DePaul Choral Group Will Present Chicago Premiere Of Jaegerhuber’s Haitian Folk Mass

Leading a roster of 40 University Singers partnered by a 12-member string ensemble, Clayton Parr, DePaul University’s director of choral activities, will conduct the first of two performances of Werner Jaegerhuber’s “Messe folklorique haitienne” (Haitian Folk Mass) Oct. 17. This unusual musical offering – a Chicago premiere that celebrates two centuries of independence for the West Indies island, Republic of Haiti – will begin at 3 p.m. in the DePaul Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden Ave. The concert is free and open to the public. The audience will be invited to attend a reception following the program.

The driving force behind this commemoration of Haiti’s bicentennial year is Ludovic Comeau, Jr., a full-time member of DePaul’s School for New Learning faculty since 2001 who worked with Parr and DePaul’s School of Music to bring the folk mass to Chicago. Prior to his appointment at DePaul, Comeau, a native of Haiti, was the chief economist of the Central Bank of Haiti.

Much of Haitian indigenous music reflects an evolving interchange between European and African cultures. For years, the slaves that were brought to Haiti (mainly from the West Coast of Africa) adapted their native music to their new environment. Because Haiti was a French colony beginning in the mid-17th century, this tiny country enjoyed continuous exposure to European influences, as well.

This blend of musical dialects also is evident in the work of Jaegerhuber, who was born in Haiti and later educated in Europe. He wrote the “Messe folklorique haitienne” in 1953 but died before hearing the work performed in 1954 to mark the 150th anniversary of Haitian independence. The mass, according to conductor Parr, “shows influence of Gregorian chant, as well as Haitian rhythms, which makes it an interesting blend of styles. The Haitian religious establishment, perhaps responding to the subtitle, ‘Messe sur les airs voudouesques,’ which refers to the music being voodoo-esque, banned its use in religious services despite the understated and reverent quality of the score.”

The composition, written in the form of traditional Western European masses, is sung in Latin. Rebekah Camm, a School of Music graduate student, is the featured soprano soloist.

Interestingly, this Chicago performance date—Oct. 17—was chosen to honor Jean Jacques Dessalines, who died on that date in 1806. Considered the Father of the Haitian Nation, it was Dessalines who first proclaimed the colony’s independence and renamed this first independent black republic “Haiti,” or “high ground.”

The audition process for membership into the DePaul University Singers is highly competitive. Created in 2000 by Parr, this ensemble consists of approximately 40 members, most of whom are voice majors. Alumni of this choral group have gone on to join prestigious choruses of the Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Orchestra, and to perform on opera stages in major music centers throughout the country.

The “Messe folkorique haitienne” also will be performed on Oct. 23 at the fall conference of the American Choral Directors Association being held at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.

In a related event, Comeau will discuss current events in Haiti during a free, public address Oct. 9 at DePaul’s Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Ave. His lecture is titled “Haiti in the Headlines: For All the Wrong Reasons.”

For more information about DePaul School of Music events, call 773/325-7260.