A Guide to the Latin American Art Song Repertoire: An Annotated Catalog of Twentieth-Century Art Songs for Voice and Piano

12 Haiti

166 12 Haiti Jean-Ronald LaFond The development of the Haitian mélodie is not unlike that of many national art songs, particularly those from other Latin American countries . The early Haitian composer experienced a search for identity between two extremes: 1) reaching for the elevated status of the French composer, whose model naturally had a profound influence on the Haitian musical psyche by virtue of the French colonization of Haiti; and 2) finding a formal musical language based on the rich folkloric influences of Haitian Vodou, Hispanic America, the English and Dutch Caribbean, as well as Haitian folk melodies, a folk song hybrid of the French folk song and Afro-Haitian melodic and rhythmic sources. It is important to note that art music of various forms existed from as far back as the eighteenth century, when Haiti, then named Saint Domingue, enjoyed the status of the most valued and most lucrative of the French colonies. The Dialogue créole by Michel-Étienne Descourtilz is included here as the one vocal example that survives from this period . It is not a traditional art song, but a quasi-operatic scene for two voices and keyboard (probably harpsichord or fortepiano). It is conceivable that the French library system may contain additional works, composed by inhabitants of Saint Domingue who returned to France during the revolutionary period between 1790 and 1804, when Haiti won its independence from France. The subsequent development of art music genres slowed down during most of the nineteenth century as the first Black republic struggled to establish a working government while naturally warding off both haiti 167 potential French retaliation and a potential American invasion. Haiti ’s close proximity to the United States, where slavery was practiced, incited the African Americans who saw uniformed Haitian regiments assist the American colonies in defeating the British, particularly in Savannah, Georgia. Despite the participation of Haitian troops in the American Revolutionary Wars (albeit under the French flag), the United States did not recognize Haiti as a sovereign nation until the early 1860s, after Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation. By the late nineteenth century, amateur musicians from the Haitian upper class had composed a fair amount of music, including songs. Both imitations of the French mélodie and folk-inspired songs, usually in the form of vocal méringues, were being composed.1 Meanwhile, these amateur composers, mostly pianists, also wrote a significant number of mérin­ gues for solo piano. The celebrated folk song “Choucoune” by Mauléar Monton (1855, New Orleans–1895, Port-au-Prince) is one of the early méringues. Other early méringues are found by Fernand Frangeul (1872– 1911) and Henri Étienne (dates unknown). Werner Jaegerhuber (1900–1953), a Haitian of German parentage, is responsible for the first musicological study of Haitian Vodou musical traditions, and subsequently arranged twenty-four of the standard ceremonial songs for voice and piano in a collection entitled Offrandes vaudouesques (Vodou Offerings). This seminal work led to the composition of the Messe vaudouesque, a controversial setting of the Catholic Mass utilizingVodou melodic and rhythmic styles. In a country that had become politically Catholic, this was a bold move, and had art music played an important role in Haitian culture, this piece might have caused a great stir. Jaegerhuber also wrote more European-style songs, including some in the German language. The French settings are exclusively from Haitian poets. Jaegerhuber’s work influenced many of the affluent Haitians who were musically trained to try their hands at composition. Among them are Frantz Casséus, a guitar virtuoso, who made his Carnegie Hall debut in the 1950s, and Carmen Brouard (1909–2005), the most accomplished Haitian composer until recent years. Casséus contributed much more to the development of the guitar in Haiti than he did to that of songs. However, he was a first-class musician and his Haïtianesques, a collection of four folk songs in Haitian creole, for voice and guitar, a guide to the latin ­american art song repertoire 168 raised the bar significantly for Haitian art music composition. Brouard was trained at the Paris Conservatory and was strongly influenced by the late works of Fauré. Her songs show an economy of material and a refined harmonic language, expertly interweaving a traditional European language with a profound knowledge of Haitian musical folk elements . A very serious personality, her choice of poetry was usually of a dark, melancholic nature...