Versatility in Caribbean Music: French Speaking Caribbean

Welcome back to another installment of our Versatility in Caribbean Music series!

So far we have looked at the following:

* an introduction to what is versatility

*versatility in the English speaking Caribbean

*how being versatile relates to a Caribbean native

Today we will be discussing the French-speaking Caribbean countries with emphasis on the music and culture of Guadeloupe. Soyons francais!  

French-Speaking Caribbean 

Ahh, the Caribbean. Sun, sand, sea, and endless alcohols. But there's a twist! The French West Indies exist here along with those goodies I have listed. The French West Indies combines the elegance and poise of France and everything that we love about the Caribbean into one. Being here allows you to drink a glass of French wine on a beach overlooking a giant volcano. I mean does it get any better than that?

The French Caribbean islands that we covered in Tour De Force: A Musical Journey of The Caribbean are Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Haiti. Diving into the history of the French Caribbean, France had first initiated its presence in the 1600s when it established several colonies to help secure trade routes in the area. The French had control and rule over places like Saint-Domingue, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Grenada, and Saint Lucia, but Grenada and Saint Lucia were then turned back over to the British. After the colonization period occurred, these island nations were invaded by Catholic missionaries that were actively trying to convert the slaves to their religion, Catholicism. Through their pursuit, they had a hope to eliminate non-religious practices and teachings. This led to the blacks being forced to adhere to the music and dances of the Europeans and were then transformed into their own versions or creolized across the French Caribbean.

Because of this, there are many areas where French is spoken on a widespread basis. These nations are known as Francophone countries which translates to French-speaking. These countries tend to be common destinations for French tourists.

Guadeloupe

Island of Guadeloupe; Photo courtesy of lonelyplanet.com

Guadeloupe was first discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus. It was not until 1635 that the island nation was overtaken by the French. Most of the native and indigenous Carib Indians either fled the islands or were killed by the French. Guadeloupe remained under the French colony until 1946 and then became an Overseas Department of the French Republic. The archipelago of Guadeloupe is an island lover's dream destination. Butterfly-shaped Guadeloupe as it is commonly described as is outlined in this shape due to the mountainous side of Basse-Terre located on the west and the beachy and fertile side of Grande Terre to the east.

Guadeloupe moves to the mesmerizing beat of Gwoka. Gwoka is a uniform term for all the music and accompanying dances performed with the drum which is ironically also called Gwoka.  This unique art form blends the call-and-response singing that originated in Africa, the Guadeloupean Creole lyrics, dancing, and rhythmic Ka drumming and dancing.

Versatility in French-speaking Caribbean

Music genres

A genre that I think encapsulates the versatile theme from the book would be that of Zouk. Zouk is the popular dance music of the French West Indies territories such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, St.Lucia, Dominica, and Haiti. It was developed by the French music band Kassav in the 80s. This music style blends a variety of Caribbean, African, and North American styles into one. 

The music is almost only expressed in the French-Antillean language and is prominent in electronically synthesized sounds. The term Zouk refers to sensual dance parties that go on into the night. I would dare to say that it's the Caribbean's version of salsa because romance and sexual tones in our music are why we have large families and also why the music sounds like it does -- perfection. Zouk genre encompasses, beguine from Martini a rubric of Haitian music styles known as compas/kompa, beguine from Martinique and Guadeloupe and Trinidadian calypso. Zouk is the perfect music to do house-cleaning or dance away in the sultry ambiance of a Caribbean restaurant. 

The above video is titled Princess Love - Tu es mon soleil. I chose this song because it perfectly depicts the sensual feelings that Zouk music brings and the raw emotions that can be felt throughout the lyrics.

Artists

As artists strive to make a name for themselves in the music industry, they often have to embark on destinations and pathways that may deter them from their desired goal before they can actually have the time and energy to pursue their long-hearted passion. When looking at artists to fulfill the versatility aspect from an artist's point of view, Joseph Bologne stood out among the others.

Photo courtesy of laopera.org

Known as the Black Mozart in modern times, Joseph was born in Guadeloupe to a French planter and a black slave. As a young child, his father saw something that he could mold to become an influential person and he wasted no time to start the long and hard working process of ensuring that came to pass. Leaving Guadeloupe at a young age, he began to indulge himself in the classical music genre and also took up instruments like the violin and fencing consistently throughout his childhood. It is not easy to make a name for yourself in the classical genre, especially if you weren't a person of a lighter skin complexion. But Joseph Bologne was able to break that barrier and became a commonly recognized name for classical music, as a Caribbean person and person of color. 

He was a man who wore many hats in his lifetime and did not limit himself to one career path or aspiration. He was a fencer, violinist, composer, conductor, and colonel in the French Army. If that isn't versatility, then I think we need to redefine it according to Joseph's accomplishments in his lifetime.

The attached video features modern-day musicians playing Joseph Bolgone's Symphony No. in D major. This shows that his music still has an impact in today's world, no matter how long he has been gone off of this Earth.

See this is the beauty of Caribbean cultural forms: their openness to different influences and musicians' ingenuity in mixing them together to create new sounds and new pathways in the musical field, especially ones that you can't help to dance to.

The Caribbean, my home, your home is a fertile musical production land, consisting of both encounters between diverse cultures such as Indigenous, Europeans, and Africans and the violent colonization from the Spanish, British and French shows us that it is possible to create something beautiful out of a bad situation. 

Until next time!

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References:

Gangelhoff, C., & LeGrand, C. (2020). Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean (1st ed.). Sound Caribbean.

Student Symphony Orchestra of USC. (2020, October 4). Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Symphony No. 2 in D Major [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u1u_ae0gAo

wassa751. (2008, February 12). Princess Lover - Tu es mon soleil [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZfBHDASuYo