Liner Notes

Curaçao is an island in the south Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, where centuries of cohabitation between people from European, African and Amerindian descent, albeit not in the nicest of ways, have created a rich mixture of people, language and culture.

Papiamento is the language spoken on Curaçao - and neighboring Aruba and Bonaire - and it is an offspring of mostly Portuguese mixed with some Spanish, Dutch, African and Amerindian words. Just like with Portuguese, words in Papiamento are very rhythmical and percussive in structure and they also blend well into one another, making it an excellent language to sing in. This album is a testimony to that, seeing that it contains some of the most beautiful songs written in our native tongue.

Randal, Kris and myself all grew up on this small Island in the Antilles and although Dutch was the official language when we were growing up, Papiamento is the language we grew up speaking and still speak socially

When Randal and I were booked to give a concert at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam in 2018, we added Kris Berry to our little ensemble in order to do a repertoire of mostly Papiamento songs. Having worked in all types of other genres over the years, this going-back-to-the-proverbial-root-of things was a very organic experience for all of us. Hence the title of the Album, Raís, which is the papiamento word for root.

In the months leading up to the concert I played around with the idea that, while we were at it, it might also be a good idea to record the music and, in doing so, making it available to a larger audience. I had worked with Jonas and Jared Sacks before and thought that our repertoire and set-up would be a perfect match for their label. I pitched the idea to Jonas and he agreed. We ended up spending two lovely summer days in the studio during the week prior to our Concertgebouw engagement.

Because of the way Jared Sacks records in DST, the recording itself was a very interesting experience. Randal had to contain himself, sitting at a huge concert grand, while Kris and I had to push more for volume, all of us continuously listening very intently to each other as there were no monitors used during the sessions. We ended up with a very intimate recording. Jared had set us up in a very large hall in the MCO building in Hilversum and besides the occasional voice messages over a little speaker in a corner, he was very much absent. It therefore really felt like the three of us in a room making music together.

The music is mostly a collection of old and new standards from Curaçao and surroundings, arranged by either Randal and/or myself. We've also included some originals.

Konfiansa is one of two pieces composed by Randal on this record which are set to poems by Lucille Berry-Haseth (1937). Ms. Berry-Haseth is related, by marriage, to Kris Berry and is an important papiamento writer, poet and scholar. She has published many poetry books and has been a fervent activist for the acceptance of papiamento as an official language.

Niun hende 'n por hanje is a typical tumba, a music style played in a 6/8 rhythm. This 6/8 rhythm is one of the many things we inherited from the African slaves who were brought to the island. It is nowadays played by larger ensembles during carnival season. However, in the old days it was played year-round, usually after the proper guests left, by smaller ensembles, much like the way we did here on my arrangement.

Tog mi sa is a beautiful bolero composed by Rudy Plaate and arranged by Randal Corsen. Rudy Plaate (1937) and Oswin “Chin” Behilia (1938) are two of the most important Curaçao songwriters of the second half of the 20th century. They sing and write about topics from love to social protest, in accordance to their contemporaries from other countries. The bulk of their oeuvre was written in the sixties and seventies, a time of political turmoil and social unrest that also touched Curaçao.

Serenada is a traditional Antillean waltz written by Irving Provence and Pierre Lauffer(1920-1981). Pierre Lauffer is my favourite poet from Curaçao and besides writing beautiful poetry he was also the first activist to fight for the existence of Papiamentu as a true language. I have been playing this song on and off with Kris for a while and I have always liked it. This arrangement was made especially for this project.

Dalia is maybe one of the most well known tumbas on the island, yet no one knows who the composer is. What makes this particular recording so great is the fact that it was done on solo piano, making Randal’s immaculate sense of time really come out.

Sunu means naked and comes from the spanish word desnudo. When Chin Behilia composed this track he did not mean it in the literal sense though. It’s about opening up and being vulnerable. It's a very slow Antillean waltz with very poetic lyrics and this version was arranged by Randal.

E baka Pinta is one of the most popular tumbas of Curaçao because it was also recorded by the famous Cuban singer Celia Cruz. The lyrics are based on the Ananzi (Nanzi to us) stories that slaves brought with them from West Africa. The title literally translates to the "painted cow". It’s been recorded many times already in the traditional way which is why I went to town with it and redid the whole arrangement.

El Loco Juan Carabina. On clear days in Curaçao you can't see forever, but you can see Venezuela. Because of our shared history and geographical proximity, the cultures and people of the islands and the mainland are very interwoven. My mother’s family is partly from Venezuela and I’ve been going there regularly since childhood. I'm a huge fan of the Venezuelan composer Simon Diaz (1928-2014) and he composed this piece to a poem written by Aquilez Nazoa (1920-1976). I rearranged the harmony to fit our trio setting.

Misterio. This is another poem by Lucille Berry, set to music by Randal. It’s the only track I recorded on an electric guitar to add to the spaciness of lyrics and the rubato rhythm.

Ojos Malignos. This is an old Cuban son written by Juan F. Pichardo. It was popularized in Curaçao because of its use as the theme song of a popular nineties Venezuelan television soap opera called Kaina. Because of the many versions of it already recorded I opted to overhaul it completely and arrange it in a 6/8 rhythm.

La Mariposa is a beautiful instrumental danza composed by Joseph Sickman Corsen. My great grandfather, Jacobo Palm (1887-1982) either collaborated with Corsen or adapted it later to produce the vocal version. Randal gave it another couche which ended up being the version we recorded here.

M'a yega laat. Another well known standard from Curaçao, composed by Rudy Plaate and arranged by Randal. On the island it's also known as Pal'i Tamarijn (tamarind tree).

Tonada. I'm dabbling with classical guitar composition and this piece is one of my first. The feeling of the piece was inspired by the beautiful tonadas (Venezuelan lament/work song) made and sung by Simon Diaz.