Voices of Spring

Kathleen Battle is becoming a personal favorite for opera music, even though I think I still prefer Jessye Norman. Nonetheless, this is stunningly beautiful.

Un Sarao de la Chacona

Lovely recording of a dance music of New World origins (and thus, perhaps African influences) that became extremely popular in Spain and the rest of Europe. It enlivened Baroque art music while finding its way into the courtly music of European elites. I could not find much about this particular song, but it dates to the late 16th century or early 17th century. 

La Bella Cubana

Afro-Cuban violinist and composer of the 19th century, Jose White, best known for the habanera, "La bella cubana." Not surprisingly, creole forms of Cuban music took form during the 19th century as Cuban nationalism grew over time. A similar development took place in 19th century Puerto Rico with the rise of the danza, which fused the European classical tradition and dance (contradanza) with Afro-Caribbean rhythms and flavors. Cuban danzon, habanera, and danza revolutionized world music forever, from New Orleans to Buenos Aires. Check out these two versions of "La bella cubana," one by the legendary Bebo Valdes and another by a small ensemble. 

Largey's Vodou Nation: Haitian Art Music and Cultural Nationalism

Michael Largey's Vodou Nation has been an exhilarating read. Given the lack of secondary sources on so much of Haitian classical music (and Haitian music more generally), as well as its importance in forging a Haitian national identity, broader black cultural nationalism (examined in the text through African-American operas about Haiti, Ouanga and Troubled Island) and shaping Haitian intellectual history, Largey's text is a must read. The last time I read something so moving in ethnomusicology was Averill's text on Haitian popular music. This book places the US occupation, Haitian class relations (elite vs. peasant dynamics), Haitian and African-American intellectual exchange and anthropology/ethnography (Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Jean Price-Mars, Dantes Bellegarde, Jacques Roumain), some music theory and debates on notating/arranging Haitian music (such as how one should notate the Haitian mereng), the tourism industry in post-WWII Haiti, Vodou and African-derived customs, and last, but certainly not least, a robust examination of the music, life, and ideology behind a few of Haiti's best composers (Occide Jeanty, Ludovic Lamothe, Justin Elie, and Werner Jaegerhuber).

In regards to Haitian and black cultural nationalism, Largey's thesis is quite convincing, particularly his excellent use of a variety of sources, ranging from white anthropologists and writers, such as Herskovits, to local Haitian academics, ethnographers, and scholars. Furthermore, his text reveals the depths to which recombinant mythology have shaped how popular classes have perceived political elites (and vice versa). In addition, Largey shows how African-Americans (such as Langston Hughes and William Grant Still) have related to Haitian class relations, how African-American cultural nationalism looked to Haiti as a source due to the country's reputation as the reservoir of the 'purest' African cultural retentions), how Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois influenced Haitian intellectuals, such as Jean-Price Mars to look to the Haitian rural majority to strengthen Haiti, and how specifically Haitian classical composers used Vodou and peasant music to construct a palatable Haitian art music for international and elite audiences while occupying a broader Black Atlantic. 

Surely, the influence of DuBois's assertions on the power of the spiritual and African-American folk forms played a role here for Haitian elites, just as the US Occupation and the omnipotence of Haitian peasant culture pervaded all parts of Haiti, including urban Haiti and elite neighborhoods and towns. Indeed, the constant flow of rural Haitians to and from the towns probably explains why Occide Jeanty's "Zizipan" reflects rara influence. Or why Haitian elites were exposed to Haitian popular folklore and culture through dance, Carnival, the occasional Vodou ceremony, and mingling with the lower classes through concerts (such as the free and public performances of fanfares for the military or politicians), intellectual movements (indigenist and noirist being significant examples from the 20th century), political purposes (such as patronage or legitimizing oneself with rural Haitians), and cross-class nationalism (an excellent example being Occide Jeanty's "1804" sparking a riot and contributing to an outpouring of Haitian patriotism).

Moreover, Haitian classical composers such as Elie and Lamothe reveal the differing approaches to explaining Haitian cultural and symbolic ancestry, such as the importance of African or Arawak influences. Clearly, Elie's compositions and promotion of himself as an expert on 'Indian' music (even though he never studied indigenous musics of the Americas, nor were there any demonstrable indigenous influences in Haitian music), partly due to expectations and stereotypes from his American audiences in New York, belongs in a tradition of indigenism or Indianist thought dating back to Nau and 19th century Haitian ideas. Indeed, the resonance of the indigenous peoples of Haiti resisting encroachment from European colonists appealed to much to Haitians of all classes that the cacos resisting the US Occupation traced their name back to the caciques of the Taino. Lamothe, on the other hand, focused on the more obvious African cultural retentions in Vodou music (even writing about the subject), just as Jaegerhuber focused on the music and rhythms of Vodou in a context of a growing tourism industry (which preyed on the cultural capital of Haitian peasant culture) and folkloric movement (a contentious area for Haitian intellectuals in the aftermath of the US Occupation, since some intellectuals, such as Bellegarde, resisted any attempt to focus on or celebrate the 'superstitions' and African customs of the Haitian peasantry).

Of course, there are moments where one does not see any irrefutable evidence for some of Largey's assertions. Indeed, the anecdote quoted to explain a possible connection between Jeanty and Vodou is perplexing, although balanced well with perceptions of Jeanty as an 'Ogou' public figure. This book would have been better served with a companion CD, so readers could listen to examples of various Haitian mereng and classical music, especially to note specific moments or instances of "vaudouesque" influences permeating the works of Jeanty, Jaegerhuber, Lamothe, Elie, and other sources. Nevertheless, the book remains essential for foregrounding Haiti's classical tradition to reveal the significance of Haitian classical music as both a cause and effect of Haitian nationalism. Largey seems to believe that the Haitian general population is not interested, for the most part, in the island's long legacy of classical music, but clearly it was a large factor in a broader Haitian social relations that, at times, exploded on the scene (Lamothe's "Nibo,"  and the slow mereng like "Choucoune" became standard cross-class material, as well as an example of a Haitian popular genre representative of all Haitians. 

"Choucoune" in particular, based on Durand's poem which used Kreyol, reflected on the beauty of a Haitian woman, which, as Largey states, often symbolized a nation at large. According to Largey, Oswald Durand would don the dress of a peasant and perform the piece, which is not unlike other Haitian composers, like Jaegerhuber, who would transcribe Vodou ritual music and folk songs, but present it in a context that is divorced from its original meaning. Intriguingly, such a concept has long been en vogue with European classical composers and literature, such as Grimm tales of Germany, which were not based on actual interviews of German peasants, but through middle-class and often Huguenot interlopers). Indeed, the influence of French and German classical and intellectual traditions could not be understated, particularly given the French and German training Jaegerhuber, Jeanty, Elie, and Lamothe experienced.

In summation, read this book if you're interested in black cultural nationalism, ethnomusicology, Haitian music, Haitian intellectual history, and Caribbean studies. One will learn much more than to appreciate the social context of elite Haitian music. I was even surprised to read about the Vodou implications of "Panama m Tombe" and Merisier Jeannis, the ancestor of my great-aunt's husband. Anyway, for anyone interested in Haitian mereng, here is a great link. 

Justin Elie and "Indianist" Haitian Art Music

Currently reading Largey's Vodou Nation and found the chapter on Ludovic Lamothe and Justin Elie fascinating. Unfortunately, unlike Lamothe, it's much harder to find recordings of Elie's music on the internet, so I can't locate examples of Elie's use of stock exotica for his Indianist compositions that appealed to the US market. It's amazing, Elie's music reflected a strain of Haitian thought that reveres the indigenous people of Hispaniola as 'symbolic ancestors' and key figures in anti-colonial movements (a practice seen among elites, such as Nau's Caciques d'Haiti published in the 19th century or peasant armed resistance to the US Occupation naming themselves cacos after the caciques), but his music really had no authentic connection to the music of the pre-colonial inhabitants of Haiti. Furthermore, I am a little disappointed that I cannot locate recordings of his work that reflect the Afro-Caribbean and Vodou heritage of Haiti, except for "Legende Creole" (which Largey attributes to Haitian Vodou influences). Alas, if only I could locate more of his meringues. "Chants de la montagne" has some stereotypical "Indian" traits, while 'Legende Creole" is based on a Haitian children's song with Vodou references ("Zonbi Ban-n Mannan").

One of these days, I'll have to track down Elie's "Prayer at Eventide," "Nostalgie," Kiskaya and other works that were popular in New York. It's astonishing how reviews and promoters in New York actually seemed to believe Elie's music was grounded in years of research in Central and South America (Elie did indeed tour throughout the Caribbean before moving to New York, but never engaged in ethnographic research with indigenous groups). Regardless, Largey's research on this Indianist legacy in Haitian literature, intellectual thought, and music is useful for future studies of indigenism and indigenous revivalism elsewhere in the Caribbean. 

Danzas from Haiti and Puerto Rico

Came across this wonderful video featuring some danzas by Ludovic Lamothe. My favorite is "Danza No. 4 in A minor" and the first piece. It is so magical to hear more black classical composers' music from Haiti online, particularly the "Black Chopin" Lamothe! There are hints of the Caribbean in the music, but it's not as self-evident as Lamothe's other work. Regardless, it recalls the stately danza of Puerto Rico at times, particularly compositions by Juan Morel Campos, an Afro-Boricua who wrote gems such as "Mi perla," "Consuelo," and "Maldito Amor." Of course, any similarities in the danza of Puerto Rico and Haitian mereng and other genres can probably be traced to Cuban influences in the second half of the 19th century, as well as an obvious shared Afro-Caribbean past and musical legacy. Before you leave, check out "Margarita," too, one of the most beautiful danzas of Puerto Rico and composed by a 'father' of the genre in the 19th century (this is a great version and so is this one as well as this one featuring Julita Ross). 

Ludovic Lamothe and Haitian Classical Music

I don't listen to much classical music, but I've been meaning to give a try to more black classical composers. I've read a little about some Haitian figures, such as Occide Jeanty, Ludovic Lamothe, Justin Elie, and Frantz Casseus (I especially love Casseus for using Haitian folk and Vodou songs, though I don't think one can always paint him as classical). Ludovic Lamothe, known to me through Largey's book on Vodou and music in Haiti as well as the recordings of Alan Lomax in Haiti in the 1930s (he recorded "Nibo" and perhaps another song or two of Lamothe's), sounds like Chopin at times whereas in other compositions, he uses Carnival and mereng influences. Apparently Lamothe was a "full-blooded negro who shows outcroppings of genius."

Here, I found an online version of "Nibo" recorded by Lamothe himself to share (it was covered by many others and was the most popular carnival song the year the US ended it's occupation of Haiti), and here is one by another group. According to Gage Averill and Largey, the elite that for the most part listened to classical music in Haiti could enjoy a Lamothe mereng because they were usually of the slower kind, meringue lente. "Nibo" is a reference to a Ghede spirit of Vodou who guides the dead to the afterlife. Perhaps part of the song's popularity spoke to the future exit of American Marines from Haiti, as in the death of American occupation and Nibo as taking away the dead?

Yet they were also popular with the masses, because Lomax recorded a rendition of the tune by a popular music band in 1936 or 1937. Martha Jean Claude sang "Nibo" as well on a Cuban release. Claude's version is quite rousing, with minor tones, lots of rhythm, back-up vocals, and hypnotic guitar and haunting sound effects.Last but not least, check out Edner Guignard's version, which sounds like a konpa period album with Cuban and American jazz influences in the band. Love those drums! 

The above video for the most part does not include anything characteristically "Haitian" or Afro-Caribbean for the most part, unfortunately. "Danse Capois  ('Scenes De Carnaval' No. 4)" does suggest a Caribbean Carnival, however, and "Danse Espagnole" does less so. "La Dangereuse" is another mereng composed by Lamothe, but unfortunately I have not found a recording by Lamothe himself. This video of an adolescent playing the mereng lente is probably a little too fast, but sounds beautiful. 

One of these days I hope to finish Largey's book and write a review for this blog. As a last recommendation, check out "Valse aux Etoiles" and "Libellule" here. The album, Fleurs d'Haiti is also worth checking out for some more of Ludovic Lamothe.