Yanatha Desouvre releases an album and a duet 30 years in the making with lost footage from his late uncle with a profound message
MIAMI – Haitian American artist and Miami resident, Yanatha Desouvre, records a cross-generational duet of Jacques Brel’s Ne Me Quitte Pas (recorded in America by Nina Simone and Wyclef Jean), with his late uncle Daniel Charles Coulanges, who was once introduced as of the ‘World’s Finest’ classical guitarist.
Coulanges died of HIV/AIDS at the tender age of 28 on April 30, 1989 only two years before Magic Johnson made his announcement.
This dynamic family duet that has been 30 years in the making was recorded at the University of Miami Frost School of Music L. Austin Weeks Recording Studio, home to the three Grammy Award winner John Daversa.
In addition to the Ne Me Quitte Pas duet, with the lost footage from his late uncle, Desouvre, through Indiegogo pledges, has brought to life the music of the late Daniel Coulanges, with the 18-track album titled ‘World Finest’ on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, and more.
Miami-Dade County, which Care Sources indicates is the number one county in Florida for new cases of HIV.
Desouvre is using Coulanges’s music to raise awareness about HIV, encouraging everyone to know their own HIV status.
It all started in the spring of 2016, when Desouvre received a priceless package in the mail, from Paris to Miami with love. He opened the box, found a video, placed it in his video player, and pressed play. The harmonious sounds of his late uncle and godfather, Daniel Coulanges, filled the room as Coulanges played an unaccompanied classical guitar adaption of “Ne Me Quitte Pas.”
As the video continued, Desouvre saw and heard a number of musical masterpieces, including Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and Killing Me Softly; Desouvre felt Coulanges’ presence as if they were in the same room.
“When I saw the video, with each guitar string my godfather plucked, I cried and cried. I was 11 years old when I last saw Uncle Daniel alive.
My godfather was speaking directly to me with each and every guitar string he plucked.”, Desouvre spoke.
With tears in his eyes, he continued, “I feel I’ve been called to do something to keep him alive through his music and education.”
That is exactly what Desouvre is doing in Daniel Coulanges’s musical masterpieces you will find yourself immersed in France, South America or in an intimate cafe in San Francisco, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Pétion-Ville, Port- au-Prince, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and so many places around the world.
The late Daniel Coulanges’s timeless classical guitar music with a global, upscale, and exquisite sound will be available for you to enjoy. His music has been remastered and produced and has opened listeners’ eyes, ears, and hearts to the music, while nudging them to learn their HIV status.
Celebrate with Desouvre as his brings Coulanges’ newly found recordings to life by visiting Yanatha.
All proceeds from the album sales and donations will go towards establishing and funding the Daniel Coulanges Memorial Scholarship Fund.
