tonight in Chicago
They’re performing at the Harris Theater.
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics), Spektral Quartet, Haitian children’s choir (recorded): “Suite pou Dantan: Prelid,” 2019 (Fanm d’Ayiti [Women of Haiti])
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not begin the week with something that’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before?
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics, compositions, arrangements) and Spektral Quartet, Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), live (with recorded voices), New York (Kaufman Music Center), 2019
Composer/performer Nathalie Joachim and Spektral Quartet perform Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), an evening-length work for voice, flute, string quartet and electronics. A celebration of some of Haiti’s most iconic yet under recognized female artists as well as an exploration of Joachim’s Haitian heritage, Fanm d’Ayiti features original songs incorporating the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother and the girls’ choir of her family’s home farming village of Dantan; new arrangements of songs by some of the greatest known female voices in Haitian history; and recorded interviews with these artists about their lives fighting for social justice and uplifting the people of Haiti.
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of Haiti and Chicago
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, electronics) with Spektral Quartet, “Papa Loco” (trad.), live (studio), New York, published 10/29/19
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
She cries. Oh no. Oh no no no.
—Eimear McBride, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing
Why not begin the week with something new?
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics) with the Spektral Quartet and a Haitian children’s choir (recorded), “Suite pou Dantan: Prelid” (Fanm d’Ayiti [Women of Haiti]), 10/8/19
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not start the week with a trip to Haiti?
Val-Inc (AKA Val Jeanty), live (studio), Haiti (Le Studio, Port-au-Prince), 2018
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Sounds shape reality.
—Val Jeanty
what’s new
Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra (Tony Allen, drums, et al.)
“Bade Zile,” 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
We don’t want him thinking too much.
—Cubs pitcher John Lackey on rookie catcher Wilson Contreras’s first start tonight, following last night’s home run in his first big-league plate appearance—on the first pitch
Today, MCOTD‘s fifth anniversary, we revisit a few early favorites.
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September 5, 2009
One left Cuba after the revolution, the other stayed. Here they play together: pianists—father and son—Bebo (1918-2013) and Chucho (1941-) Valdes.
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September 11, 2009
If spirit could be sold, New Orleans would be rich.
Rebirth Brass Band, live, New Orleans, 2009
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September 23, 2009
May, 2012
Nobel-Prize-winning economist devises a way to turn faces—images of them, that is—into marketable commodities: the more expressive the face, the greater the value.
March, 2013
Haiti is named one of the world’s wealthiest countries.
Arcade Fire, “Haiti”
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Without music where would we be?
sounds of Haiti
Rara music, live, Leogane
sounds of Haiti
Rara festival, Kabic (Haiti), Easter, 2005
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lagniappe
Rara music is a Lenten processional music with strong ties to the Vodou religious tradition. It has been commonly confused with Haitian Carnival since both celebrations involve large groups of dancing revelers in the streets. Rara is performed between Ash Wednesday (the day after Carnival ends) until Easter Sunday (or Easter Monday in some parts of Haiti.) Rara bands roam the streets performing religious ceremonies as part of their ritual obligations to the “lwa” or spirits of Haitian Voodoo. Guédé, a spirit associated with death and sexuality, is an important spiritual presence in Rara celebrations and often possesses an ougan (male Voodoo priest) or mambo (female Voodoo priest) before the band begins its procession in order to bless the participants and wish them safe travels for their nightly sojourns.
scenes from New Orleans
(an occasional series)
DJA-Rara, live, New Orleans (Jazz Fest), 5/1/11
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lagniappe
“It’s a fascinating time for Haitian music,” said Ned Sublette, author of “The World that Made New Orleans.” “Haitians voted for the music ticket [electing kompa singer Michel Martelly president]. You cannot deny the importance of communication through music in Haiti. And this is something New Orleanians know well.”
—Katy Reckdahl, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 4/29/11
music clip of the day 