Christmas Carol
In the Guadeloupe Islands, Christmas Carol are songs with great liturgical and religious charactere.
The history of those songs goes back to the slave period. Blacks had a religious education that they incorporated into their original customs. As a result, they kept liturgical texts that they mixed with Gwo-Ka and Biguine.
Over the time, Guadeloupeans created new verses during their improvisations.
The group Kassika, lead by Benzo, made the Guadeloupe Christmas Carol evolve over time, it also made it more popular. Thanks to Kassika, many « Chanté Nwel » (Christmas Carol) events were created.
The most famous one is « Noël de Kakador » which takes place in Vieux-Habitants in Basse-Terre.
During the Christmas Carol, you will hear « Ka » drums, triangle and cha-cha. « Ka » drums players are chosen for their ability to respect the character of the songs and the rhythm of “Kabolo” (happy improvisation song).
Christmas Carols are transmitted from generation to generation, and they are completely anchored in the cultural heritage of Guadeloupe Islands.
More about music and dance
-
Gwo-Ka Gwo-Ka is now inscribed on the UNESCO List... -
Kassav: The Birth of Zouk Kassav’ was formed... -
Conch and Creole Jazz? Playing Jazz with a... -
Akoustik Kreyol A peaceful mesmerizing music, where you... -
Carnival Music Guadeloupean Carnival became an official institution... -
Christmas Carol In the Guadeloupe Islands, Christmas Carol...