About the Piece
The title “Lakay” is a Haitian Creole title and translates to “Home” in English. Being a native Haitian who has spent a lot of years away from my home country, this piece is a way to express some thoughts and feelings of longing for your home sweet home. Lakay isn’t a sad piece, on the contrary, it is pretty exciting and full of energy, which is a representation of the Haitian culture, always strong, always looking at the bright side, and Happily moving forward in life while honoring and remembering our past.
This composition is based on a Haitian Rhythm called “Yanvalou”. Yanvalou is a Rhythm and Dance of Haiti, named after its associated movements. Yanvalou is one of the most important rhythms in Haitian folklore, it is sometimes linked to “Knowledge”, “Patience”, “Strength” and “Healing”. Usually played on Three different congas named “Manman (mother)”, “Segon (second)” and “Kata” the latter being always played with sticks on the body of a conga. I used one conga to play a combination of the “manman” and “segon” rhythm and two bongos with sticks for a variation of the “Kata”. The beat of the rhythm of Yanvalou is a combination of Triple-Duple time (1-2-3 |1 2) in this composition with 3 eighth-notes forming the triple and 2 dotted eighth-notes (or eighth-notes Duplet) for the duple. [Program note by the composer]
Instrumentation – two versions are available:
String orchestra, with percussion: Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Bass, Congas, Bongos and Maracas
Score Preview:
https://www.christopherducasse.com/compositions/Lakay-(String—Percussion)
Chamber orchestra: Flute, Oboe, Two Clarinets, Bassoon, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Bass, Two Congas and Maracas.
Score Preview: https://www.christopherducasse.com/compositions/Lakay-(Wind—String—Percussion)
About the Composer
A native of Port-au-Prince Haiti, Christopher attended Holy Trinity Music School where he learned voice, violin, and piano. Christopher became a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Holy Trinity in 2007 and conducted their main choir “Les Petits Chanteurs” for three years beginning in 2011. He was a Blume Haiti Scholar in the Haitian student exchange program at Lawrence University in 2015, and in 2017 he joined Silver Lake College of the Holy Family to get a Bachelor in Choral in Music Education. Christopher was the Winner of the WCDA Conducting Competition in 2018. He has also composed vocal and instrumental pieces that have been performed by various groups, most notably Petits Chanteurs and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Holy Trinity Music School, the Lawrence University Cello Ensemble, and the Silver Lake College of the Holy Family Chorale. Christopher sings baritone, in addition to play piano and violin.
Website: https://www.christopherducasse.com/
Performance Materials
Performance materials available for purchase on the composer’s website.
Version for Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Bass, Congas, Bongos and Maracas:
https://www.christopherducasse.com/compositions/Lakay-(String—Percussion)
Version for Flute, Oboe, Two Clarinets, Bassoon, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Bass, Two Congas and Maracas.
https://www.christopherducasse.com/compositions/Lakay-(Wind—String—Percussion)