Guilty, Al Bowly and Ray Noble from Amelie
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Eddy Yates
Well-known member
Nice tune! Thanks for adding to the repertoire.
M
maugein96
Guest
Terry,
Nice one! I've never seen the film and probably never will. Never heard the tune before either, but I liked it.
Just finished reading a big screed from an accordion association in Roubaix, officially proclaiming death of the accordion in May 1968, by generations who were not interested in its survival.
If Amelie was made after 1968, then how come accordions were in it?
:s
Nice one! I've never seen the film and probably never will. Never heard the tune before either, but I liked it.
Just finished reading a big screed from an accordion association in Roubaix, officially proclaiming death of the accordion in May 1968, by generations who were not interested in its survival.
If Amelie was made after 1968, then how come accordions were in it?
:s
Hi John...quote button doesn't seem responsive anymore...Why were accordions in it...
by accident rather than design...i believe the director had near finished the movie and then heard some of Yann Tiersens music in a friends car and was deeply touched enough to change tack and invite Yann in for the soundtrack duties...
It is a lovely quint quirky film, beautifully filmed and the soundscape weaves itself sublimally around the images worth a view and the french is simple enough for you perhaps not to need to run subtitles....The film is evocative of a bygone age of innocence so Tiersens accordions, violins and toy pianos, bells just add to the transience...The Al Bowly track ive tried to copy is being played by a blind old man on a gramaphone in the metro station...
i'm quite partial to the compositions of Ray Noble Orchestra, another of his was The Very Thought Of You
by accident rather than design...i believe the director had near finished the movie and then heard some of Yann Tiersens music in a friends car and was deeply touched enough to change tack and invite Yann in for the soundtrack duties...
It is a lovely quint quirky film, beautifully filmed and the soundscape weaves itself sublimally around the images worth a view and the french is simple enough for you perhaps not to need to run subtitles....The film is evocative of a bygone age of innocence so Tiersens accordions, violins and toy pianos, bells just add to the transience...The Al Bowly track ive tried to copy is being played by a blind old man on a gramaphone in the metro station...
i'm quite partial to the compositions of Ray Noble Orchestra, another of his was The Very Thought Of You
M
maugein96
Guest
Hi Terry,
Just my usual nonsense. The guys in Roubaix did say that the accordion made a (temporary) comeback after just over 20 years, and there was no real harm done, as all the accordion factories and shops opened up again and it was business as usual. (Think I'll need to do a re-run of Google translate, as something is amiss there.)
Just before you posted the clip, I was reading up a bit on the rise and fall of the accordion in France, and mention was made of the big names in the French accordion hit parade. It seems obvious that two schools of players existed. Pop and serious. There was mutual hatred between them, and the serious brigade are still anti-anything to do with old fashioned romantic notions connected with the accordion, such as you describe in relation to the film. There will always be romantics amongst us, as well as people of other persuasions.
I was considering starting a separate thread about it, but as a distinct outsider to French accordion culture, I decided it was better left alone, especially as it touches on the debate over musette vs dry tuning. Whilst I hated the sound of his box, if it hadn't been for Verchuren and the other "pop" stars, the French accordion may have been guillotined well before 1968.
Seriously, you made a good job of that one. You must have been bang on synch with the record player!
Just my usual nonsense. The guys in Roubaix did say that the accordion made a (temporary) comeback after just over 20 years, and there was no real harm done, as all the accordion factories and shops opened up again and it was business as usual. (Think I'll need to do a re-run of Google translate, as something is amiss there.)
Just before you posted the clip, I was reading up a bit on the rise and fall of the accordion in France, and mention was made of the big names in the French accordion hit parade. It seems obvious that two schools of players existed. Pop and serious. There was mutual hatred between them, and the serious brigade are still anti-anything to do with old fashioned romantic notions connected with the accordion, such as you describe in relation to the film. There will always be romantics amongst us, as well as people of other persuasions.
I was considering starting a separate thread about it, but as a distinct outsider to French accordion culture, I decided it was better left alone, especially as it touches on the debate over musette vs dry tuning. Whilst I hated the sound of his box, if it hadn't been for Verchuren and the other "pop" stars, the French accordion may have been guillotined well before 1968.
Seriously, you made a good job of that one. You must have been bang on synch with the record player!
Corsaire
Well-known member
Nice one ! I have seen Amelie - twice - but don't remember that tune either.
M
maugein96
Guest
Terry,
Decided to have a listen to the soundtrack of the film, and couldn't really hack any of the tunes. I suppose I must be the bah humbug of the film industry (and probably most of the music industry as well).
If it's not swinging or bouncing I cannot listen to it for long. Same with those old sad chanson type numbers. They just don't get through to me at all.
Nearly everybody has a favourite tune, but I can't single out any particular one. One that springs to mind in my hate list is "L'accordeoniste" sung by Edith Piaf. The accordion work is fine but if I wanted to hear vocals like that I'd just eat the last chocolate out of the wife's Xmas box!
Decided to have a listen to the soundtrack of the film, and couldn't really hack any of the tunes. I suppose I must be the bah humbug of the film industry (and probably most of the music industry as well).
If it's not swinging or bouncing I cannot listen to it for long. Same with those old sad chanson type numbers. They just don't get through to me at all.
Nearly everybody has a favourite tune, but I can't single out any particular one. One that springs to mind in my hate list is "L'accordeoniste" sung by Edith Piaf. The accordion work is fine but if I wanted to hear vocals like that I'd just eat the last chocolate out of the wife's Xmas box!
I can understand not going for YTs soundtrack... It adds to the feel of the movie but you're right there is only so much tinkling wind up music box themes that can be hacked in one sitting....its possible his fame amongst accordianists is due to the relative simplicity with which his tunes can be learnt.. So a great access point for many...myself included...maugein96 said:
As to Piaf, Dietrich, and the other great chanteur I'm with you... Can't quite grasp what all the fuss and hype is about.. Irritating... Saying that I can't swallow the modern day chanteusses either, celi e dion, Beyonce, etc..
I generally listen to music without vocals and find the orchestras of people like Victor Silvester, Ray Noble are a great place to learn the melody's of tunes...
Bout the only female vocal that shivers me sweetly is Billie Holiday... She never felt the need to shout, sqwauk, or warble...
M
maugein96
Guest
Hi Terry,
That piano tinkle you mention in Amelie is just not for me at all, but I do realise I am usually in the minority with most things musical.
Billie Holiday died when I was 6 years old, and I probably have heard her singing, although I have no recollection of it. I suppose you need to be into jazz vocalists to appreciate that kind of music. I've always liked light instrumental jazz, but any time I've tried to get near it on any instrument where chords are involved, I've found the theory too mind boggling. I'm more of an ear player than a reader, and I've lost count of the jazz tunes I can play the first part of, but then cannot work out the next parts. Quite often I'll get hold of the sheet music, try it once or twice, then declare "game over".
Modern singers are much the same as the old ones. They get off to a flying start as they don't need to fork out for an instrument to perform their music with, or spend years learning to play it. They've either got it or they haven't. They might need to go to a voice "coach", or whatever they're called. Some of them would be better off just standing in front of a double decker bus. When I dabbled in the folk scene we used to regularly get this female joining in who had been trained in this and that, and we all had to become familiar with playing in the key of J#, as that best suited her singing voice (apparently). We knew we had it right when the banshee started roaring songs about Scotsmen slaying "The English", and the blood was running out of the microphone. In that genre it was definitely all about the words (or else!).
All I can say is I hope Billie Holiday was a better singer than Billy Connolly!
That piano tinkle you mention in Amelie is just not for me at all, but I do realise I am usually in the minority with most things musical.
Billie Holiday died when I was 6 years old, and I probably have heard her singing, although I have no recollection of it. I suppose you need to be into jazz vocalists to appreciate that kind of music. I've always liked light instrumental jazz, but any time I've tried to get near it on any instrument where chords are involved, I've found the theory too mind boggling. I'm more of an ear player than a reader, and I've lost count of the jazz tunes I can play the first part of, but then cannot work out the next parts. Quite often I'll get hold of the sheet music, try it once or twice, then declare "game over".
Modern singers are much the same as the old ones. They get off to a flying start as they don't need to fork out for an instrument to perform their music with, or spend years learning to play it. They've either got it or they haven't. They might need to go to a voice "coach", or whatever they're called. Some of them would be better off just standing in front of a double decker bus. When I dabbled in the folk scene we used to regularly get this female joining in who had been trained in this and that, and we all had to become familiar with playing in the key of J#, as that best suited her singing voice (apparently). We knew we had it right when the banshee started roaring songs about Scotsmen slaying "The English", and the blood was running out of the microphone. In that genre it was definitely all about the words (or else!).
All I can say is I hope Billie Holiday was a better singer than Billy Connolly!
Corsaire
Well-known member
I liked Comptine dun autre été from Amélie so much that I learnt it on the piano !
One of the things I like about French music is its sentimentality and so much is played in a minor key. If you want to play in a retirement home, a repertoire of songs from Piaf, Mistinguette, Dietrich, Aznavour etc will always go down well !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJV3PXG7bIk
When Céline Dion became popular here (and it took quite a while for her to take off), she was played everywhere and endlessly. There were incessant TV programmes about her life and when her husband died, we had it all over again. The French also revere their deceased singers too, particularly those that died young. Most recently weve had Johnny Halliday who I doubt is very well-known outside France.
Unfortunately tunes like the main Amélie tune get played to death on the accordion...
One of the things I like about French music is its sentimentality and so much is played in a minor key. If you want to play in a retirement home, a repertoire of songs from Piaf, Mistinguette, Dietrich, Aznavour etc will always go down well !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJV3PXG7bIk
When Céline Dion became popular here (and it took quite a while for her to take off), she was played everywhere and endlessly. There were incessant TV programmes about her life and when her husband died, we had it all over again. The French also revere their deceased singers too, particularly those that died young. Most recently weve had Johnny Halliday who I doubt is very well-known outside France.
Unfortunately tunes like the main Amélie tune get played to death on the accordion...
La chanson:
not to forget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0j3Ve05TqQ&index=2&list=RD93_pv-XWHpQ
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1C6E7jbPw&list=RD93_pv-XWHpQ&index=3 - originally a poem by Jacques Prevert and makes Autumn Leaves look a bit bland.
( Hijack! -- I enjoyed the Al Bowly song as well)
not to forget:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0j3Ve05TqQ&index=2&list=RD93_pv-XWHpQ
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1C6E7jbPw&list=RD93_pv-XWHpQ&index=3 - originally a poem by Jacques Prevert and makes Autumn Leaves look a bit bland.
( Hijack! -- I enjoyed the Al Bowly song as well)
Corsaire
Well-known member
Everyone loves Mon Amant de Saint Jean !
France has always liked the little girl look too (a very young Vanessa Paradis) :
France has always liked the little girl look too (a very young Vanessa Paradis) :
M
maugein96
Guest
Sally,
Theres no denying that the French chanson culture appeals to the romantic and sentimental nature of many, but for me it has always been the instrumental accordion music of France that has been my main interest.
The romance of Paris was perhaps overplayed in the many popular songs and films from the years either side of WW2, and many of the composers werent French, but had been captured by the whole ambience of it all.
My introduction to French accordion came mainly from listening to players from the Nord and Belgium, where Paris and sentimentality wasnt necessarily the main focus of attention. My late grandfather had a collection of records of players like Adolphe Deprince, Charles Verstraete, Maurice St Paul, Edouard Duleu, Hector Delfosse, and other mainly Belgian players. Most of them played their own compositions and references to Paris (or even Brussels) in the titles was sporadic to say the least. As most of the local music in that area features brass bands, some of the recordings also featured brass players. In fact when his accordion playing career was in jeopardy, Charles Verstraete dropped the accordion like a stone and went back to playing trombone in jazz bands. Accordion was always his back up instrument, yet he is acknowledged as one of the finest French (just as he was from Roubaix) accordion players ever. His relatively brief time as a recording accordionist ensured he wasnt very well known in that vein.
Probably because I steeped myself in the music played in that area, I missed out on the Seine cruise with all the Parisian sentimentality, although cruising through Valenciennes along the Scheldt (or Escaut to you Francophiles) is breathtaking when the sunset keeps disappearing behind the slag heaps.
Sacha Distel was inspired to write Coal dust keeps falling on my head after a particularly romantic visit to Valenciennes. His agent made him change the title, which was a pity, as it could have been a big earner for him.
Sorry,
This is my idea of chanson (keep the singers locked away until you need them)
For romantic and sentimental, look no further than the real France here:-
He had to rush it as his shift was starting in 10 minutes and the cage lift was waiting for him!
If the last one was too tear jerking for you, here is something to brighten up your day (after it stops raining!)
Chti is the generic name for residents of the Nord region of France. Claude Caron actually has quite a big fan club in his native Lille. (The accordion never died there in 1968, but they just wont change that musette tuning). Must be tradition or something!
Theres no denying that the French chanson culture appeals to the romantic and sentimental nature of many, but for me it has always been the instrumental accordion music of France that has been my main interest.
The romance of Paris was perhaps overplayed in the many popular songs and films from the years either side of WW2, and many of the composers werent French, but had been captured by the whole ambience of it all.
My introduction to French accordion came mainly from listening to players from the Nord and Belgium, where Paris and sentimentality wasnt necessarily the main focus of attention. My late grandfather had a collection of records of players like Adolphe Deprince, Charles Verstraete, Maurice St Paul, Edouard Duleu, Hector Delfosse, and other mainly Belgian players. Most of them played their own compositions and references to Paris (or even Brussels) in the titles was sporadic to say the least. As most of the local music in that area features brass bands, some of the recordings also featured brass players. In fact when his accordion playing career was in jeopardy, Charles Verstraete dropped the accordion like a stone and went back to playing trombone in jazz bands. Accordion was always his back up instrument, yet he is acknowledged as one of the finest French (just as he was from Roubaix) accordion players ever. His relatively brief time as a recording accordionist ensured he wasnt very well known in that vein.
Probably because I steeped myself in the music played in that area, I missed out on the Seine cruise with all the Parisian sentimentality, although cruising through Valenciennes along the Scheldt (or Escaut to you Francophiles) is breathtaking when the sunset keeps disappearing behind the slag heaps.
Sacha Distel was inspired to write Coal dust keeps falling on my head after a particularly romantic visit to Valenciennes. His agent made him change the title, which was a pity, as it could have been a big earner for him.
Sorry,
This is my idea of chanson (keep the singers locked away until you need them)
For romantic and sentimental, look no further than the real France here:-
He had to rush it as his shift was starting in 10 minutes and the cage lift was waiting for him!
If the last one was too tear jerking for you, here is something to brighten up your day (after it stops raining!)
Chti is the generic name for residents of the Nord region of France. Claude Caron actually has quite a big fan club in his native Lille. (The accordion never died there in 1968, but they just wont change that musette tuning). Must be tradition or something!
Corsaire
Well-known member
The Chti accent is ... erm ..... not music to my ears Nor have I seen the film Les Chtis .......
No, John, I cant say any of your choices is what makes me think of French music !!!
Piaf may not have a voice that everyone likes, but the words of her songs are at least sentimental.
How about Jo Privat and Coplas :
Then theres the wonderful Yvette Horner who epitomises French musette to me :
Nor have I seen the film Les Chtis .......No, John, I cant say any of your choices is what makes me think of French music !!!
Piaf may not have a voice that everyone likes, but the words of her songs are at least sentimental.
How about Jo Privat and Coplas :
Then theres the wonderful Yvette Horner who epitomises French musette to me :
M
maugein96
Guest
Hi Sally,
I would agree that the Chti are probably not everybodys idea of the archetypal French image, but they are part of the territory, the same as the Geordies in England.
Youre perfectly correct that my choices of music arent typically French, but please consider this;-
In musette days, how many of the big recording accordionists where Chti?
Verchuren (Picardy to Belgian parents), Aimable Pluchard and Maurice Larcange (Valenciennes), Edouard Duleu (Wattrelos), Joss Baselli (Douai), Gilbert Roussel (Calais), Charles Verstraete (Roubaix).
Claude Caron is hardly a household name in France but he is in Lille. My decision to include the clips of him was just to show that not all French music, or indeed France itself, is textbook romantic. If Carons music isnt French music at all then is there another category for it?
Did you hear Bruno de Smets (Zinzin) rendition of Que-reste-t-il? that I posted before that? That was pure French instrumental accordion nostalgia with the singers playing a back up rather than a lead role.
Bayonne is in France, and just over 20 miles from the Spanish border, as youll probably be aware. Accordion is present there, both in Basque trikitixa and in French CBA. When they arent playing Basque folk on their CBAs they usually play musette half in half with stuff like this:-
The album that it comes from is listed under variete francaise, as does the album by Claude Caron I took the clip from. So that will be French music Thierry Etchegaray is playing, wont it? Not Basque or Spanish music? He has a French first name, a Basque surname, and hes playing a Spanish pasodoble, but as long as hes not an unfashionable Chti then thats OK?
Last time I was in Brittany I got a telling off in Quimper from an old dear for being a foreigner wearing a beret with the Breizh logo on it, outside a music shop that was playing Irish Republican tunes and flying the Irish flag. I was in France wasnt I? :s
De Gaulle was born in Lille. A very unfashionable president indeed.
I would agree that the Chti are probably not everybodys idea of the archetypal French image, but they are part of the territory, the same as the Geordies in England.
Youre perfectly correct that my choices of music arent typically French, but please consider this;-
In musette days, how many of the big recording accordionists where Chti?
Verchuren (Picardy to Belgian parents), Aimable Pluchard and Maurice Larcange (Valenciennes), Edouard Duleu (Wattrelos), Joss Baselli (Douai), Gilbert Roussel (Calais), Charles Verstraete (Roubaix).
Claude Caron is hardly a household name in France but he is in Lille. My decision to include the clips of him was just to show that not all French music, or indeed France itself, is textbook romantic. If Carons music isnt French music at all then is there another category for it?
Did you hear Bruno de Smets (Zinzin) rendition of Que-reste-t-il? that I posted before that? That was pure French instrumental accordion nostalgia with the singers playing a back up rather than a lead role.
Bayonne is in France, and just over 20 miles from the Spanish border, as youll probably be aware. Accordion is present there, both in Basque trikitixa and in French CBA. When they arent playing Basque folk on their CBAs they usually play musette half in half with stuff like this:-
The album that it comes from is listed under variete francaise, as does the album by Claude Caron I took the clip from. So that will be French music Thierry Etchegaray is playing, wont it? Not Basque or Spanish music? He has a French first name, a Basque surname, and hes playing a Spanish pasodoble, but as long as hes not an unfashionable Chti then thats OK?
Last time I was in Brittany I got a telling off in Quimper from an old dear for being a foreigner wearing a beret with the Breizh logo on it, outside a music shop that was playing Irish Republican tunes and flying the Irish flag. I was in France wasnt I? :s
De Gaulle was born in Lille. A very unfashionable president indeed.
This post has been more inspiring than an Essex boy could ever have imagined... Thank you everyone
And please can I have a link to Zinzins Que Reste Et Il.... I love playing this tune...
And please can I have a link to Zinzins Que Reste Et Il.... I love playing this tune...
M
maugein96
Guest
losthobos pid=63598 dateline=1548627108 said:
Terry,
That should be it here:-
I did rant on a bit, but the majority of French people I know are Chti from the Nord and they tend to be a bit dismissive of all the schmaltz found in the prettier parts of their country. Coming from the cesspit area of Scotland as I do I can relate to their issues, and at one time I played some of their tunes on the box, as most of them were doable by ear. My grandfather had quite a few accordion records by players from the north of France and Belgium.
I think I had been playing for a few years before I latched on to chanson tunes played on the box. The bread and butter of my early learning was hammering out those old marches, polkas, and waltzes from the land where Belgium is on the doorstep and Paris is too far away for a day trip.
If the link doesnt work for you, get back to me. Zinzin is from Normandy, but thats OK, as that is a fashionable area of France.
Terry,
Im going to throw a big spanner in the works here.
Rudi Beauprez is from Houthulst in Belgium, about 20 miles away from France. He typically plays on both sides of the border with French accordionists.
What category would you put this clip in?
Is it French musette, Belgian musette, or should it not be associated with France at all, on the basis that it isnt typically French? It actually has a few Belgian traits, especially the blow away Belgian musette tuning, but who would really know if they walked into a cafe and heard it? Apologies for the midi type sounds, but I believe he makes use of midi on the clip.
Here is the real French version as played over the border in Dunkerque, by Yves Leynaert (Flemish surname) the composer, on a coveted Crosio box.
Tell me what you think. Yves won it for me with the jacket!
Dunkerquois will tell you they are neither Flemish nor French, but a mixture of both. Whether they qualify for inclusion as French people is confounded by the fact that they are also part Chti. We know people from the village of Ghyvelde on the outskirts, and they are the last generation who speak Flemish in the home. They tell us that they are first and foremost French, and accordions were brought to the area from Italy so that they had sufficient firewood to see them through what they consider to be cold winters.
Their favourite exponent of the Chanson was the Belgian Eddy Wally, from East Flanders, self proclaimed Voice of Europe:-
I can translate if required, as its the only song I know all the way through.
Actually I lied about that. I know this one as well. Cherie was his biggest hit, and his diction immediately identified him as being from East rather than West Flanders. East Flanders has that French r, instead of the Spanish r of the west. Good to see he finally engaged a CBA accordionist!
Hey Terry,
Nicely played, good choice of song for your style, and your accordion it always sounds so sweet.
I don't know if you noticed it, but you've started playing with a bit more confidence, and more gusto... keep it up, loud and proud!
Nicely played, good choice of song for your style, and your accordion it always sounds so sweet.
I don't know if you noticed it, but you've started playing with a bit more confidence, and more gusto... keep it up, loud and proud!
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