Music of Saint Lucia

The music of Saint Lucia is home to many vibrant oral and folk traditions and is based on elements derived from the music of Africa, especially rhythmically, and Western Europe, dances like the quadrille, polka and waltz. The banjo and cuatro are iconic Lucian folk instruments, especially a four-stringed banjo called the bwa poye. Celebratory songs called jwé show lyricism, and rhythmic complexity. The most important of the Afro-Lucian Creole folk dances is the kwadril. Music is an integral part of Lucian folk holidays and celebrations, as well as the good-natured rivalry between the La Rose and La Marguerite societies. There is little Western classical music on Saint Lucia, and the country's popular music industry is only nascent. There are few recording opportunities, though live music and radio remain a vital part of Lucian culture. Popular music from abroad, especially Trinidadian styles like calypso and soca, is widespread.

Music education has long been a part of Lucian public education in the primary school age groups. More recently, it has been introduced to older students, many of whom now participate in String Orchestras, wind ensembles, steelpan bands and other musical enrichment opportunities. There is also a well-known government assisted non-profit music school, the Saint Lucia School of Music. The Ministry of Education sponsors a variety of festivals and other special events. The island is also home to the prestigious Saint Lucia Jazz Festival and the Creole celebration Jounen Kwéyòl.

A typical Saint Lucian folk band is based around the fiddle, cuatro, banjo, guitar and chak-chak (a rattle). The banjo and cuatro are regarded as particularly important in Saint Lucian culture, especially the small, four-stringed bwa poye, or skroud banjo. Saint Lucian dances include moulala, faci and comette (a derivative of the minuet); however, the kwadril is increasingly viewed as a national symbol. It is a highly stylized and formalized dance that derives from the European quadrille. Jwé is a more informal form of Lucian folk music, and is performed at dances, wakes and other social events; performers improvise comedic and often biting or lyrics. Music also plays a role in the La Rose and La Marguerite tradition of two rival societies that compete in celebration and form a fundamental part of Lucian culture.

Jwé (play) is a form of rural Lucian folk music associated with beach parties, wakes, débòt dances and full moon gatherings. Jwé is performed as an informal, social event that provide the chance for Lucians to show off their verbal skills, and communicate their comedic, social and political commentaries without offending people. Jwé includes both songs for men and women, both of which can be singers, though most Lucian folk instrumentalists are male. A jwé performance is considered good if the audience participates enthusiastically by clapping, responding to the leader and singing and dancing. Some Lucians avoid jwé altogether because of its sexually raunchy lyricism and atmosphere; nevertheless, elements of jwé have entered mainstream Lucian culture, such as the use of lang dévivé, or saying the opposite of what is meant.

Musical elements of jwé include gém (game song), listwa (storytelling), jwé chanté (sung songs) and jwé dansé (song-play-dance). These forms are united by their use of the Creole language, their use of call-and-response singing between a leader and a chorus, with the exception of listwa, and the use of improvisation. Jwé chanté and listwa are purely vocal styles with no accompaniment, nor any traditional dance; the other two are typically accompanied by a ka drum or sometimes the tibwa percussion sticks, which provides a rhythm for dancers.

Sung jwé, jwé chanté or chanté kont, is mostly part of the funeral wake tradition. A jwé chanté leader uses pantomime to enact scenes from a story, or sometimes just the ribald double entendres from it. The gém (game song) are based around a leader who uses his own flourishes on a choreographed dance and improvises witty lyrics, while the audience participates in the performance. Jwé dansé includes four traditional dances. The solo is a couple dance, and the débòt, yonbòt and jwé pòté are all circle dances. The blòtjé is a musical movement found in all jwé dansé styles, occurring, for example, every four beats in the débòt dance.

Quadrille is a Lucian Creole folk dance derived from the European quadrille. It is performed primarily at private parties which are organized by a host in a private home or rented hall, with musicians paid by the host. Kwadrils are held throughout the year, except during Lent. The modern kwadril has declined in popularity; it had come to be seen as a symbol of colonialism around the time of independence, and was shunned as old-fashioned and out-of-date. More recently, some aspects of Lucian society have come to promote the quadrille as a symbol of Lucian culture. Quadrilles are unlike other Lucian dances in that they must be memorized and choreographed, with only slight room for personal interpretation and improvisation. Learners act as a sort of apprentice for more established performers. A successful performance brings respect and prestige for all participants who dance the correct steps which are traditionally said to "demonstrate control over behavior, manner, and skills" and "symbolize... a set of special values linked with a higher social class".

Kwadril music is provided by an ensemble consisting of a four-stringed instrument, the cuatro (instrument), a rattle, the chakchak, bones called zo, a violin, banjo (skroud, bwa pòyé), mandolin and guitar. A kwadril consists of five separate dances: the pwémyé fidji, dézyèm fidji, twazyèm fidji, katwiyèm fidji (also avantwa or lanmen dwèt) and gwan won (also grande rond). The musicians may also use a lakonmèt (mazurka), schottische or polka; the lakonmèt, also called the mazouk, is especially popular and is the only closed couple dance which originated in Saint Lucia.