Choucoune (Mocking Bird)
Composer:
Michel Mauleart Monton
Genre: World / Folk
Decade: before 1923
Submitted by: Russell Ambrose
Description:
One of Oswald Durand`s most famous works is the 1883 "Choucoune," a lyrical poem praising the beauty of a Haitian woman of that nickname. Michel Mauleart Monton, an American-born pianist with a Haitian father and an American mother, composed music for the poem in 1893 appropriating some French and Caribbean fragments to create his tune; the musical piece "Choucoune" was first performed in Port-au-Prince on 14 May 14 1893. The song became a popular slow méringue (mereng) song in Haiti and was prominently showcased during the bicentennial celebrations of Port-au-Prince in 1949.
by: Russell Ambrose