Ludovic Lamothe

Ludovic Lamothe (12 May 1882 - 4 April 1953) was a Haitian composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of Haiti's most important classical composers.

Biography

Early life A native of Port-au-Prince, he was born into a distinguished literary family, and both his parents were pianists. His grandfather, Joseph Lamothe, was also a noted instrumentalist. Lamothe had his first lessons from his mother and studied the piano and clarinet at the Institution Saint Louis de Gonzague in his native Port-au-Prince where he exhibited exceptional technical and compositional abilities from a young age. Lamothe's repertoire included a range of méringue, from the most formal, elite-oriented forms to the méringue of the low orders. Another musical scholar, Claude Carré of the online magazine Boutoures has described Lamothe as "representing the nationalist movement in Haitian classical music" and being "an emblematic figure, a piano virtuoso and a performer of Chopin, who left us a number of important compositions for piano."

In 2001, a CD recording titled A Vision of Ludovic Lamothe was published on the IFA Music Records label, featuring some of his pieces, including the Ballade in A Minor, Danza No. 1 (La Habanera), Evocation, and Danse Espagnole No. 4, performed by Latino-Caribbean pianist, Charles P. Phillips.

In 2006, a book entitled Vodou Nation: Haitian Art Music and Cultural Nationalism authored by Michael Largey (referenced by the Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology) cited numerous examples of Lamothe's compositions to illustrate his cultural contribution to Vodou music. They cited in particular, La Dangereuse, Nibo, Sous la Tonnelle, Loco and Sobo.