About this picture: The Orchestra or o Orchestre Septentrional was born in the Northern part of the country, in Cap-Haitien, on July 27, 1948, of the fusion of the Septentrional Quartet and the Symphonia Trio .
The seven musicians, who were joined by two guests, met initially to animate a dance and make some money then, by popular request, they decided to continue the experiment.
They were structured at once in association, directed by a management committee, which is perhaps one of the reasons for their longevity.
At that time, most musicians were not professionals and found in the music, in addition to one's personal satisfaction, an additional source of income.
However, their living conditions and their multiple occupations complicated much of their work within the groups.
The association of the Septentrional Orchestra undertook to fight against the precariousness of artistic life. Gradually, the group undertook control of its own destiny by raising funds within its ranks to build its own night club, Feu Vert which was inaugurated on January 1, 1967. It then erected a movie theatre next to the club, opened on January 1, 1973, produced under its own label Cosept and designed an insurance plan to protect the musicians.
The Septentrional Orchestra's initial repertoire in the pastoral festivals consisted mainly of local and Latin-American successes.
It interpreted some Haitian meringues and folk rhythms in the style in vogue and used by orchestras like the Jazz des Jeunes, a great orchestra in its own right.
Septentrional was also inspired by the Latin rhythms: bolero, pachanga, meringue, mambo, ranchera, etc. At that time, the Haitian musical production was too puny to dominate the air waves.
The radios programs consisted of mostly Latin music.
Their influence was especially strong in the Northern part of the country where Radio Progresso of Cuba and the Voz Dominicana of Santo Domingo were more easily accessed than the radio stations of the capital.
Under these conditions, the music of Septentrional Orchestra endured the test of competition very well, first with the advent of the konpa direct and later on with the mini-jazz groups of Port-au-Prince.
The konpa direct emerged in the Fifties, on the initiative of the saxophonists Nemours Jean-Baptiste and Webert Sicot who, under the influence of Latin music, proposed an Haitian version, slower and simplified, of the Dominican meringue.
The mini jazz groups evolved later on while following the y y fashion and rock'n'roll groups, and imposed themselves in the entire country from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies.
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