THE MUSIC OF THE
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Anton L. Allahar and Shona N. Jackson
Series Editors
The Music of the Netherlands Antilles
Why Eleven Antilleans Knelt before Chopin’s Heart
JAN BROKKEN
TRANSLATED BY SCOTT ROLLINS
The University Press of Mississippi is a member
of the Association of American University Presses.
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support
of the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
Waarom elf Antillianen knielden voor het hart van Chopin copyright © 2005 by Jan Brokken Originally published by Uitgeverij Atlas Contact, Amsterdam
English translation copyright © 2015
by University Press of Mississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First English printing 2015
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brokken, Jan, 1949– author.
[Waarom elf Antillianen knielden voor het hart van Chopin. English]
The music of the Netherland Antilles : why eleven Antilleans knelt
before Chopin’s heart / Jan Brokken ; translated by Scott Rollins.
pages cm. — (Caribbean studies series)
Originally published: Waarom elf Antillianen knielden voor het hart
van Chopin / Jan Brokken. Amsterdam : Uitgeverij Atlas Contact,
?2005.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62846-185-5 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-62846-186-2 (ebook)
1. Music—Netherlands Antilles—History and criticism. I. Rollins,
Scott, 1952– translator. II. Title.
ML207.N48B7613 2015
| 780.972986—dc23 | 2014017809 |
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
Chopin’s death was not the end,
but just the beginning.
—Frederic Bastet
Solo: Brothers, let me sing
Chorus: Yes, give me a chance
Solo: Sing in our own rhythm
Chorus: Yes give me a chance
—Text from a Dutch Caribbean tambú*
CONTENTS
2. You Can Tell Just by Listening, Can’t You?
8. Oh My Sweet Darling, Spare Me
11. The Passion for a Great-Great-Grandfather
15. Every Child Brings Its Own Bread
16. Celebratory and Elegiac Waltzes