CARNIVAL MESSIAH: DE' J'OUVERT OVERTURE PERFORMED BY THE FULL COMPANY

Video moved to . Watch more http://ning.it/1c9zJ6T Video moved to . Watch more http://ning.it/1c9zJ6T From de' darkness came de' early light of morning ..... de' first sounds of dawn .... de' awakening .... de j'ouvert ......... de preparation for de' carnival ..... J’ouvert (Jouvay) is the early morning traditional celebration of the first day of Trinidad Carnival. The term is a corruption of the French expression jour overt (opening of the day). J’ouvert is the Overture of Carnival Messiah, and thus opens the show. It is derived from the enactment of Cannes Brulees (burning of the sugar cane), the only time of the year when enslaved Africans from different plantations were able to legitimately get together. It was a time of celebration for them: many marriages, child namings and thanksgivings were known to have taken place under the guise of Cannes Brulees. When emancipation took effect in Trinidad on August 01,1834, the enslaved Africans celebrated their newly acquired freedom by reproducing on the streets of Port- of- Spain the enactment of Cannes Brulees Under its new guise of J’ouvert/carnival, Cannes Brulees provided the blueprint upon which the carnival masquerade bands of the global Caribbean diaspora have modelled themselves. Carnival is really the true Theatre of the Caribbean. It is not a commemorative event. It is a living, protean experience, whose very validity depends on its capacity to absorb and express the current while containing the past. Therefore the ritual purpose of Carnival today is regeneration, transformation and empowerment, a celebration of life. Thus its aesthetic expression is always big, bold, beautiful, dramatic and epic in its imagination. Carnival Messiah at Harewood 2007 Executive Producer David Lascelles Book written by Geraldine Connor and Mark Tillotson Music composed by Geraldine Connor and George Friederich Handel Video directed, filmed and edited by Ashley Karrell Production designed by Wayne Berkeley and Clary Salandy Choreography by Carol La Chapelle Musical Direction Michael Lovelock Artistic Direction Geraldine Connor

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CARNIVAL MESSIAH: DE' J'OUVERT OVERTURE PERFORMED BY THE FULL COMPANY

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