Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Justin Elie and Ludovic Lamothe

Thanks to the wonders of archive.org, Justin Elie's Vodoo Scenes (Priestess Dance) (Scenes Vaudouesques) can be heard from a 1928 recording. It is the earliest recorded song I have heard that is, allegedly, based on Vodou music. I am not sure who were the members of this "Haytian Orchestra" which recorded the piece, conducted by Eile, but it is interesting to hear more recordings of Elie's compositions. Like Largey has suggested, Elie's music does seem to invoke the "Amerindian" past of Haiti more so than "Vodou" directly. Other recordings from the 1920s can be found of Elie's Danse Tropicale No. 4 and two compositions by Ludovic Lamothe, Vacances and Valse aux etoiles. Vacances seems to me the most successful, although Valse aux etoiles has an elegant charm. Elie's tropical dance composition also sounds like a meringue, but of course of the salon type.



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