A message about one of the French chansonniers. The best chansonniers of France and their songs. French singers famous all over the world

Topic 5. Author's song Author's song, or bard music, is a song genre that arose in the middle of the 20th century in different countries. His distinctive features is the combination in one person of the author of the music, the text and the performer, guitar accompaniment, the priority of the significance of the text over the music. In Russia, urban romance and song miniatures by Alexander Vertinsky can be considered the predecessors of the original song. At first, the basis of the genre was made up of student and tourist songs, which differed from the “official” ones (disseminated through state channels) by their dominant personal intonation and lively, informal approach to the topic. Some works of the genre appeared back in the 1930s (romantic songs composed by P. Kogan and G. Lepsky, the most famous of which was “Brigantine”, as well as early songs M. Ancharova). In pre-war Moscow, the songs of geologist Nikolai Vlasov (1914-1957) became popular - “Student Farewell” (“You will go to the reindeer, I will go to distant Turkestan ...”), etc. Actually, Vlasov laid the foundation for the tourist song. The songs of Evgeniy Agranovich, who began composing songs in 1938, have a special fate. The songs of this generation are indistinguishable from those heard through official channels, and were often written as retexts already famous melody: for example, “Baksanskaya” is considered a classic of tourist and art songs - a song written by mountaineering warriors in the winter of 1943 to the melody of the famous tango by B. Terentyev “Let the days pass.” But the popularly known song “Blue Handkerchief” was written in exactly the same way (the first version of the text, written by a professional composer, was soon replaced by a “folk” version, which was distributed throughout the country) and the symbol of the besieged Leningrad “Volkhov Table” (to the melody of the song “Our Toast” "). Most often (though not always), performers of songs in this genre are simultaneously the authors of both poetry and music - hence the name. In the early 1950s, a powerful layer of original songs appeared among students, in particular, at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University (the most famous authors of this galaxy were G. Shangin-Berezovsky, D. Sukharev, L. Rozanova) and at the Pedagogical Institute. Lenin (Yu. Vizbor, Y. Kim, A. Yakusheva). The art song gained wide popularity in the mid-1950s, with the advent of the tape recorder. At this time, Yuri Vizbor, B. Okudzhava, N. Matveeva and A. Dulov began to systematically compose songs. As far as we know, amateur song clubs arose at the instigation of the then KGB - both to be informed and to still listen to real songs... Later, in the 1960s - 80s, Vladimir Vysotsky, Alexander Galich, Vladimir Turiyansky, Victor Berkovsky, Sergey Nikitin, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Vadim Egorov, Alexander Lobanovsky, Aron Krupp, Evgeny Klyachkin, Yuri Kukin, Alexander Mirzayan, Vladimir Berezhkov, Vera Matveeva, Victor Luferov, Alexander Tkachev, Pyotr Starchik, Alexander Sukhanov, Vladimir Lanzberg, Veronika Dolina , Alexander Dolsky, Leonid Semakov, in the 80s and 90s they were joined by Mikhail Shcherbakov, Lyubov Zakharchenko and the creative duo of Alexey Ivashchenko and Georgy Vasilyev (“Ivasi”). Less known is that the songs own composition, including nationally famous ones, also wrote “pure” poets - for example, Valentin Berestov, Gleb Gorbovsky (“When the night lanterns swing ...”, “At the beer and water pavilion ...”), Victor Sosnora (“Liteiny flew towards the station ..."). The author's song was one of the forms of self-expression of the “sixties”. Several stages can be distinguished in the development of an author's song. The first stage - the romantic one, the leader of which was B. Okudzhava, lasted until approximately the mid-1960s. The main sphere of realization of the romantic principle was the “song of wanderings” with its central images of friendship (friend) and the road as a “life line” - a path into the unknown and a path to self-knowledge. At this stage, the original song practically did not go beyond the boundaries of the environment that gave birth to it, spreading “from company to company” orally or in tape recordings. It was performed publicly extremely rarely and, again, almost exclusively “in one’s own circle” - in amateur student “reviews”, “cabbets” of the creative intelligentsia, etc., as well as at tourist gatherings, which gradually turned into art song festivals . At this stage, the authorities paid almost no attention to the author's song, considering it a harmless manifestation of amateur creativity, an element of intellectual life. Standing apart, however, were the bitter and satirical songs of A. Galich, who already in the early 60s. (“Prospector’s Waltz”, “Ask, Boys”, “Behind Seven Fences”, “Red Triangle”, etc.) addressed sharp criticism of the existing system with courage and frankness unheard of at that time. Since the mid-60s. to an ironic, and later to an openly satirical interpretation surrounding life Yu. Kim also addressed (“Conversation between two informers”, “Two imitations of Galich”, “My Mother Russia”, etc.). A number of songs by A. Galich (“We are no worse than Horace,” “I choose freedom”) and Yu. Kim (“Imitation of Vysotsky,” “Lawyer’s Waltz”) were directly dedicated to Soviet dissidents. The aesthetics of the “protest song” was continued by V. Vysotsky. He expanded the intonation techniques (for example, his intonation discovery is the chanting of consonants) and the vocabulary of the song, including a vast layer of reduced vocabulary. An important place in the work of many bards was occupied by the theme of the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, in contrast to the heroic pathos of the songs “ official culture”, in the author’s song, the “human aspect” of the war, the suffering it caused, its inhumanity (“Goodbye, boys!” by B. Okudzhava, “The Ballad of eternal fire"A. Galich, "It happened, the men left" by V. Vysotsky and many other songs). Seeing the power of influence such author's song, the authorities moved to persecute her. The doors of concert organizations were tightly closed before the poets-singers (in 1981, after the XXV Moscow meeting of the Communist Party of the Union, a letter was sent to the regions through the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, prohibiting the provision of any platforms for stage performances to Yuli Kim, Alexander Mirzayan and Alexander Tkachev), publishing houses, radio and television studios , they were expelled from creative unions, pushed into emigration (A. Galich), vilified in every possible way in the press, etc. At the same time, thanks to “magnitizdat”, they knew it, sang it, listened to it, copied it from each other. The regular samizdat newspaper “Minstrel” of the Moscow Amateur Song Club wrote about the life of the author’s song in 1979-1990 (from 1979 - editor-in-chief A. E. Krylov, from 1986 - B. B. Zhukov), distributed in photographs and photocopies countrywide. However, the state’s attitude towards the authors was far from uniform. Thus, the Writers' Union took an extremely hostile position - “what kind of singing poets are these”; at the same time, the Union of Composers did a lot for the authors of amateur songs, believing that their work, with all the homemade nature of their melodies, compensates for some neglect of mass song that appeared among professional composers in the 60s compared to pre-war times (in particular, this opinion was voiced in a well-known documentary film 1967 “A song is urgently needed”). Despite all the measures taken to prohibit songs along other lines, songs by S. Nikitin, V. Berkovsky, A. Gorodnitsky, A. Dulov and others were regularly included in the music and text collections of mass songs released by the UK. And for such a famous author of the 70s and 80s as Evgeniy Bachurin, the Union of Composers actually became a producer - releasing his first vinyl album, and soon his second. Also, no persecution of the author’s song affected the frequency of Sergei Nikitin’s appearances on the radio. Among the works of professional composers, the intonation of the original song sounds recognizable in Mikael Tariverdiev, Alexandra Pakhmutova and Andrei Petrov. The authorities tried to take control of the original song from the inside, taking under the “roof” of the Komsomol the “amateur (initially student) song clubs” that spontaneously arose everywhere. But they didn't succeed very well. The matured “bards”, the founders of the genre, continued to develop a lyrical line, but it sounded more and more clearly nostalgia for the past, the bitterness of losses and betrayals, the desire to preserve oneself, one’s ideals, a thinning circle of friends, anxiety about the future - moods summarized in the minted line of B. Okudzhava: “Let’s join hands, friends, so as not to perish alone.” This lyrical-romantic line was continued in the works of S. Nikitin, A. Dolsky, V. Dolina, as well as bard-rockers (A. Makarevich, B. Grebenshchikov). Since the early 1990s. the development of the author's song moved into a calm direction. The number of “singing poets” and their performing arts, their number professional organizations, concerts, festivals, sold cassettes and discs; Even original “classics” of the author’s song are being formalized (the popular albums “Songs of Our Century”). Programs dedicated to the original song appear on radio and television: for example, Mikhail Kochetkov organized and hosted a television program about the original song “Home Concert” on the REN TV channel, and since December 1995 on the commercial television channel Teleexpo he hosted live a song program with the participation of bards “The Wood Grouse’s Nest” - a project that later grew into the famous Moscow bard-cafe with the same name; concerts of original songs and interviews with singer-songwriters are periodically broadcast by the Kultura TV channel; On the Ekho Moskvy radio there is a weekly concert of original songs upon request, hosted by Natella Boltyanskaya. Most famous authors The 2000s are usually considered to be G. Danskoy, O. Medvedev, T. Shaov and O. Chikina. For a wide range of lovers of bard songs, in 2001 in the village of Listvyanka, Irkutsk region, actor Evgeniy Kravkl and his friends completed and opened the “Author’s Song Theater on Baikal”. History in other countries The author's song is not a phenomenon of Russian culture only. This phenomenon emerged in the 1960s simultaneously in different countries. Singer-songwriters everywhere ( Liedermacher- in the GDR and Germany, cantautor- in Italy and Latin America, auteur-compositeur-interprète- in France, singer-songwriter- in the USA) sang songs of their own composition with a guitar. Everywhere such poets with guitars were deeply connected with the local tradition, but at the same time, everywhere their songs contained criticism of society and the state - no matter socialist or capitalist, they represented an experiment with different genres and had a colossal ability to create alternative audiences (primarily youth). The popularity of the original song was associated with the worldwide surge in youth socio-political movements of the 1960s and early 1970s (see, in particular, the article Protests of 1968), with the emergence of the new left in the West, as well as the dissident anti-communist movement in Central Europe. The founders of this trend are considered to be the zongs of Bertolt Brecht and Hans Eisler, which appeared in the 1930s. The work of Edward Stahura and Jacek Kaczmarski in Poland, Karel Kryl and Jaromir Nogavica in Czechoslovakia, Wolf Biermann in the GDR and Franz-Josef Degenhardt in Germany, Georges Brassens in France, Luigi Tenko and Fabrizio De Andre in Italy, Victor Jara in Chile, Phil Oakes, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton and Bob Dylan in the USA contributed to the formation in these countries of a critically minded and democratically organized public that accepted the rituals of author performance, collective listening to tape recordings and independent, amateur singing in companies. Also, simple but emotional melodies and choruses were an incentive to sing together at concerts; the performers themselves called for this. In Cuba, the songs of Carlos Puebla and Compay Segnundo were similar in genre to art song in other countries, but the important difference was that these performers were officially recognized by the Fidel Castro regime, which used them to increase their popularity both in Cuba and abroad. In the countries of the “socialist camp”, as a result of the censorship policies of the authorities, the distribution of art songs took the form of semi-official festivals and meetings, concerts in private apartments, home tape recordings that were distributed free of charge among friends and acquaintances or bought on the “black market”. Outside the “socialist camp,” concerts and recordings of the original song were completely legal, but still the connection between the original song and music industry was never in any way strong, and the “barrier policy” of television and radio companies in the USA, Germany, Italy and France, which for a long time did not want to broadcast an original song with its sometimes sharp and unpredictable social criticism and risky, carnival humor, also gave it these countries have a certain aura of “illegality.” In Chile, after the military coup of 1973, all public performances nueva cancion At first they were under the strictest ban, and almost all the famous “poets with a guitar” were forced to leave the country, the most famous of them, Victor Jara, was killed almost immediately after the military seized power. Only after 1975 did nueva cancion emerge from deep underground, but even then their authors were forced to use Aesopian language. Neither the audience of the “poets with a guitar” nor their colleagues welcomed their professionalization and their rapprochement with the world of pop music. First public speaking Bob Dylan with an electric guitar at the festival (English)Russian. in Newport in 1965 broke this taboo and was greeted with deafening boos from the audience. Genres and terms There is still no clear and unified terminological system associated with song genres. Sometimes the terms “art song” and “bard song” are used interchangeably. But, for example, Vladimir Vysotsky categorically did not like to be called a “bard” or “minstrel.” Chronicles show that in the 1950s and early 1960s, the most commonly used term in relation to the genre was “amateur song” - in particular, it was used by the authors themselves. The question of the name of the song genre did not immediately interest fans of art songs. As Igor Karimov writes in his book “The History of Moscow KSP,” the abbreviation KSP was used back in the late 1950s, but at that time it stood for “student song competition.” At the conference on amateur song issues in Petushki (May 1967), which became a milestone in the history of the KSP, the issue was discussed in a focused manner. The options considered were “guitar song”, “amateur song”, “tourist song” and a number of others. As a result of the meeting, the name “amateur song” was chosen, and the combination of KSP was assigned the meaning “Amateur Song Club”. At the same time, in May 1967, the first all-Moscow meeting of the PCB took place. At the intersection of art songs and folk music in the 90s, the “minstrels” movement was formed, associated with fans of role-playing games and historical reconstruction. Its representatives - Tam and Eowyn, Chancellor Guy, Aire and Saruman, Elhe Niennach and others, perform acoustic songs of their own composition, often on the theme of the Middle Ages or fantasy (mainly the works of J. R. R. Tolkien). Topic 6. Panorama of the main trends in the field of world entertainment

The word “chanson” is translated from French as “song”. Today this term is called vocal genre. But in the Renaissance in France, this was the name given to a secular polyphonic song. This continued until the end of the 19th century. In the 80s, pop songs performed in cabarets also began to be called “chanson”. They were short life stories told to music. This flourished in the 50s of the last century. It was then that many talented chanson singers entered the musical arena in France and elsewhere. The list of these performers is written in golden letters in the history of French music.

Early chanson

Before the emergence of chanson - polyphonic secular songs - there were trouvères - single-voice vocal works. The founder of this genre was the 14th century composer Guy de Machaut. Following him, his colleagues from Burgundy G. Dufay and J. Benchois created three-part songs. Since the 16th century, the “Parisian school of chanson” arose, led by C. de Sermisy, P. Serton and others. Later, this style spread throughout Europe.

Modern chanson

Period modern chanson starts from the end of the 19th century. The first singers of this genre were Astrid Bruant, Mistinguett and others. They performed in cabaret. Later, in the early years of the 20th century, modified chanson - “realistic song” (chanson réaliste) - rose to the professional stage. The names of performers of compositions in this genre are included in the first list of chanson singers: Edith Piaf, Ferel, Damia, etc. A little later, in the middle of the same century, 2 main directions of modern French-language song were formed: classical chanson and pop song.

Genre of classical chanson

A prerequisite for songs of this genre is the poetic component. As a rule, the author and performer of these vocal works- the same person. The list of chanson singers of this period is also headed by the inimitable Edith Piaf. Other performers in this genre were M. Chevalier, C. Trenet, J. Brassens and others. The famous French singers S. Adamo and C. Aznavour, despite the fact that their work is closer to pop music, are also included in the list of chanson singers.

The performers of this poetic and musical genre of that time began to be called “chansonniers”. For them, the most important thing was the lyrics, their content and meaning. Singers of the new chanson used elements of various genres in their performances: from rock to jazz.

France has always had a lot pop singers who perform songs of their own composition. However, due to the lightness of their content, their works are not considered chanson, therefore such celebrities as M. Mathieu, J. Dassin, Dalida, Lara Fabian and Patricia Kaas are not included in the list of chanson singers of the 20th century. Perhaps outside of France they are considered chansonniers, but on French soil there is a conventional border drawn between these two genres: pop and chanson.

Chanson in the 21st century

With the advent of the new millennium, public interest in this has not waned. Appeared popular singers chanson. The list, which was kept for almost 100 years, was replenished with new names: O. Ruiz, C. Clemani, C. Ann, etc.

Conclusion

French song differs in many ways from other European ones musical styles. She is more melodic, romantic, tender. She is eternal. The songs are listened to by more than one generation of music lovers all over the world. His compositions “Belle”, “Boheme”, “Eternal Love” and others became immortal masterpieces world art. Despite the fact that modern French music is last years has lowered the bar, the hope does not fade that the list of chanson singers will be replenished with new names that will raise this genre to a new level.

Agree, no one can sing about feelings and love for life better than the French. They have a melodic language and Paris, which many recognize as the most romantic city in the world. In France, a special vocal genre appeared - chanson, which is translated into Russian as “song”.

Unfortunately, the word “chanson” rather scares a Russian-speaking person. In fact, the lyrical songs of Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Joe Dassin are chanson in its main meaning.

We have carefully collected the best and most touching songs that remind us of beautiful and contradictory love. You can listen to this music endlessly.

Edith Piaf - Non, je ne regrette rien

“No, I Regret Nothing” was written in 1956 and became popular when performed by Edith Piaf. The text echoes tragic fate singer, but it sounds the typical French joy of life and agreement with one’s fate.

Joe Dassin - Les Champs Elysees

"Champs Elysees" made Joe Dassin popular. The mood of the song is quite consistent with the name, which comes from the Greek Elysium - a beautiful garden. Anything is possible on the Champs Elysees - random strangers become lovers and walk the streets of Paris.

Yves Montand – Sous le ciel de Paris

The song “Under the Sky of Paris” was written for the film of the same name. It was first performed by Edith Piaf, after which it was sung many times by Juliette Greco, Jacqueline Francois and other singers. It is simply impossible to imagine Paris without this light waltz.

Danielle Licar & José Bartel – Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

Song from the film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". For those familiar with the plot, the words of the song are clear even without translation - it sounds at the moment of separation of Genevieve and Guillaume. “A whole life is not enough to wait for you, my life is lost if you are not there. You are in a distant land, don’t forget me, wherever you are, I’m waiting for you.”

Claude François - Comme d'habitude

Claude Francois wrote the song “As usual” in 1967. Many people know her in English version entitled “My way” is one of the most popular pop songs of the mid-20th century, famously performed by Frank Sinatra.

Mireille Mathieu - Pardonne moi ce caprice D'enfan

“Forgive me this childish whim” - like many French songs, it talks about love. “Forgive me this childish whim. Forgive me, come back to me as before.”

Dalida & Alain Delon - Paroles, paroles

In the summer of 1972, the song “Paroles” on Italian performed by the duet Alberto Lupo and Mina, Dalida's brother and producer heard it and invited her to record a French version. Dalida performed it in a duet with Delon. The success of the song exceeded all expectations and the French version became much more popular than the original. A few weeks after its release, the single became a top seller in France. Moreover, the title of the song (Words, words...) has become a commonly used expression in colloquial speech.

Yves Montand - Les Feuilles Mortes

This song, better known as a jazz standard " Autumn leaves", was actually written in 1945 and was performed by Yves Montand a year later. One of the most touching songs about past love.

Edith Piaf - Padam Padam

On October 15, 1951, the song “Padam, padam” was recorded on a record. Edith Piaf remembered the pulsating melody that composer Norbert Glanzberg played for her back in 1942. She called the poet Henri Conte: “Henri, here is a melody composed by Norbert that haunts me everywhere. My head is just buzzing from it. I need it quickly wonderful text" Conte had an epiphany: “This is it! There is no more wonderful story for chanson! Edith's words just need to be turned into poetry! Padam, padam - like a heartbeat. Padam, this motive haunts me day and night, it comes from afar and drives me crazy!

Joe Dassin - L'ete indien

This is a song from the summer of 1975. Although it is best known for its performance by Joe Dassin, it was actually written by Italian singer Toto Cutugno gave the name “Africa”. For Dassin, the name was changed, French lyrics were added and it was released on the air; the song quickly became popular. It was later translated into several more languages. In Russia they know it performed by Valery Obodzinsky.

Joe Dassin - Et si tu n'existais Pas

The next song Toto Cutugno wrote specifically for Joe Dassin. “The first bars of the song “If You Were Not There” appeared immediately, and we collectively searched for a continuation for three months,” recalls Joe Dassin. The main idea of ​​the song was supposed to be a promising assumption: “If there was no love...”. But then the poets entered into a stupor. It turned out that if there is no love in the world, then there is nothing to write about. Then they changed the line to “If it weren’t for you,” and the lyrics moved forward.

Charles Aznavour - Une Vie D'amour

Original version " Eternal love” sounds in the film Tehran 43, jointly filmed by several famous studios of the USSR, France and Switzerland. After the film's release, the song became a ballad about tragic love, which has been translated into several languages ​​and is popular with many artists.

Leo Ferré - Avec le temps

Unlike Charles Aznavour and Yves Montand, Leo Ferré is less known outside of France. Despite this, his songs are considered classics of French music of the mid-20th century.

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je t'aime moi non plus

The favorites of France, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, are in their own spirit: with this song they outraged many moralists. In some countries the composition was banned due to obvious sexual connotations.

Danielle Darrieux - Il n'y a Pas d'amour Heureux

Incredibly lyrical “It doesn’t happen” happy love"to the poems of Louis Aragon sounds in the film "8 Women". “Man has no power in anything: neither in strength, nor in his weakness, nor in his heart.”

Virginie Ledoyen - Toi Mon Amour, Mon Ami

Another song from Francois Ozon's comedy "8 ​​Women". It was first performed by Marie Laforet, but the version heard in the film is better known.

Yves Montand - Un homme et une femme

The song is from the film “A Man and a Woman”; you can’t imagine French music without it either.

Catherine Deneuve - Toi Jamais

“You - never”, song of Marcel’s widow from the film “8 Women” performed by Catherine Deneuve. “I love all your flaws, and your virtues are well hidden. You are a man, and I, I love you, and it cannot be explained.”

Salvatore Adamo - Tombe la Neige

Strictly speaking, Salvatore Adamo is a Belgian singer, but the song “Snow is Falling” is strongly associated with France. The author performed it not only with the original French text, but in other languages.

Patricia Kaas - Mon Mec a Moi

A song from 1988 that Patricia Kaas sang in concerts for more than ten years. By the end of the twentieth century, French music became more energetic, but did not lose its lyricism and tenderness.

Mylene Farmer - Innamoramento

Released in 2000 on fifth studio album Mylene Farmer. The lyrics were written by the singer herself, and critics greeted the love ballad favorably.

Alizee - Moi Lolita

The singer Alizee uses the image of Nabokov's Lolita, and the lyrics contain references to the work of Mylène Farmer. Popular in many countries, including Russia. Appears in the soundtrack to Ridley Scott's A Good Year.

Vanessa Paradis - Joe le taxi

1988 song about Parisian taxi driver Joe. This is a romantic image of a taxi driver who knows all the nooks and crannies of Paris, and simply could not help but appear in French music. The song became so popular that translated versions appeared in Japan and China.

Zaz - Je veux

The voice of Isabelle Geffroy, better known under the pseudonym Zaz, is immediately recognizable and memorable. A few years ago a video appeared on Youtube cheerful girl performing her songs with a group of musicians on the street. Now she goes on world tours and is known to many. Isabelle mixes many genres in her work: folk, jazz, French chanson. So we can say this is a worthy continuation of the genre, which began in the mid-twentieth century. This is a real anthem of youth and joy, we recommend watching the translation.

When they hear the word “chanson”, some people remember the criminal songs of the 90s, performed by our compatriots. However, what new world arises when remembering French chanson! Nostalgia, joy, slight sadness - that’s what we feel when plunging into this touching music, which, without exaggeration, can be called immortal. What is the charm of such creations? Let's look at the example of specific performers.

Aristide Bruant- is considered one of the first chansonniers. In principle, we can say that the prerequisites for the formation of the described genre originated in the Middle Ages. At that time, singing poets were popular, who responded quite subtly to topical events. But chanson in the usual sense was given to the world by a slacker from Montmartre - that’s what Aristide Bruant was called. It was difficult not to pay attention to this man - he stood out too much, coming out in spectacular clothes and singing anti-bourgeois songs. He was just as spectacular on the posters of Théophile Steinlen, who, by the way, was very famous artist. Despite the brightness, he sang about the street poor, conveying the most complete picture of the life of Paris at night.

Mistanget- the first female chansonnier. Her creative path was very diverse and at first included the performance of humorous songs, then there was cinema. She had the opportunity to perform with such legends as Jean Gabin and Maurice Chevalier. The woman was associated with the latter and love relationship, after which she gave the world the composition “ Mon homme" This song was destined to go down in history. And her famous feather headdresses are immortalized in the Moulin Rouge. Yes, yes, French chanson has something in common with cabaret besides medieval motifs! This is such an amazing phenomenon - a poetic masterpiece in which the emphasis is on the content, and not on the external form.

Charles Trenet– and this performer brought a little jazz to the chanson. In the pre-war era, it was difficult to resist such a step. Trenet, for example, performed in a duet with Johnny Hess, a famous jazz pianist. In addition, Trenet introduced elements of gags and good American comedies into chanson - this manner was certainly unusual, but is French chanson ordinary in itself? Moreover, if the viewer perceives it with delight - for example, this is how the song “ Je chante" It turned out to be extremely exciting and “ La Mer”, which was later covered more than once.

Boris Vian- symbolizes post-war chanson. Now chanson refuses perky and humorous notes, he prefers to communicate with his listener in an honest and serious conversation. Paradox: given the relationship between the chanson and the viewer, Vian himself wrote his first song for fun. And at first, no one really wanted to perform his “Deserter”. Except, perhaps, Muludzhi. He was able to discern a contradiction in the creation, after correcting which the composition became popular. The main anti-war song - how do you like this title? It has been translated into many languages ​​and performed by many performers.

Charles Aznavour- rather, it relates to the stage, but in chanson it’s still “one of our own”. Irony, melancholy, nostalgia - all these themes were traced in his work from the beginning, and initially they were considered to belong to the “taboo” category. The path to his recognition was long and persistent, starting with the song "Apres l" amour", but, in the end, he managed to achieve success. Moreover, such that many never dreamed of. The problems of people, their tragedies - that’s what worried the performer in present and reflected in creativity.

Edith Piaf- rose to the heights of popularity thanks to determination, hard work, amazing dramatic talent and unusual voice. True fame came to her with the song “ La vie en rose" Everyone could listen to Edith with equal delight - the sophisticated intelligentsia and ordinary workers, even the Queen of Great Britain was delighted with the performer. For millions of people, it was Piaf’s voice that became a symbol of France. One can also feel a constant charm in her work, which distinguishes the “French sparrow” from the galaxy of chanson talents.

Serge Gainsbourg– both the life and work of this person are filled with colors. He literally changed French chanson! New images, previously unseen outlines - this is what the genre has been enriched with the appearance of this amazing man. A unique voice and experiments in style contributed to this perfectly. The paradox is that, being a talented experimenter, Gainsbourg vehemently denied his involvement in poetry. But how else can we explain the frequent presence of puns and unusual rhymes in his work, if not by his talent in poetic skill? Old-fashionedness, conventions - the chansonnier fought against all this as best he could. But the use of English speech patterns, converted into the French way - this was practiced.

French chanson is the whole world, which cannot be described in a nutshell, and whose representatives cannot be listed in one article. This genre truly multifaceted. You just have to listen to something from him and you will see for yourself. And in order to also learn to understand the lyrics, we invite you to.

Chansonnier

A symbol of elegance and refined taste, the eldest of 14 children in a mason's family and the Golden Voice of France - forever young Mireille Mathieu recently celebrated her 66th birthday. For our listeners, she forever became one of the symbols of French chanson. Chanson, chansonnier... the spirit of Paris and the heart of France.

How musical genre chanson (chanson - song) has two meanings: a secular polyphonic song in the style of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance or a French pop song - cabaret music. In the classical understanding of chanson, the main thing is the text of the song; the author most often was also the performer. Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Anna Marley, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour - big names classical chanson. But very little time passed and all performers of French-language pop songs were classified as chansonniers. The names of Mireille Mathieu, Joe Dassin, Dalida, Patricia Kaas have become synonymous with French chanson for us.

When Mireille Mathieu first appeared in front of television viewers in 1965 with the song Jezebel, her performance created a real sensation. It seemed that Edith Piaf, who passed away three years ago, was reborn. It seemed that her voice returned to the world again in this small girl, fragile like Edith. The similarity in voice and performance was uncanny. But John Sark, the impresario of Mireille Mathieu, forbade her to even listen to Piaf’s recordings, he believed that then she would not find her own style, but would become a pale shadow great singer.

Mireille Mathieu and Edith Piaf. One song, one music, two destinies

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That's what you are, sweet little girl! And note that I won't add Piaf. Because between both of you a big difference. Little Piaf walked on the shadow side of life, and you, Mireille, will walk on the sunny side (Maurice Chevalier)

More than 100 million records and thousands of songs on different languages world made Mireille Mathieu an ambassador of French song. Small, fragile, elegant, perfectly suited to a tender word chansonnier , Mireille Mathieu became the prototype of the symbol of France - Marianne. In 2005, a series of concerts took place in the Paris Olympia " 40 years of love and excitement."

Famous duet Eternal love performed by Mireille Mathieu and Charles Aznavour, recognized as the best pop performer XX century.

Another name on the Golden List of French chanson - Charles Aznavour, French singer and actor of Armenian origin. His real name is Shahnur Vakhinak Aznavuryan. The son of Armenian emigrants from Tiflis, who began singing at the age of 9, Charles Aznavour created more than 1000 songs performed by himself and about 60 roles in films. At 82, he went to Cuba, where he wrote the album Color Ma Vie. The world premiere of new songs took place in Moscow, where he gave his only concert.

How can you talk about French pop and chanson and not remember this name? Joe Dassin - Joseph Ira Dassin. Short human life, but the long memory of his songs continues to live. Dassin's voice is a soft baritone, with a slight hoarseness, his

amazing artistry, soulful performance and elegance on stage - the true skill of an outstanding chanson performer.

Chanson, chansonnier... the spirit of Paris and the heart of France.