TV feature celebrates Desmond Waithe's musical legacy

A special feature on the life and legacy of musician and educator Desmond Waithe will premiere on local television and livestreamed online.

Waithe, who passed away in April 2022, was a widely-respected composer and arranger who tutored and mentored many during his remarkable lifetime.

Titled We Music: Celebrating the Legacy of Desmond Waithe, the feature was executive produced by the Marionettes Chorale. Waithe shared a more than 40-year relationship as arranger, chorister and cuatro-player with the chorale.

The feature will air on TTT on August 27 and 30, at 1.05 pm and 8 pm; on the Marionettes' YouTube channel on August 31 at 6 pm; and on Trinity TV on September 9 at 8.30 pm, a media release said.

Waithe’s pioneering work in calypso and folk with ensembles such as La Petite Musicale and Stentor Chorale, among others, led to the emergence of the “calypso chorale,” much like a genre in itself. He also made an indelible mark on the pan fraternity, having served as musical director and/or conductor of several steelbands like Exodus, BP Renegades and Starlift. He enjoyed international success with some of the steel orchestras at music festivals locally, as well as in France, Austria and Germany.

It was Waithe’s celebrated steelband arrangement of the Mighty Sparrow’s Slave that led to his long-standing relationship with the Marionettes, when in 1980 the choir commissioned him to adapt his masterpiece for voice. It was an association that would continue until the time of his passing – one filled with memorable local and international tours and performances of Waithe’s masterful choral arrangements of Caribbean music, the release said.

In light of his tremendous work, the Marionettes nominated Waithe who was subsequently awarded the Humming Bird Medal (silver) in 1993 for his outstanding contribution to music in TT. Similarly, his 2022 posthumous award of an honorary degree of letters from the University of Trinidad and Tobago was championed by the chorale, through Dr Roger Henry, Marionettes’ assistant musical director, the release said,

Marionettes’ assistant artistic director Caroline Taylor co-ordinated, researched and produced the television feature. She was assisted by Maria Nunes (videographer), Tracy Farrag (co-producer) and Daniel Bishop and his team at Heaven Sent Productions who edited and mastered the production.

Taylor had to condense more than 15 hours of interviews and music into two hours.

“We aimed to chart Desmond’s musical journey, showcase his range of choral arrangements and performances over some 40-odd years, and speak to his legacy – particularly his calypso chorale legacy. It could easily have been a mini-series given how much material there was just on the choral part alone,” Taylor said in the release..

“It was probably the most complex and challenging video production we’ve ever worked on, but in the end, one that evolved into a wonderfully rewarding experience,” she said.

Taylor and her team worked diligently during the pandemic restrictions in 2021 to access, digitise and remaster the chorale’s audiovisual archive, before launching fully into the production of We Music. Work came to a halt after the team experienced considerable difficulty in attempting to record Waithe’s endearing arrangement of Richard Nappy Mayers’ Old Time Days.

“Because of the constraints at the time, we were forced to work virtually – an incredibly long and tedious process, as Desmond’s arrangements are quite intricate, and teaching those notes and rhythms via Zoom became an exercise in patience, perseverance and problem-solving,” Taylor explained.

However, everything changed when the team received word that Waithe’s illness had progressed. Not only did they want to include what was likely to be his final arrangement for the chorale, but also capturing the musician on camera, conversing about his own monumental life and work was critical. With renewed vigour and shifted perspectives, the team went on to complete the job, the release said.

“Through all of the challenges, though, there were many magical moments. That day in September 2021 when we recorded the interviews at Central Bank Auditorium was profoundly special, as many of us had not seen one another in person since the start of the pandemic, and Desmond was there with us,” Taylor said.

“Another huge moment was finishing the virtual choir production of Old Time Days and sharing it with Desmond as it approached completion. It was incredibly meaningful, too, sending him a playlist with the interviews from the production featuring industry colleagues and choir members such as Gretta Taylor, John Arnold, Leah Brown, Wendy Jeremie and Anthea Clarke, that he could see and hear in his final days,” said Taylor.

“Most of all, we wanted Desmond to know how much we loved, cherished and admired him, and would forever honour him. We believe he knew that,” she said.

We Music: Celebrating the Legacy of Desmond Waithe is worth the watch – not only for friends and for well-wishers who knew the musician personally, but also for the national community whether one is a music enthusiast or not, the release said.

“We hope people will be inspired by Desmond – the man and the artist – and appreciate the complexity and magic of his local, regional and diaspora arrangements, while understanding his wider national impact. We’ve done this to honour his legacy, as a man who dedicated his life to calypso and folk music – preserving them, interpreting them, and keeping them alive,” Taylor said.