Chronique no. 34 | Chronique Index

Many years ago, some of us will remember, there was quite a famous Haitian choir called Choeur Simidor. I still enjoy listening to its long playing album which has become a collector’s item. It is a pity it is no longer in existence, at least in name. Indeed recently I acquired the CD by the choir Voix et Harmonie. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I suspect that those who loved Choeur Simidor will feel the same This is a choir made up of 46 male and female singers divided as follows : 14 sopranos, 13 altos, 10 tenors, 9 bass. And I can tell you that the harmony is superb.

Would you believe this choir is already 20 years old? It was on April 28 1979 that it had its first rehearsal and it is a great tribute to it that it was able to survive this long and sound so good. It started with 20 people and now it has 46. I am kind of ashamed to say that I had vaguely heard of the choir, but never paid much attention to it, let alone listen to it. When I put my hand on this 20th Anniversary CD entitled: Bouquet créole de nos vingt ans I could hardly wait. I was really enthused. The songs are taken from our folklore and bring back lots of memories. Listen to the harmony on a beautiful medley of three traditional tunes : Fey, Yoyo and Abitan. There are also tunes by Haitian guitarist Frantz Casséus, Ludovic Lamothe, Jazz des Jeunes, Michel Déjean and others. In other words, their repertoire is quite diversified. Some of the songs are also supported by some drumming and piano, but one is never distracted by the beautiful voices and arrangements under the very competent direction of Maestro Emile Desamours, with the support of Serge Villedrouin. There have been other groups like this, but this one beats all record of longevity, its predecessor "Le Choeur Michel Déjean" having had to disband. Another group "Spirale" barely had time to rehearse that it disbanded. Voix et Harmonie has traveled outside of Haiti to Barbados and the United States . I sure hope that it will be able to survive and that, most importantly, it will receive adequate support from the public at large, something which has been sorely lacking for this kind of endeavour in Haiti. Indeed, such groups play an invaluable role in promoting and sustaining the art form in general and Haitian culture in particular. So if you want to relive the Choeur Simidor or the Choeur Michel Déjean experiences, it is imperative that you add this CD to your collection . It is quite refreshing.

Changing gear, we move on to a new CD in the field of Konpa Dirèk. For those who are building up their Konpa collections, Les Rois du Compas, Vol 5, is out. As usual, we can hear some solid Konpa just like Tuco Bouzi is used to giving us. Some familiar voices can also be found: Douby (System Band); Freddie (Top vice), Zouzoule (Ska Sha ) and others. There are also so solid musicians on the album: Ralph Condé, Makarios Césaire and George Nazie on the guitar, Jocelin Couture (horn) and many more.

An interesting note though about tune No. 2 "Saint le Seigneur". As the title indicates, this is a strongly religious song paying tribute to Jesus Christ. There was a time when religious Haitian artist would not dare use Konpa as a vehicle to carry their messages and would rather stay with ballads and slow songs. But this has been changing. I have listened to some religious groups over the last few years playing some solid Konpa and strictly religious music. Of course this is not the first time that some group deals with the subject, but in this particular case, it is not a side issue within the song, but rather the main theme. Does this mean that we are going to have within Konpa a special category for "Religious Konpa"? That may very well be. In any case, the lyrics on "Saint le Seigneur" are strictly religious from beginning to end: the background vocals, the comments by the lead singer Zouzoule. Contrary to many Haitian songs, the chorus does not deviate from the central message of the song which is to give glory to Jesus.

Overall, this is a solid Konpa Dirèk album. The mixing is excellent. One of my favorite Konpa guitarist, Ralph Condé does an excellent job. Tuco Bouzi provides solid and steady support on the drum and most importantly, the lyrics make sense, even when the subject is lighthearted. As was the case on Volume No. 4, there is a nice violin solo on tune No.4 by violinist André Proulx who is making a name for himself as a konpa violin player. All this makes for good dancing Konpa Dirèk music and a good addition to the Rois du Compas series.

And speaking of solid Konpa Dirèk, I should also mention the most recent CD by Les Frères Déjean. The songs are not new, but they remain as fresh as ever. For a live album, the recording sounds pretty good. Les Frères Déjean's arrangements are so melodic and so nice and at the same time so sophisticated that you never tire of listening to these melodies. Listen to the horn section in "Moun sa yo", "Bouki ak malice", "Debake" etc. The harmonic nuances can easily escape you unless you listen carefully. The band used to be some kind of warehouse for musicians. Tuco Bouzi, Douby (System Band), Denis Nozile and so many others came from Les Frères Déjean. They are doing very well.

For a while, the two brothers were doing music in Martinique, making a lot of arrangements for musicians. They are back for everyone’s benefit, as strong as ever. Recently, in New York, they were on the card with Tabou Combo . One factor I always appreciated with this band is that the lyrics in their songs consistently made sense, whether they dealt with love, social problems or the music itself. The band is back in full force with four Déjean brothers at the helm. This is good news for Konpa Dirèk. Another very good addition is that of Claude (Tico) Pasquet (Magnum Band) on the drums . This is a big lineup.No wonder the band sounds so good. So add it to your collection, you can’t go wrong.

In the pipeline

I understand that Gina Dupervil is working on a new CD which should come out soon. I am eagerly waiting for it. On her most recent one, she was accompanied by Eddy Prophète and I have been able to confirm that Eddy is also accompanying her on this project. I also understand that work is already under way for Haitiando - Volume 2 . SO stay tuned to Windows on Haiti. I will keep you posted.

I am also happy to report that Ricardo Frank (Ti Plume), Les Ambassadeurs’s guitarist extraordinaire, is also working on a new CD which, I understand, is well advanced. Judging by what he is been doing, I anticipate this CD will be another special treat . As you can see, il y a du pain sur la planche…

Serge Bellegarde