The title Daughterthe eleventh track on this country album, contains a sample from an 18th-century Guadeloupean composer. This is Joseph Bologne de Saint-George, the son of a slave.
For one of the tracks from his country album released last March, Cowboy CarterBeyoncé turned to France. Guadeloupe, precisely: in an interview with the American GQ, of which she is on the cover, the American superstar reveals that the title Daughter contains a sample of a concerto written by the 18th century Guadeloupean musician Joseph Bologne de Saint-George, known as Chevalier de Saint-George.
“It was so important to me,” the singer told the men’s magazine. “It’s a tribute to the vision of the Chevalier de Saint-George.”
Sampling, an increasingly widespread exercise in American pop and rap, consists of using an element of an already existing song to integrate it into a new title.
In fact, the string instruments heard at the end of Daughter come from the Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 3, No. 1: Adagio by Joseph Bologne, a Guadeloupean musician, son of a nobleman and a slave, himself born a slave near Basse-Terre in 1745.
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Forgotten Roots
“I hope this inspires artists, as well as fans, to delve deeper into the black pioneers of music who came before us,” he continues. Beyoncé. “Some of the most talented artists never reach mainstream acclaim, especially when they defy the norm.”
Statements that resonate with Beyoncé’s current approach. Her house album Renaissance (2022) and the country record that is Cowboy Carter are the first two parts of a triptych, the third disc of which remains a mystery. According to many observers, this trilogy aims to pay homage to the forgotten African-American roots of the musical genres it explores.
