Dr. John - Litanie des Saints

Dr. John's Litanie des Saints from his cd "Goin' Back to New Orleans" with my pictures from a recent trip. "Goin' Back to New Orleans" recorded in 1992 was the first album he actually recorded in New Orleans. Dr. John writes in the liner notes: "This is loosely based on a work by Louis Moreau Gottschalk from sometime around 1850. Gottschalk was a music prodigy from New Orleans, the first classical composer in the United States to use folk themes. He grew up within a block of Congo Square--that's where he saw the old slave dances and heard the African chants which inspired his work. Later he studied in Paris at some swanky music school and was a concert pianist considered on a par with Frederick Chopin.
I took a chunk of his piece called "Bamboula, Danse de Negroes" and mixed it up together with a chunk of some very old Gris-Gris chant from way back when in New Orleans. I rewrote the lyrics to fit the melody of the chant using a really classically structured piece. The string part that Wardell Quezergue wrote forms a nice intro to "Litanie des Saints." It has a real Gottschalk feel. Then it goes into a kind of habanera feel. We used both African and Catholic litanies, which is correct. In New Orleans there is a subtle mixture of Gris-Gris, Voodoo, Catholic and African religions that occurs nowhere but New Orleans. The chant ends on St. Cecilia, the Saint for Music. And we go into a kind of major key maneuver, a kind of tribute to Professor Longhair.
The language is also a mix--mostly an African patois with a little Creole French and a little Spanish patois. The Neville Brothers are featured with Cyril doing some beautiful magic man vocals."

[@christilene62]

Επι τελους καποιος που , περα απο τη καταπληκτικη αυτη μουσικη , ανεβασε στο u-tube και την πραγματικη ιστορια της , οπως ακριβως γραφεται στον δισκο !! Μπραβο σου !

[@andrewcampbell-bluespianop6741]

Great song!

[@christilene62]

Well ,now I do understand why my comment was all Greek to you ! Sorry,but at first,I did not realize that you are not Greek !So, I commented on your comments- real history of this amazing song by saying:"At last, beyond the uploading of this amazing music , someone has also added its real history as it is described on the cd . Congratulations ! "
And now ,I 'm also adding thank you! It's a big pity that many people ,though they know this fantastic music, do not know its beautiful history!!