NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The St. Louis Cathedral echoed with the music of Edmond Dédé Friday, Jan. 24. This is over a hundred years after it was written.
Dédé was a New Orleans-born free creole of color, who composed music in the 1800s. He was born in 1827 and baptized in 1828, inside the St Louis Cathedral. He was born a free man to parents from St. Domingue Haiti and would later have the opportunity to learn music composition in Paris, France.
The Historic New Orleans Collection has collaborated with The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for a classical concert series for 17 years. For this special concert, OperaCréole is part of the collaboration.
OperaCréole is a mother-and-daughter opera company that highlights the musical compositions of free people of color.
Edmond Dédé wrote over 100 pieces of music and lived a very colorful life. The concert event takes place as a biography is released.
The Exhile’s Song: Edmond Dédé and the Unfinished Revolutions of the Atlantic World was written by Sally McKee and is available for purchase.
“It’s very exciting that we are able to bring this work that has never been produced before. We have such a rich history but unfortunately, some parts of it have been hidden for way too long,” said Amanda McFillin, Director of Audience Engagement at The Historic New Orleans Collection.
“I like to tell people that New Orleans had so many classically trained black musicians that in 1840, a hundred of them formed their own orchestra. We had an integrated orchestra in 1840,” said Givonna Joseph, a brilliant music educator and the founder of OperaCréole.
The name of the piece played is “Morgiane” written in 1887 and is likely the oldest surviving complete grand opera written by an African American composer.
“The music is so lush and gorgeous and there’s some indications of New Orleans and it’s perhaps a precursor to jazz. Dédé’s father was a military band musician. This music was perhaps written in tribute to his father,” explains Joseph.
After many musical years in New Orleans, Dédé left to spend the rest of his life in France. He returned to New Orleans once in 1893.
Givonna Joseph says “he had to leave New Orleans because, around the time he left in 1845, free people of color were deemed to be too economically powerful. It means a lot to me to bring him back home. We should never allow people to put us in a box. Whatever we are compelled to do, we should do that. We came into this world for a reason.”
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