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M​é​lusine

by Cecile McLorin Salvant

supported by
mattogravy
mattogravy thumbnail
mattogravy a beautiful collection of tunes, from a prolific, easy-to-appreciate artist.
Skye Paine
Skye Paine thumbnail
Skye Paine Countries, continents and centuries melt. Favorite track: Wedo.
Ellie Martin Jazz
Ellie Martin Jazz thumbnail
Ellie Martin Jazz Cecile has such a magnificent ability to fuse all different styles and traditions into a an expressive and magical experience for the listener.
nutmegbrown
nutmegbrown thumbnail
nutmegbrown Saw Celeste Salvant & Sullivan Fortner in concert at Spivey Hall last night, and they were fantastic!
adahmen
adahmen thumbnail
adahmen merveilleux, avant ca ta version of wuthering height etait mon chanson favourise, mais cette Album est vraiement merveilleux. Grand merci Antje Favorite track: Dame Iseut.
daniemusique
daniemusique thumbnail
daniemusique I love Cecile McLorin Salvant's exploration of different repertoires. Her musical phrasings in French and Creole languages are top-tier!
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    this product only ships in the US

    Includes unlimited streaming of Mélusine via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 30 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $13 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The LP will not be released until May 5
    This product only ships in the US

    Includes unlimited streaming of Mélusine via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 30 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $21 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Doudou 05:34
6.
7.
Aida 01:03
8.
Mélusine 03:13
9.
Wedo 00:58
10.
11.
12.
Fenestra 05:18
13.
14.
Dame Iseut 01:33

about

Mélusine features a mix of five originals and interpretations of nine songs, dating as far back as the twelfth century, mostly sung in French along with Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyol.

The new album’s songs tell the story of the European folkloric legend of Mélusine, a woman who turns into a half-snake each Saturday as a result of a childhood curse by her mother. Mélusine later agrees to marry Raymondin on the condition that he never see her on Saturdays. He agrees but is ultimately convinced by his brother to break his promise, piercing his wife’s door with his sword and finding her naked in the bath, half snake, half woman. When she catches him spying on her, she turns into a dragon and flies out the window, only to reappear every time one of her descendants is on their deathbed.

“I think what I try to do is more akin to revealing secrets than telling stories,” Salvant says. “Revealing secrets is also the snake’s role in the Garden [of Eden]. The snake brings secrets, knowledge, pain, and mayhem.”

She continues, “The story of Mélusine is also the story of the destructive power of the gaze. Raymondin’s sword pierces a hole into her iron door. His gaze does too. The gaze is transformative and combustible. She sees that he is secretly seeing her. Her secret is revealed. This double gaze turns her into a dragon. She can now breathe fire.”

Salvant, whose parents are French and Haitian, says Mélusine is also “partly about that feeling of being a hybrid, a mixture of different cultures, which I’ve experienced not only as the American-born child of two first generation immigrants, but as someone raised in a family that is racially mixed, from several different countries, with different languages spoken in the home.”

“‘Dame Iseut,’ the last song of the album, was translated into Haitian Kreyol with my dad from the Occitan, which is an ancient language spoken in the south of France. My grandmother spoke a little, and her brother used to teach it,” Salvant says. “This album combines elements from French mythology, Haitian Vaudoo, and apocrypha.”

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released March 24, 2023

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Cecile McLorin Salvant New York, New York

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