“The Creole Choir of Cuba, referred to as “Desandann” domestically, is composed from the descendants of several waves of Haitian migrants who escaped slavery at the end of the 18th Century or more recently came as labourers to work Cuba’s sugar plantations.
Between 1795 and 1805 30,000 Haitians emigrated to eastern Cuba. Two more waves followed, 1920-1940 and the 1980’s.
Today, estimates of the Haitian population in Cuba range from 300,000 to 1 million. Each wave of emigrants had its own distinct characteristics and brought with them their strong music and dance traditions, religion and cultural habits on their journey from Haiti to Cuba.
Grupo Vocal Desandann preserve the rich cultural patrimony of their parents’ and grandparents’ birthplace through music especially ”La Cancionistica” which has been enriched by elements of other Creole speaking Caribbean countries.
Their repertoire consists of a wide range of choral arrangements with percussion including Choucoune, a Haitian merengue, Gran Toumobile, a Creole Mazurka and Doudou Moin, a Martinique merengue.”
This was the intro the audience were given yesterday before the group came on. Honestly speaking, I tried not to set my hopes too high, preparing myself for a ‘user-friendly,’ cliched and a comfortably ‘ethnic-extravaganza.’
What came next was pure magic. In a language foreign to the entire audience, Desandann communicated a message that went far beyond the literal translation of their set. They told their tales of struggle, hardship and celebration using nothing but pure energy and emotion. Sound-wise, the harmonies were beyond sublime. Although slightly over-choreographed and a touch gimmicky at times, each performance seemed to hold a spiritual truth that connected us as listeners, to their forefathers’ stories and experiences. I would love to say that their execution was disciplined but that would be selling it short; despite the strict military precision at which Desandann progressed from one song to another, each song seemed to evoke spirits that possessed them whilst they delivered their messages. The level of intensity was immense and we were all captivated as they went from sombre goosepimply lamentations to traditional Creole folk and even high-octane tribal chants.
Please forgive my writing if this sounds cheesy, STOMP, this is NOT. In fact, of late, I’ve been quite uninpsired by the live performances I’ve experienced. For the unknown acts I’ve stumbled across – the recurring vibe I feel, is that of the hustle of the group performing, i.e. trying to appeal to the audience they were paid to please and lacking in the energy they once used to fuel their ambitions to reach a greater ideology through sharing these gifts.
“We all gotta eat, right?”
And as for those who’ve already made it, I personally feel as if there’s a plague of laziness, whereby the artist/s know precisely what’s going to happen and when, whilst the audience also know precisely what is going to be delivered and when. Its all value for money, no surprises and all that s**t.
Essentially both cases have the same boring outcome: a certain predictability and a false depiction of the artists’ freedom in live performance.
Desandann on the other hand, achieved the complete opposite by every measure. A ‘palatable,’ ‘riveting’ group unravelling many layers of freedom and truth. What I anticipated to be the ‘Caribbean version of Ladysmith Black Mambazo‘ turned out to possess a much richer core and purer intent.
Wilton’s Music Hall was a perfect setting for the performance with its peeling walls and worn out, yet beautifully embellished interior. Its stripped-down ambience was brought back to life by Desandann as they paid homage to history and time.
I cannot completely vouch for their non-cheesiness as there was a moment where I assume the organiser of the event was light-heartedly dragged out into the front to strut his stuff with one of the female singers. In saying that, it gave the choir a chance to express their gratitude for being provided with such an opportunity.
Desandann are quite familiar to other Caribbean Islanders and have been touring there, in America and Canada for quite some time. During Haiti’s disaster, Desandann were deployed there to maintain morale amongst the citizens, singing in the streets and in aid hospitals. However in Europe, Desandann seem to have soared in popularity only a year or so ago. Tonight, they featured on Jools Holland so hopefully they’ll be able to keep on returning back to teach those that have not yet heard.
As a result of their unexpected British popularity when they came to the UK to perform at WOMAD and the Edinburgh International Festival last year, Desandann recorded an album here in two days. I have not heard it but have since come to learn that they also perform songs in English, hymnals and other easily-likable styles. Thus I am unaware of the album’s content. Everything I have critiqued, relates to this particular live show. I can imagine the potency of Desandann’s message being lost within digital media formats. Who knows? However, in order to support their journey, I will definitely be picking up a copy. Desandann live, is a performance everyone ought to check out, in at least one stage of their life.
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