Nathalie Joachim

Madan Bellegarde

$15.00

Duration: 7'

Instrumentation: Voice / Flute soloist with string quartet and electronics
Performance Materials: Score Only
Delivery Method: Print

Madan Bellegarde, arr. Nathalie Joachim (2017) 7'
for voice / flute soloist, string quartet, and electronics

My most cherished memories from childhood are of time spent with my grandmother under the mango tree in her yard in Haiti singing songs together. It was our way of telling each other stories and her way of passing on a centuries-long cultural practice of oral history. In 2016, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series commissioned Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), an evening-length work inspired by my Haitian heritage and some of Haiti's most iconic yet under-recognized female artists. I felt compelled to include the recorded voice of my grandmother, Ipheta Fortuma, as part of this work. This piece is titled Madan Bellegarde, which was her married name prior to becoming a widow. She sings in Haitian kreyòl about the judgement she received as a woman who began living independently in the 1950’s and chose not to remarry. She endured it all with a lightness and positivity that is palpable in her voice. This work is an elegiac homage to her strength and beautiful spirit. 

Instrumentation: Voice and Flute (soloist), string quartet, electronics

Can be performed by rental license only with the composer as the soloist. Click here for a rental quote and to connect with the composer.

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JAT-158-009-FS
Instrumentation: Voice / Flute soloist with string quartet and electronics
Performance Materials: Score Only
Delivery Method: Print

About the Work

Duration: 7'

Instrumentation: Voice / flute soloist, string quartet, and electronics

My most cherished memories from childhood are of time spent with my grandmother under the mango tree in her yard in Haiti singing songs together. It was our way of telling each other stories and her way of passing on a centuries-long cultural practice of oral history. In 2016, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series commissioned Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), an evening-length work inspired by my Haitian heritage and some of Haiti's most iconic yet under-recognized female artists. I felt compelled to include the recorded voice of my grandmother, Ipheta Fortuma, as part of this work. This piece is titled Madan Bellegarde, which was her married name prior to becoming a widow. She sings in Haitian kreyòl about the judgement she received as a woman who began living independently in the 1950’s and chose not to remarry. She endured it all with a lightness and positivity that is palpable in her voice. This work is an elegiac homage to her strength and beautiful spirit.

ISMN: 979-0-094-01276-8

Pages: 12