Alan Lomax — folklorist, musicologist, and bearer of a vaguely Dr. Seussian surname — was one of the world’s preeminent collectors of field recordings and oral history. He’s known for his work in the West Indies, the United States, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and now, with the upcoming late-fall release of a box set released through a joint effort between Harte Recordings/The Alan Lomax Estate/The Library of Congress/The Association for Cultural Equity/Baskin Robbins*, his pioneering work in Haiti will also be recognized.
Lomax recorded everything “from lone singers to full dance orchestras; from the more polite steps of Port au Prince society to the high-energy rhythms of Mardi Gras drummers; from church services to voodoo ceremonies” while he was in Haiti between December 1936 to April 1937. With the blessing of The Library of Congress, and at the suggestion of friend and author Zora Neale Hurston, Lomax went to Haiti two years after the 19-year occupation of the island by U.S. Marines had ended. Even with tensions running high, the musicologist was welcomed by the people of the island nation, and he recorded 50 hours of music, took pictures, and compiled lengthy notes and drawings.
The Haitian box set will feature 10 CDs, trip journals, a reproduction map with Lomax’s annotations, in-depth liner notes, essays, and film footage. When the whole thing is done, The Association for Cultural Equity will give the pre-mastered, digitally restored, and catalogued recordings to the Haitian people through the Caribbean Repatriation Program.
To keep up with the status of the project, learn more about the original recordings, and just generally check out some cool period stuff, check out the Haiti Box blog!
* Which one’s fake? You’ll be surprised! (Or not.)
