In recent years, the Haitian Creole song “Lisette quitté la plaine” has become a major part of baritone/scholar Jean Bernard Cerin’s professional life. In this episode of SalonEra, Jean Bernard traces the history of this song text and explores how the song shifts in meaning as it travels around the globe and is transformed by different musical communities. Through Jean Bernard, “Lisette” becomes a lens through which we can explore the dynamic, fraught history of Haiti and its occupiers.
Debra Nagy, host & executive producer
Jean Bernard Cerin, guest curator
Shelby Yamin, associate producer
Hannah De Priest, podcast producer
baritone
Musicologist
Musicologist
The Lisette Project
The Lisette Project is a digital humanities initiative from Jean Bernard Cerin that traces the sung history of the oldest Haitian Creole text, “Lisette quitté la plaine.” This website provides performers and scholars with historical and creative resources that unpack the text’s complex history.
Website of Maria Ryan, musicologist researching the British colonial Caribbean
Watch this talk featuring Henry Stoll: “Afterlives of the Kingdom of Haiti, 1820-2020: Art, Refinement and Material Culture”
SEASON UNDERWRITERS
Joe Sopko & Elizabeth Macintyre
Greg Nosan & Brandon Ruud
David Porter & Margaret Poutasse
Bonnie Baker
REMOTE ARTIST SPONSORS
Arthur Rotatori for Jean Bernard Cerin
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Lisette quitté la plaine” (Chanson Negre), arr. Debra Nagy
Rousseau: “Chantons, célébrons notre gloire” to the tune of “L’art à l’amour est favorable” from Le Devin du village
Ludovic Lamothe: “Lisette”
Francis Scott Key: “O Say, Do You Hear?”
“Lisette quitté la plaine” to the tune of Que ne suis-je la fougère, arr. Richard Stone
“Lisette to quitté la plaine” arr. Camille Nickerson
P.O. Box 602187
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 302-8404
info@lesdelices.org
SalonEra is a trademarked program of Les Délices, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
