Vibes of the Caribbean: Capturing the Essence of French-Speaking Music

Curated Playlist: Exploring the Artistry of Frantz Casseus🎼

Central Artist: Frantz Casseus

 

Description: This arranged playlist captures the essence of the music of the French-speaking Caribbean, through the musician who has been acknowledged as the father of Haitian classical guitar, Frantz Casseus. Casseus was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he is recognized for his skills in composing and playing the guitar, through the incorporation of Haitian folk music, stirring deep cultural resonances. The pieces featured in this playlist were either influenced by Casseus' collaborations, musical inspirations, or Haitian culture. Additionally, Haitian music is shaped by African, French, and Indigenous traditions, offering a mix of lively rhythms such as compas, rara, meringue, twoubadou, and Vodou.

Playlist:

First on this playlist is Petro Suite N1 or Haitian Suite for the guitar composed by our central artist Frantz Casseus. In this musical piece, Casseus blends traditional Haitian folk music with classical guitar techniques, featuring movements that reflect Haitian dance forms, ballads, and Vodou rhythms. This piece showcases Casseus's ability to preserve and elevate Haitian folk music within the classical guitar repertoire. The video features Casseus holding a guitar on the cover of his purple album titled "Haitian Dances," listing well-known folk songs made by him and other musicians.

Next on this playlist is Marc Ribot’s Haitian Suite: Yanvallouz, a version of Frantz Casseus's Haitian Suite.  This song sounds quite like the original, giving listeners a heartfelt cultural melody. This is linked to Casseus because Ribot learned to play the guitar from him in New York (Ribot, 2003). At a young age, Ribot knew that he wanted to play the guitar to make music like the Rolling Stones (Ribot, 2003). Thus, giving Ribot the inspiration he needed to become a guitarist and composer of many musical works.  Casseus and Ribot also shared albums and performed together on many occasions.

Coming up on this playlist is Nan Fon Bwa by Amous Coulanges.  The phrase “Nan Fon Bwa” translates to “Deep in the woods”, thus the reason that in this music video, Coulanges is playing the guitar in the middle of trees. The sound of this music gives positive connotations with a peaceful but lively melody. This relates to Casseus due to his inspiring folk-infused compositions played by a guitar. This song is also his homage to Casseus for his contribution to Haitian music (Gomez, 2020). There is also another song in which Coulanges tributes to Casseus called Yanvalou.

Next up is the song Banana Boat or Day-O by Harry Belafonte. This song is a Jamaican folk, call and response work song, from the view of workers loading bananas onto ships. In this live video, Belafonte is performing at his concert in Sankei Hall, Tokyo. This is connected through Casseus due to their frequent collaborations on many albums, one of these albums was Belafonte's Calypso. The song played was made by Belafonte and was the first feature on the album Calypso. Also, Belafonte recorded his song, Merci Bon Dieu, with Casseus being the lead guitar player (Frantz Casseus, n.d.).

Forthcoming is “RARA” by Fareed Haque, a jazz guitarist. The video shows their performance of this musical piece at the Millennium Park in 2019. Haque is seen playing the lead with guitar followed by an ensemble of various instruments. The melody of this piece provides an enthralling and dynamic experience for listeners. Haque and his group enjoyed covering Casseus's music, so they decided to make their own arrangements for one of his pieces. Their connection to Casseus is evident through the strong influence of his captivating compositions on Haque and his group.

Upcoming on this playlist is Carolina Cao by Daniel Santos. This is a live performance by Daniel Santos and La Sonora Matancera on RCA Victor. The recording is very low quality, but you can see Santos singing with the Cuban ensemble (La Sonora Matancera) with the crowds cheering. This traditional Haitian conga produces a vibrant and exhilarating melody. This is interconnected to Casseus through their previous collaborations on many musical works (Google, n.d.).  This piece is most likely to be inspired by Casseus's music and Haitian culture.

Last on this playlist is Dey by Toto Bissainthe, a Haitian actress and singer. She has earned a reputation as a champion of Haitian music. In this song, the words are sung in Haitian Creole or Kreyol Ayisyen. The song’s soulful melody and spiritual vocal delivery evoke deep cultural and emotional connection. While Bissainthe has a looser connection to Casseus, they both incorporate Haitian folk music into their musical works or songs. However, Bissainthe music is more contemporary, blended with traditional vodou and rural themes.

Bibliography

Frantz Casseus. marc ribot. (n.d.). https://www.marcribot.com/frantz-casseus

Gangelhoff, C., & LeGrand, C. (2019). Tour de force: A musical journey of the Caribbean. Sound Caribbean.

Gomez, I. (2020, June 28). The music of Amos Coulanges. Irene Gomez Guitar. https://irenegomez.com/novedades/watch-irene-gomez-video-on-siccas-guitars/

Google. (n.d.). Cultural integration through music and dance - google arts & culture. Google. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/cultural-integration-through-music-and-dance-haiti-film-institute/lgUR1RVO6lrT_w?hl=en

Ribot, M. (2003, January 1). Frantz Casseus. BOMB Magazine. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2003/01/01/frantz-casseus/

Toto Bissainthe. The Movie Database. (n.d.). https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40315-toto-bissainthe