Chronique no. 15 | Chronique Index

This week’s Chronique is a tribute, on the occasion of the Woman’s Day celebration, March 8, to the many women of Haitian music who, in ever increasing numbers, continue to enrich the art with their talents. For obvious reasons, this list had to be short and it is quite far from being exhaustive. In fact, it is a rather personal selection of some women or women’s groups who have had some impact on the evolution of Haitian music. This might inspire some expert to write a comprehensive book on Haitian women’s role in Haitian Music. I do not believe this has been done yet. Food for thought…

First and foremost, when discussing the role of women artists in music, the first name to come to mind is that of Martha Jean-Claude. She is referred to as the « Grande Dame de la Chanson haïtienne ». A suitable translation would be: The high Priestess of Haitian music. And believe me, this title is more than fitting. Martha Jean-Claude’s first album came out in the 50s and she immediately became a legend. The purity of her voice, the great qualities of her singing (she started singing at a very young age and was a soloist in the Cathedral of Port-au-Prince) were startling. Anthony Phelps, a Haitian poet, says that this « marvelously nuanced and colored voice easily glides from the very low to the highest note... ». It was not until May 1975 that Ms. Jean-Claude’s second album came out. It was as fantastic as the first one. Martha Jean-Claude demonstrated not only profound singing skills, but also a deep knowledge of Haitian folklore, the inspiration for her songs. Although she had been living in Cuba, where she settled after fleeing the Duvalier Dictatorship, she remained profoundly Haitian and very much in touch with her roots. In fact, she flourished in the Cuban cultural environment, enlisting her children in her musical group.

She did not return to Haiti until after the overthrow of Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986. She received then a royal welcome and was deeply touched to see that the Haitian people had never forgotten her. The last time I saw her was at the First International Haitian Roots Music Festival held on July-29-30 1995 at the Stadium Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince. Even though her voice was failing at times, she was extremely energetic. Should it happen in the future that a Hall of Fame is set up for Haitian musicians, there is no doubt that Martha Jean-Claude would be the first woman to inducted.

I believe her first album « Songs of Haiti » is on CD. I hope her second one « A Voodoo Experience » will follow the same path. It is excellent.

Martha Jean-Claude opened many doors and one of the Haitian women who must have benefited from this is Toto Bissainthe. Although her style and inspiration were different, she also had a beautiful voice. On her first album, she drew her material from people like Haitian Poets Morisseau Leroy and Ti ga, French artists Léo Ferré, Georges Moustaki and others. However on her next album, she stayed much closer to her Haitian and African roots. The title of that album was « Toto Bissainthe chante Haïti ». Indeed, it is a very nice album which can be found on CD.

There was a time when Konpa Dirèk was the preserve of male artists. Not anymore. The last couple of decades have seen many women singing and playing Konpa. One of the earliest women entering Konpa was Farah Juste who merits a special mention.. She cut a record with « Les Ska Shah d’Haïti » in the 70s and it was a big first. She did not limit herself to the genre and later on, Farah Juste became the committed artist par excellence. In the upheaval period between 1986 and 1991, Farah Juste was a fixture at any political activity. Based in Miami, her traditional Independence Day concert at the beginning of the year was eagerly awaited and attended by thousands who came from everywhere in the US. For her songs, she drew her material from Haitian society, the political situation, and the Haitian folkloric wealth. She has not produced anything in the last ten years and so far, I have not seen any of her albums on CD. Let’s hope that some record producer will remedy this.

Among other committed artists, Barbara Guillaume also deserves to be mentioned. Her style is a mixture of Konpa, Rasin and Soukouss and she feels at ease in any of these genres. I am not aware that her music is now on CD, although that should not be too far in the future, I hope.

Another woman artist who burst on the scene is Danielle Thermidor. Her interpretation of an African tune « Masikini » from Zaïre, was immensely successful. Africans preferred to buy it instead of the original. Graced with a powerful and harmonious voice, she disappeared from the scene after two albums. About a month ago, I saw her in concert in Silver Spring, Maryland and she sounds as nice as on her albums. It is unfortunate that she has chosen to take herself out of the musical scene.

One of the most powerful and talented Haitian artists nowadays is undoubtedly Emeline Michel. Internationally known. Emeline has an extraordinary range despite her petite frame. She is a charismatic performer on stage who knows how to captivate her audience. She has had quite a few albums and fortunately, they can be found on CD. Her most recent, « Ban’m pasé » is an absolutely wonderful one. She seems to grow with every new CD. Recently, she was on a tour in Japan and I hope a CD will come out of that.

Another style is that of Yole Derose who, along with her late husband Ansy, made beautiful music. Since the death of her husband, I do not recall having seen anything new from her. She made a few albums with her husband which are either on CD or are in the process of being published on CD. She is the sentimental type and her music is very harmonious. Her album « Quand mon coeur bat la mesure » which came in 1989 is quite nice.

Carole is another artist singing more or less in the same genre as Yole Derose. She is most famous for her rendition of the song « Maroulé », a wonderful haunting ballad sung with a lot of soul. Very popular also was her interpretation of a song paying tribute to this great Haitian Lumane Casimir. She has had at least three albums which I have not yet seen on CD.

The period leading to the election of Jean-Bertand Aristide as President of Haiti saw a number of women artists expressing, through their songs, their concern for democracy, justice, gender discrimination, social and political changes and solidarity with the daily struggle of the Haitian people for survival. Fedia Laguerre is one such artist. She had an album called « Operasyon Lavalas » in which she made clear her support for change in Haiti and for the movement which was sweeping the country. She has since changed her orientation and now sings religious songs.

Another committed artist of the same genre is Annette Auguste, better known as Sò Ann. She sings about Haiti, her folklore, voodoo and the Haitian people. Having performed Voodoo ceremonies for many years, she is in a better position than anyone else to sing the different rhythms which are found in Voodoo.

Myriam Dorismé also made an impact as one of the most committed women artists. Like Farah Juste, she played countless concerts for the cause of democracy, sometimes not getting enough recognition. In 1993, she had a CD showing clearly how firm her commitment was.

The great Haitian migration to the United States has produced its share of new women artists. The group Riske put out a CD of Konpa Dirèk which was well received. Even though they have not produced anything as a group lately, its members continue to play with other bands. In 1993, another group, Saïma, cut a Konpa Dirèk album. Saïma stands for the first letters of the 3 Frankeur sisters : Sabine, Ive and Martine. They are accompanied by a parade of fantastic musicians : Yves Albert Abel, Ricardo Frank (Ti Plume), Welmyr Jean-Pierre, Tuco Bouzi etc. This is pure Konpa. They have disappeared from the scene unfortunately and this album is not yet on CD.

The classical genre was not neglected either, although one could count on one hand the number of Haitian women having achieved some kind of notoriety in that field. The name which comes to mind is that of Lina Mathon Blanchet, an absolutely wonderful pianist. I was fortunate to see her in concert at the Organization of American States in the 80s and it was a joy. She is the one who coached the great Haitian pianist, the late Jacky Duroseau. It is unfortunate that she never had an album.

Some Haitian women singers have been following another path. Ginou Oriol is one of them. Her genre is jazz and in a previous Chronique, I reviewed the CD she cut with Eddy Prophète. I hope she cuts another one sooner than later. To a lesser extent, Gina Dupervil, Gérard Dupervil’s daughter (Jazz des Jeunes) is somewhat geared toward the jazz genre, albeit not fully. But her style leaves no doubt about her broad range. The CD she made with Eddy Prophète about two years ago is a delight.

Quite a few other women artists sing with other groups, either as lead vocalists or as background vocal. The list would be too long. I just hope that the trend toward the re-issue of old music on CDs from male artists extends to women artists. The new generation of Haitian women artists needs to be more acquainted with what their predecessors were doing and the difficulties they were facing when trying to enter the profession. In that respect, Haitian women singers have come a very long way.

Serge Bellegarde