“Lisette has left the plain. I have lost my joy.” For nearly 300 years, these words have traveled the world in various forms of early Haitian Creole, set to plaintive tunes and telling a story of longing for liberation deeply tied to Haitian history.
In the recent release of “Lisette: A Song’s Journey From Haiti & Back,” baritone Jean Bernard Cerin traces the evolution of “Lisette quitté la plaine,” the oldest surviving song in Haitian Creole. It dates to the 1750s.
“The album project has engaged the Cornell community and expands understanding of Haitian classical music, said Cerin, assistant professor of music in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). “I’m interested in the surprising ways in which Haitian music history intersects with larger global currents. That’s what we find with Lisette, that it shows up in a lot of different places: France, Louisiana.”
The album is the most recent contribution from the Lisette Project, which Cerin, its artistic director, founded in 2021 to bring performers, scholars and audiences together to explore Haitian classical music. Many of the album’s 19 musical and spoken word tracks were recorded at Cornell, and several instruments in the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards are heard on the album.
“My dream is for Cornell to become a leading institution on Haitian classical music,” Cerin said.
Read the full story on The College of Arts & Sciences website.
