by Olaf Salie (Music 781.63 Sal)
We have our share of incredible songwriters here in the New World, but it’s hard to compete with the French in terms of tradition. While many folks in America don’t know a ton about the unique French relationship to songwriting, there is a great new book called Chanson: A Tribute to France’s Most Romantic and Poetic Musical Tradition by Olaf Salie that goes into great depth about the subject, and you can borrow it from the Polley Music Library.
Chanson is one of those books that bridges the gap between an excellent history book and a coffee table art book. For folks who are already familiar with the chanson tradition or just like the music, this book can work wonderfully as a lighter read, a fun book to flip through while you’re listening to your favorite Edith Piaf records. But if you want to get into historical contexts, it’s a great place to start, too.
The introduction to this book is a great overview of how the French view music and culture more generally, and it makes some references to just how old cultural institutions and traditions have run in the country. The Academie Francaise, for example, was founded in 1635 in large part to standardize the French language and protect and preserve French culture. And some of that culture dates back to Medieval times: songwriting in France is one of the longest-running traditions in the world, with roots that can be traced back to the trouveres and troubadours, the original singer-songwriters of the Middle Ages. In the simplest terms, “chanson” simply means “song,” but in trying to define what “chanson” really means in France is more complicated because of this incredibly long tradition. Medieval song is part of the tradition as much as modern French songwriting, and all of it forms part of a more cohesive cultural whole than we’re used to conceptualizing around music in America. But they’re sitting on the historical birthplace of secular songwriting, dating back nearly a millennium, and the gravity of that tradition can’t help but influence popular music’s place in French culture.
Several functions of the chanson are discussed in the introduction as well: some of those earliest songs formed the beginning of the love song tradition, the beginning of social criticism in song, and songs of heroic fables. These broad themes continue to be important in contemporary songwriting (both in the chanson tradition and elsewhere, for that matter). And in the chanson tradition we find the archetype for the kind of person often associated with being a songwriter dates back to early history, too: Francois Villon, who lived in the middle 1400s, for example, is remembers as “a poet, a drunkard, a lover—and a criminal.” His songs reflected his position as a kind of outsider in society, and we still see that kind of “bad boy” vibe in some artists today. Author Salie also notes that the chanson tradition must be considered in terms of lyrical sophistication: compared to other countries’ pop song traditions, the chanson is held to a higher literary standard as essentially a form of poetry set to music. And generally that means vocals must be in French, as part of the literary discipline of the chanson is linked to the sound and flow and feel of the language itself.
With those general observations in mind, the rest of the book proceeds chronologically, focusing on the 20th Century chanson tradition up to the present day. There is a short section documenting the period before WWI dating back to the late 1870s, a period often called la Belle Epoque or “the beautiful epoch,” during which the city of Paris was in its first modern-era heyday. Immediately before that period, roughly 1850-70, the city had been deliberately modernized by removing most medieval-era building, replacing them with a carefully planned cityscape featuring wide streets and attractive new construction. In this new city, citizens enjoyed themselves in the cafes and salons of the day, and various forms of art and culture flourished. But in this era, the chanson existed in places such as the legendary Moulin Rouge, but between the World Wars, music took on a whole new level of cultural immediacy.
So much happened in the 1920s to help the chanson become a cultural powerhouse: the radio proliferated around the world. People and artists from all over the world—including the US, whose musicians were looking for more lucrative places to play during Prohibition—flocked to Paris. Jazz clubs and music halls opened. Variety shows that had previously been produced only for wealthy audiences were now directed at the general public. All of these factors combined to create the first modern entertainment celebrities in France, whose work in that era laid the foundations for the chanson in decades to come. Some of these 1920s and 1930s French stars remain better known within France, like Maurice Chevalier, while others like guitarist Django Reinhardt or American expatriate Josephine Baker are world renowned.
The 1940s are where the art of the chanson kicks into high gear, with performers like Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. The book features detailed biographies for many of these classic-era performers, including Piaf, Yves Montaud, and Charles Aznavour, accompanied by great photos from throughout their careers. That “outsider” nature of entertainers mentioned before becomes a clear part of chanson performance in this era: the most beloved artists are not the most beautiful people or those with the best voices. Instead, there is a certain admiration for those who might otherwise have been told they’re too short for show biz, with thin or raspy voices, or those who come from poverty and struggle. In this way, the chanson became deeply relatable to the average audience. This was music from the heart, performed by people who could be your neighbor (although they became huge celebrities).
The “Piaf Generation” of chanson performers reached roughly from the 1940s through the 60s, when several varieties of chanson began to circulate. Much like the division of pop music into various subgenres in America in the 2nd half of the 20th century, French chanson branched into new areas as well. The book documents the “existentialist” movement, with performers who aligned themselves with more bohemian intellectual audiences, whose music tended toward introspection and melancholy. At the same time, chanson absorbed French pop music of the day, often referred to a Ye-Ye, and performers from that perspective took more inspiration from rock and roll music. It’s worth mentioning here that the kind of individual dancing associated with rock and roll, and the discotheques where it took place, originated in France, so their contribution to the international dance club scene is an essential one. With strains of rock and roll in the music, dancing and fun were a big part of this side of chanson writing, but so too came the same kind of cultural revolution elements seen elsewhere, like hippies and 60s and 70s counterculture. Some of these chanson performers dressed more like rock musicians, such as Johnny Hallyday, while others like Serge Gainsbourg mostly stuck with the suitcoats of previous generations. Still others like the disco-influenced Claude Francois split the difference, with a family-friendly suitcoat vibe, but those suitcoats were sometimes in bright colors.
The final few sections of the book cover the life of the chanson in recent decades. From the 70s forward, women have been featured more prominently among French entertainers. In the 80s and 90s, the art form absorbed more influences from world music and newer forms of pop like punk and new wave. And up to the present, the French scene maintains its own unique perspective in popular music through the power and history of the chanson. For those who want to hear more music along these lines, there is a short appendix at the end of the book that features a thematically divided playlist of suggested songs. If you want to hear chansons about “love” or “revolution” or “melancholy” and so on, this is an excellent starting point.
(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Relax Baby, Be Cool: The Artistry and Audacity of Serge Gainsbourg by Jeremy Allen, No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf by Carolyn Burke or My Life by Edith Piaf.)
( publisher’s official Chanson web page )
Recommended
by Scott S.
Polley Music Library
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