Haitian Classical Music Instruments
DUO 1804 is a partnership of two modern composers of Haitian descent. In the year 1804, Haiti gained their independence from France and now DBR and Val-Inc are using their Haitian background to express feelings of freedom, revolution, and human spirituality. When I walked into the concert I was very skeptical and biased that I would dislike it. They asked the audience to take a risk and explore the boundaries of classical music together. My boundaries have been broken and now I see a whole new side of music that I did not know existed.
They played several different pieces, each one being very different from the last. The two main instruments that were used in each piece were electronic synthesizers and electric violin. However, the synthesizers
included many sample recordings of different instruments and voices and there were two violins, a four and a six string, each plugged into an effect pedal used to change the sound. The overall intensity of the concert was loud and intense. There wasn’t a lot of build in each song though there were some small crescendos and decrescendos. In most of the songs there was a large use of syncopations in the different rhythms. A lot of the syncopation came from the synthesized drums. The first song played was titled “Filter”. This was a very fast song with high intensity. It was in a duple meter and included a lot of sequencing. “Filter” quoted the national anthem several times but was hidden by flashy notes surrounding the melody. This index was used to provoke a feeling of patriotism and freedom. I disliked it because there was no real direction to the music. There was no break to the fast notes, it just kept on going. Though I didn’t like that piece, “Bridges” was one I enjoyed. This song represents the contrast of percussive sounds versus lyrical melody found in Haitian music. The synthesizer played a very smooth baritone voice singing in the Haitian language, what sounded like a light ride cymbal, and pizzicato strings in the background. The violin then played a smooth lyrical melody counteracting the short sounding accompaniment. There was a lot of texture and layering in this song making it mainly homophonic. I enjoyed the flow of this song and the contrast between the lyrical and percussive sounds. You could feel the passion coming off the stage as the music was being played.
The musicality of these two fine musicians and composers was amazing to listen to and watch. You could tell there was a lot of passion and work poured into each piece. I applaud them for taking what we know as classical music and taking that risk of mixing it with electronic sounds. DBR and Val-Inc did an amazing job of capturing the feelings of Haitian music and cohesively putting it together with modern electronic sounds in a way that makes sense. Overall, this concert was a success in my opinion and I would listen to them again.
They played several different pieces, each one being very different from the last. The two main instruments that were used in each piece were electronic synthesizers and electric violin. However, the synthesizers
included many sample recordings of different instruments and voices and there were two violins, a four and a six string, each plugged into an effect pedal used to change the sound. The overall intensity of the concert was loud and intense. There wasn’t a lot of build in each song though there were some small crescendos and decrescendos. In most of the songs there was a large use of syncopations in the different rhythms. A lot of the syncopation came from the synthesized drums. The first song played was titled “Filter”. This was a very fast song with high intensity. It was in a duple meter and included a lot of sequencing. “Filter” quoted the national anthem several times but was hidden by flashy notes surrounding the melody. This index was used to provoke a feeling of patriotism and freedom. I disliked it because there was no real direction to the music. There was no break to the fast notes, it just kept on going. Though I didn’t like that piece, “Bridges” was one I enjoyed. This song represents the contrast of percussive sounds versus lyrical melody found in Haitian music. The synthesizer played a very smooth baritone voice singing in the Haitian language, what sounded like a light ride cymbal, and pizzicato strings in the background. The violin then played a smooth lyrical melody counteracting the short sounding accompaniment. There was a lot of texture and layering in this song making it mainly homophonic. I enjoyed the flow of this song and the contrast between the lyrical and percussive sounds. You could feel the passion coming off the stage as the music was being played.
The musicality of these two fine musicians and composers was amazing to listen to and watch. You could tell there was a lot of passion and work poured into each piece. I applaud them for taking what we know as classical music and taking that risk of mixing it with electronic sounds. DBR and Val-Inc did an amazing job of capturing the feelings of Haitian music and cohesively putting it together with modern electronic sounds in a way that makes sense. Overall, this concert was a success in my opinion and I would listen to them again.