awards, as well as one of the members of Grup Amores de Percusió, which has more than 26 years of experience. For him, this project aims to reestablish channels of communication with other species and improve relationships between dogs, their owners, and society.
Thus, the starting point for this innovative concert is the research showing that dogs understand and react to words according to their intonation. The six compositions that will be part of this concert use ultrasounds and Sonic clicks, filtered through electronic music and combined with vocals, strings, and percussion. In addition, there is an experimental component, since there are no precedents for events of this kind and no one knows how the dogs will react. Will they howl in unison as they do in this video?
The Rafelbunyol Councillor for Culture points out that this is a project that goes beyond the trend of incorporating pets, especially dogs, into certain human social practices. It is not just about facilitating access to a concert, but about composing specifically for them and placing pets at the very center of the creative process.
The concert will be held outdoors, in a 10,000-square-meter space that can accommodate up to 150 dogs. Admission for dogs is free. The aristoparents will have to pay a symbolic two-euro admission fee, which can be purchased at the Casa del Jove or reserved by calling 96 141 00 49 or via email cultura@rafelbunyol.es.
At ARISTOPET, we would like to congratulate the organizers of the Rafel Festival and, of course, the creator of “Canine Fantasy,” Jesús Salvador Chapi, on this unique artistic initiative in Spain. We wish them every success and hope it will inspire other creators, organizations, and institutions so that activities by and for dogs have an ever greater place in our society.
We encourage all of you who are nearby not to miss this fascinating musical experience!
