Feb 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM | Woodmere Art Museum

Feb 25, 2024 at 3:30 PM | Christ Church Neighborhood House

Baritone Jean Bernard Cerin, keyboardist Joyce Wei-Jo Chen and cellist Eve Miller trace the history of the oldest surviving song text in early Creole, “Lisette quitté la plaine,” from Haiti to places across the world and back again, in a tale that spans from 1757 to 1942.

This program delves into the rich history of classical music in colonial Saint Domingue and traces how this song, originally famous in a slave holding society shifts in meaning as it finds new interpretations in black communities in Louisiana and modern Haiti. Beyond Lisette, the program features operatic literature from early Haiti, anthem parodies from the Haitian Revolution and the American Civil War, music from 18th century Philadelphia, and virtuosic keyboard music from Louisiana and modern Haiti.