Nathalie Joachim’s mesmerizing sonic Celebration of the unheralded female singers of Haiti
Nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY Award
Fanm d’Ayiti – Nathalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet
“I hope that everybody experiences the deep sense of love and respect that I have for this ancestry, this lineage, and these women who have come before me. I hope that people will see that this is such a deep part of who I am. More than anything, I want to be able to honor these women by making this music.”
Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti) is an evening-length work for voice, flute, string quartet and electronics developed by composer/performer Nathalie Joachim. Commissioned by St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series, Fanm d’Ayiti is a celebration of some of Haiti’s most iconic yet under recognized female artists, as well as an exploration of Joachim’s Haitian heritage.
The project features original songs incorporating the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother and the girls choir of her family’s home farming village of Dantan; new arrangements of songs by some of the greatest known female voices in Haitian history; and recorded interviews with these artists about their lives fighting for social justice and uplifting the people of Haiti.
Developed in a two year Liquid Music Virtual Residency, Fanm d’Ayiti premiered in March 2018 with members of SPCO in St. Paul, MN, and will be presented in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 season with Spektral Quartet. This project is made possible in part through funding from The Jerome Foundation, New Music USA and the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation.
‘Fanm d’Ayiti’ in the Press
PAST EVENTS
Nathalie Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti is heading to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC!
Fanm d'Ayiti is a celebration of some of Haiti's most iconic female artists and an exploration of Joachim's Haitian heritage. The project features original songs incorporating the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother and the girls’ choir of Datan, the farming village of the composer’s family home; new arrangements of songs by some of the best-known female voices in Haitian music; and recorded interviews with these artists about their fight for social justice and uplifting the people of Haiti.
Nathalie Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti is a piece we are ecstatic to perform anytime and anywhere and this April, the five of us descend on Houston for an evening of storytelling, music, and discovery of the dauntless voices of Haitian women.
Nathalie Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti is a piece we are ecstatic to perform anytime and anywhere and this April, the five of us descend on Houston for an evening of storytelling, music, and discovery of the dauntless voices of Haitian women.
Through a network of charming in-person interviews, field recordings, and nimble new arrangements of original songs, Nathalie Joachim assembles a mesmerizing sonic exhibition of the (largely) unheralded female singers of Haiti. With her grandmother’s voice as the leaping-off point, Fanm d’Ayiti (“Women of Haiti”) celebrates powerful women – in revolution, on stage, or in the home – blending electronics, live recordings, a live string quartet (hi!), and Nathalie’s own voice in an irrepressible and captivating melange.
This March, we are ultra-mega-stoked to be making our Big Ears debut with the stunning Nathalie Joachim and her Fanm d’Ayiti!
We’ve been fans of flutist/singer/composer Nathalie Joachim for ages, but it just so happens that our first collaboration materialized for a project in which she is investigating her Haitian heritage in the most breathtaking way. Through a network of charming in-person interviews, field recordings, and nimble new arrangements of original songs, Nathalie assembles a mesmerizing sonic exhibition of the (largely) unheralded female singers of Haiti. With her grandmother’s voice as the leaping-off point, Fanm d’Ayiti (“Women of Haiti”) celebrates powerful women – in revolution, on stage, or in the home – blending electronics, live recordings, a live string quartet (hi!), and Nathalie’s own voice in an irrepressible and captivating melange.
Through a network of charming in-person interviews, field recordings, and nimble new arrangements of original songs, Nathalie Joachim assembles a mesmerizing sonic exhibition of the (largely) unheralded female singers of Haiti. With her grandmother’s voice as the leaping-off point, Fanm d’Ayiti (“Women of Haiti”) celebrates powerful women – in revolution, on stage, or in the home – blending electronics, live recordings, a live string quartet (hi!), and Nathalie’s own voice in an irrepressible and captivating melange.
Through a network of charming in-person interviews, field recordings, and nimble new arrangements of original songs, Nathalie Joachim assembles a mesmerizing sonic exhibition of the (largely) unheralded female singers of Haiti. With her grandmother’s voice as the leaping-off point, Fanm d’Ayiti (“Women of Haiti”) celebrates powerful women – in revolution, on stage, or in the home – blending electronics, live recordings, a live string quartet (hi!), and Nathalie’s own voice in an irrepressible and captivating melange.
Through a network of charming in-person interviews, field recordings, and nimble new arrangements of original songs, Nathalie Joachim assembles a mesmerizing sonic exhibition of the (largely) unheralded female singers of Haiti. With her grandmother’s voice as the leaping-off point, Fanm d’Ayiti (“Women of Haiti”) celebrates powerful women – in revolution, on stage, or in the home – blending electronics, live recordings, a live string quartet (hi!), and Nathalie’s own voice in an irrepressible and captivating melange.
Haitian-American composer, flutist, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim, already familiar to Cal Performances’ audiences for her appearances as part of Eighth Blackbird, collaborates with Chicago’s Spektral Quartet in Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), a suite of kaleidoscopic original compositions and arrangements that explores Joachim’s Haitian heritage and celebrates the songs and stories of Haiti’s most compelling female artists.
Lets talk more! programming@spektralquartet.com