March 1st, 2013
A lot is written and spoken about famous French pop and opera performers. And we will begin our story with Pauline Viardot (Michelle-Pauline Viardot-Garcia), whose name is probably known to every person. Only few people know that she lived and worked in the 19th century. Giving big concerts became a student of Franz Liszt and Reich in 1837, and two years later entered the musical arena of other countries not only thanks to her charisma, artistry and beauty, but also to her stunning contralto. Polina Viardot conquered the opera stages of the largest European cities and attended concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The treasury of French music contains about a thousand songs performed by Charles Aznavour ( Charles Aznavour). By the way, it was he who became the first performer from France who was able to release a platinum disc. For all of it creative life More than 100,000,000 discs with recordings of songs performed by him were sold. Charles Aznavour was recognized as the best pop singer of the 20th century, however, according to Time magazine. He is loved for his amazingly touching manner of performance, incredible sensuality and tenderness. Edith Piaf, who saw his talent, and Maurice Chevalier helped him get onto the stage. His way on big stage took almost ten years, but Charles Aznavour achieved his goal and received world fame. Today he is 88 years old, but he has not given up his career and continues to tour the world and delight people with his creativity.
The spread of musical trends and the development of cinema certainly affected the culture of France, but the scrupulous French tried their best to preserve the national flavor in both cinema and music. But at the beginning of the 20th century, French music was not very popular. It is curious that French compositions penetrated into America, were translated into English there and became known throughout the world. This is exactly the story that happened with the song “My Way” by Claude Francois, which after some time became the real calling card of the famous Frank Sinatra.
However, French music and performers absorb fashion trends to the least extent and follow them - each of the performers remains himself and shows the world truly French compositions.
It is also interesting that in French music one can quite clearly see the division between directions, if we're talking about about native French performers, and the boundaries are washed away if visiting French people sing. For example, in the style of the world-famous Celine Dion, the American style of performance is easily discernible. Although in 1998, after her performance of the composition “D Eux,” people started talking about French music with unprecedented force. Another famous Frenchwoman, Mylène Farmer, performs French compositions in the English style. Desireless sings in a similar style.
The French chances certainly deserve special attention. To define this musical direction is quite simple - it is fundamentally different from Russian chanson. And therefore there is no point in comparing them - this different music. As an example, we can talk about the work of Yves Montand and Edith Piaf. Mireille Mathieu and Joe Dassin are working in a similar direction. All of them mainly sing in classical chanson, although deviations from the main work in favor of popular musical styles are easily detected.
Maurice Chevalier, who brought chansonnier Aznavour to the stage, and Charles Trenet made a great contribution to the development of French chanson. The chanson style is sung by French-speaking Italians by origin Claude Barzotti and the no less famous Salvatore Adamo. When talking about French chanson, one cannot fail to mention Georges Moustaki, Francoise Hardy, Félix Leclerc. There are many performers in the chanson style, since this is one of the most popular musical styles.
Separately, Patricia Kaas walked past the French chanson. Initially, her compositions were bright and stylish, attracted attention and caused a storm of delight. Gradually, she moved from a pure genre to a mixture of styles, jazz, blues, but on the whole she remained original and faithful to her chosen directions. With the advent of new modern trends, her performance style can be characterized as the most common - pop.
The author's song is another musical direction that is definitely worth mentioning in the review. True, there is no direction as such, but due to the similarity with domestic bards both in style and in the manner of performance, we still dare to single out the original song as something separate. And here, for many years, the leading roles were played by Georges Brassens, whom almost all French people love very much. Both Jacques Brel and the touching Boris Vian are worthy of attention, and Léo Ferré is interesting in his own way. According to radio listeners, the composition “Ne me quitte pas” by Jacques Brel was named the best of the French-language songs in the 20th century.
French art song is widespread among French-speaking listeners. It did not take root in Russia, nor did it gain much popularity in America - the style is quite specific and original. In general, you need to know French very well in order to fully understand and listen to the manner of performance.
French rock and roll is the brutal and heavy Johnny Hallyday and Eddie Mitchell, who often performed in the jazz style and then became an actor. Of the female performers, we can only mention Sylvie Vartan, who turned to rock and roll more than other performers.
Jean Leloup and Okoumé sang in the style of classic French rock. Music critics consider the work of Daniel Lavoie to be soft rock. Partly in this direction, Patrick Bruel worked, who, like many other French musicians, became an actor.
Like any other country, France has its own musicians who work in almost all musical directions at once. Julien Clerc, for example, Gilbert Bécaud, and even Michel Sardou, whom music critics noticed performing almost any composition, regardless of their stylistic orientation.
Particular attention to parodist musicians. No, these are not jokers and rakes at all, but people who, in a light parody manner, seem to mock the stylistic cacophony of the modern stage. Of course, this is Serge Gainsbourg and Henri Salvador, who performs compositions not only in this style, but also performs as a jazz singer.
There are several jazz trends on the French stage. First of all, Boris Vian should be included here, with whom the large-scale jazz stage began. The jazz style was also performed by Michel Jonasz, Michel Polnareff and some others.
In the recent past, lyrical ballads were very popular in France. Philippe Lafontaine, Enzo Enzo, François Feldman, Nana Mouskouri - all of them delighted listeners with delightful lyrical ballads and melodic voices.
French music is full of trends, but it would be incomplete without the stage. Variety - in the sense, not a stage, but unobtrusive music, as if “about nothing”. We would call it pop, but unlike the domestic musical movement, the French do not have voiceless singers. And if there are such people, they do not stay long on the musical Olympus. Do you want to hear typical “pop songs”? Buy an album by Michel Fugain or Claude François, Daniel Gérard or Michele Torr, although the latter has not yet finally decided which style is closer to her, and every now and then she turns your eyes on other directions. Dalida, Marie Myriam, Karen Cheryl, Dave are close to modern pop music Thierry Hazard, Claire and Didier Barbelivien. Philippe Lavil stands apart here with clear African inclusions and a completely un-French manner of performing. How Vanessa Paradis tried to become a singer, but her excessive passion modeling career and cinema quite quickly pushed music and pop into the background. Even Carla Bruni tried to sing, but she didn’t snatch laurels from the clouds, and her voice wasn’t very successful.
At the intersection of pop music, jazz, chanson with others musical directions France Gall, Richard Anthony and Serge Lama work. The name of Marie Laforêt should also be mentioned on this list.
Among the contemporary French performers who appeared on stage in last years, the most popular are Florizel, Alizee, Garou, K-maro, Ridan. Unlike the cult performers of French music, these singers and singers, for the most part, create pop compositions, make videos and, having appeared in the music top for several weeks, quickly disappear in order to throw in another song with a claim to fame after a while. originality. But among them there are those who cause genuine delight in the listener.
For many, a real discovery was the singer Isabelle Geffroy, performing under a fashionable short pseudonym - ZAZ. Unprepossessing in appearance, it captivates with its amazing sound, genuine, sincerity. In her performance, the brightest compositions of famous Frenchmen become even more interesting and sonorous. It seems she's even without musical accompaniment is able to conquer anyone with her slight hoarseness in her voice and complete ease.
Celebrates his birthday on July 22 legendary singer Mireille Mathieu. The singer of such hits as Pardonne Moi Ce Caprice and Ciao, bambino, sorry, turns 67 years old.
Mathieu was born in the small French town of Avignon into a low-income, large family. At school she was a poor student, and at the age of 13 she dropped out and got a job at a factory. Her main hobby has always been (and still is) singing. Her path to fame began at the age of 16 - it was then that she won her first music competition. At first she was compared to Edith Piaf, but she soon proved that she was unique in her own right. Now she has several albums and many awards to her credit, including the Legion of Honor for outstanding services to France.
However, this country has given the world many wonderful singers who have become legends. We present 4 more of the most famous.
Edith Piaf
The legendary Little Sparrow Edith Piaf was born in Paris in 1915. Her personal life was full of dramas and tragedies, but this did not stop her from becoming great. She was not distinguished by her external attractiveness, but her voice will forever remain in the memory of everyone who heard it. Many of Piaf's songs have become true classics of French (and world) music - among them Non, je ne regrette rien, La Vie en rose, Milord.
Dalida
A monument was erected to the singer in Paris.
Dalida (her real name is Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti) was born in Italy in 1933, but became famous in France. She took part in beauty pageants, acted in films, and then took up vocals. She received a huge number of music awards and success with listeners. During a tour of America, Ella Fitzgerald's impresario offered her a career in the USA, but the artist refused. A monument was erected to the singer in Paris, and her songs Je suis malade, Tico tico, Je me repose, Monsieur l'amour, Helwa ya baladi are still loved and not forgotten.
Mylene Farmer
Another French and world pop star, Mylène Farmer, was born in Canada in 1961. She has nine albums to her name, each of which became successful. Business card singers - unusual videos, similar to mini-movies, huge budgets were spent on their filming. Among the artist's hits are songs such as Desenchantee, Appelle Mon Numero, Je T"aime Melanocolie.
Patricia Kaas
Real fame came to her in 1988.
Patricia Kaas was born in 1966 in France. Parents encouraged their daughter's passion for singing with early years. Since childhood, she has performed and taken part in various competitions. Already at the age of 19, the singer met her first producer, actor Gerard Depardieu. Real fame came to her in 1988 with the release of the album Mademoiselle chante le blues. Today her discography includes 10 records, and the whole world knows the songs Mon Mec a Moi, If You go Away, D"allemagne, Hotel Normandy.
French music is often recognizable from the first notes - despite the canons of modern show business, local performers manage to maintain their originality, national luster and charm. The “ZagraNitsa” portal has collected for you 5 of the most striking musical projects hailing from France
Daft Punk
French electronic duet, formed back in 1993, twenty years later reminded of itself with the hit “Get Lucky”, which sounded all over the globe.
In the glorious nineties, musicians achieved significant success by mixing elements of electro, house, disco and synth-pop. So the guys created a special “French house”!
Daft Punk was inspired by The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones. The group created a real stir around itself after releasing the album “Homework” in 1997. Four years later, their album “Discovery” became even more successful thanks to the dynamic club hits “One More Time”, “Digital Love” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”.
In 2006, Daft Punk went on a world tour, so much so that they received a Grammy in the category “Best Electronic/Dance Album” for the live disc Alive 2007, which they presented at the end of the tour. And two years ago Daft Punk released their fourth studio album“Random Access Memories”, which included “Get Lucky”, which became a worldwide hit and brought the group several Grammy nominations.
In general, Daft Punk should not only be heard, but also seen, because each of their performances is an unforgettable show. The guys are famous for their meticulousness in the development of concerts, where visual elements (including extraordinary costumes) and special effects form a single whole with the music.
ZAZ
Isabelle Geffroy, aka ZAZ, shot out in one moment with the song “Je Veux” and charmed listeners of all ages and musical preferences. Of course - in the 21st century, the voice of Edith Piaf sounded from the speakers, but young and reckless in a good way. It is difficult to attribute the singer to any style, because she uses and mixes several genres - chanson, pop song, folk, jazz, acoustics.
This is because Isabelle, from childhood, absorbed Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” Ella Fitzgerald’s jazz songs, French chanson, the works of Enrico Macias, Bobby McFerrin and Richard Bon, Latin, African and Cuban rhythms.
The path to ZAZ's fame lay through the streets. When the girl was 26, she left the French province for Paris. There she performed in small clubs, bars and cabarets, among which was “Three Hammers” (Aux Trois Mailletz), where Isabelle sang without a microphone. After a while, she and her musicians “moved” to the street, because there the creator is more free than on stage. Isabelle sang in the streets of Montmartre and on the paved square of the Hill, where she sometimes collected about 450 euros per hour!
The street is, of course, romantic, but the artist still wanted stability. A year later, ZAZ came across an advertisement on the Internet from producer and composer Kerredin Soltani, who was looking for a singer with a hoarse voice. For Isabelle he wrote “Je Veux”, found record company and publisher. True, the singer had to wait another three years for the release of the album, while touring with everyone possible. But now Isabelle Geffroy is recognizable and loved. She already has three albums to her credit: the airy debut “ZAZ”, the revolutionary “Recto Verso” and the cover collection “Paris”.
Vanessa Paradis
Sensitive and gentle Vanessa Paradis is a universal soldier: a model, an actress, a mother, and a singer. Wherein music career For her, it’s more important than the big screen: at times she even took a break from acting to record in the studio. So, in 1989, after Vanessa’s successful film debut ( leading role in Jean-Claude Brisson's drama "White Wedding", for which Paradis received a Cesar), she decided that for now music was more important for her. And for the next five years she pursued a stage career, refusing offers from Pedro Almodóvar and John Boorman.
During this time, Vanessa released three studio albums - “Variations Sur Le Meme T"Aime”, “Vanessa Paradis” and “Live”. So Paradis achieved success, and her song “Joe Le Taxi” became a hit of its time and is still recognized today .
They tried to both copy and criticize Vanessa’s characteristic slightly infantile style, but the singer remains true to herself. In 2013, after separating from her common-law spouse, Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, she released the album “Love Songs”. Critics received the disc very warmly, calling it a confident return of Paradis to the musical field.
Lilly Wood & The Prick
Young and bold, Neely Hadida and Benjamin Cotto play folk-electronic-pop with an indie twist. Now they are tearing up dance floors, and it all started in 2006, when Benjamin met Neely in a Parisian coffee shop. The musicians decided not to put their career on hold and almost immediately began working together. The duo composed excellently and played their creations no less well. So good that they were noticed on MySpace (remember, this happened too...) by guitarist Pierre Guimard and decided to join the team. The guitarist turned out to be not a simple one, but with his own record label. Under it, the group released the first single, and then a full-length album. It was in 2010, and the team was then called Lilly Who and the What? This was the first serious breakthrough.
Then the group was renamed Lilly Wood & The Prick and had a resounding success after Robin Schultz remixed their hit “Prayer in C”.
David Guetta
Talking about modern French music without mentioning the famous Parisian DJ is simply blasphemous! Guetta worked with all (well, almost all) of the stars of the pop scene, producing The Black albums Eyed Peas, will.i.am, Rihanna, Chris Willis, Kelly Rowland, Sia, Lady Gaga and others.
The then 17-year-old David began his career at the Broad club in Paris, but at first there was no smell of creativity here. The guy simply played popular hits and was quite happy with life. Everything changed in the late 80s, when Guetta discovered house and began experimenting with sounds.
The path to Olympus was very long and thorny. For a long time, David was in the shadow of Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and other electronic engineers. However, the Parisian achieved recognition - in 2011 he was recognized as the best DJ on the planet according to Top 100 DJ's. And this is not to mention the Grammy, World Music Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards!
Who is your favorite French performer? Share your ratings in the comments!
Almost all genres and styles of music are represented in France. But the song genre, as well as throughout the world, is the most popular here. There are a lot of bright performers in the country working in the chanson genre, but French chansonniers are very different from the performers in our country. The bottom line is that this music preserves the national features inherent only to French songs and does not allow the influence of development trends in world show business.
Perhaps the reason lies in the enormous popularity throughout the world of French cabarets, which arose in the last century and are the hallmark of the country. This type of art has become a self-sufficient movement and has characteristic, very striking features.
Synthesis with other directions is sometimes simply impossible due to inconsistency and disharmony, which is unacceptable in music. It's this originality that makes hits French chansonniers incredibly popular and performed at all times.
Very bright stars shine on the horizon of world art and jazz French singers. If in the 70s and 80s this style was an art for the elite and true music connoisseurs, then over time it began to use the techniques of mass art.
Although, most likely, it was the stage that began to use jazz performance techniques.
Be that as it may, modern music not only in France, but throughout the world, is distinguished by the fusion of all styles and trends. As a result, the most beautiful songs and bright, talented performers appear.
Many contemporary French singers have gained worldwide fame. Some can be recognized literally by the first notes, thanks to the bright, memorable timbre of their voice.
French singers famous all over the world
The name resounded throughout the world in the last century. The singer’s unique, beautiful timbre of voice and special charm drove women all over the planet crazy.
Dassin's hits such as “Excuse Me Lady”, “Bip-Bip”, “Ça m'avance à quoi”, “Les Dalton” and others are also covered by modern performers; our generation listens to these songs with pleasure, sometimes without even knowing who is their author and first performer.
Joe Dassin was born in 1938 in New York, the future star’s mother was a famous violinist, his father was a director, when young Joe was 12 years old, the family moved to France. Most likely, it was parental genes and upbringing that played a decisive role in choosing a profession. Joe Dassin spent his entire life acting in films and writing wonderful songs.
French-Canadian singer and actor Garou woke up famous after playing the role of Quasimodo in the musical Notre Dame de Paris. The singer's real name is Pierre Garand, he was born in 1972. His low voice with a slight hoarseness and the highest mastery of performance brought Garou into the ranks of world stars.
Her acting career is also going very well. To date, the singer has released 8 albums.
Gregory Lemarchal born in 1983. The singer became famous at a very young age thanks to his incredible talent, agile and bright voice.
In early childhood, the boy was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease that affects lung function. Despite this, Gregory was able to achieve very high results in vocal skills and pleases his fans with very touching and honest songs.
An incurable disease claimed the singer’s life in 2007; the posthumous album “La voix d’un ange” (The Voice of an Angel) received a platinum award in 2008 for one million copies sold in Europe.
Popular French singers
Will always be primarily associated with French music Edith Piaf. There is no person in the civilized world who has not heard the unique voice of this brilliant woman.
The real name of the singer and actress is Giovanna Gassion, she was born in 1915. The childhood and youth of the future world star were spent in terrible poverty and deprivation, this was the reason for poor health, which caused the singer terrible torment throughout her life and caused her premature death.
The songs “Milord”, “Padam Padam”, “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien” are known to almost everyone, regardless of age and musical taste.
The brilliant one invariably attracted the attention of the public with her extraordinary vocal abilities, scandalous events and eventful personal life.
Patricia Kaas is one of the brightest and interesting singers our time. Despite the fact that the singer belongs to the chanson genre, her style, with the charm inherent only to the French, combines chanson, jazz and pop music.
This is precisely the special style of Patricia Kaas; the singer was able to mix incompatible styles, and she did it very tasty.
The world saw 10 albums, each of which is a standard of refined taste and high skill. The singer tours a lot and gives concerts all over the world.
Of the discoveries of our century, the stars of modern French singers, considered one of the most promising young singers, glow very brightly in the sky, and ZAZ, very boldly and talentedly mixing chanson, folk, jazz and acoustic music.
Of course, the above-mentioned singers and female singers are a list of talented and popular musicians France is not limited.
Read more about classic and contemporary performers, representatives of rock and rap trends. This country has given the world an incredible amount of very high quality and wonderful music. Listening to her, we have the opportunity to touch, at least for a minute, the unique and sophisticated world of grace and charm.
French clip - VIDEO
Listen to the beautiful song “My Angel” performed by “Golden Voice” Gregory Lemarchal
We will be pleased if you share with your friends: French singer ZAZ
Surely, many of us are hearing about Isabelle Geffroy for the first time, because in our country she is much better known under the pseudonym ZAZ. According to the singer herself, it means the versatility of her music, which mixes all styles from A to Z and from Z to A. Several years ago, a recording of a street performance spread across the Internet with incredible speed (in France this is not at all uncommon, but rather the norm ) girls with unusual in a hoarse voice and incredible charm. Today we know a little more about the singer.
She performed a lot on the streets of Paris, changing groups one after another, and each time captivating her audience with her unusual voice. Fans even compared Isabelle to the legendary Edith Piaf. Real fame came to ZAZ after winning a prestigious competition, the French analogue of our “Star Factory”. At the moment, the personal collection of this talented Frenchwoman includes a huge variety of different awards and titles. However, compatriots, unlike us, treat Isabelle with more than restraint. As many years of experience show, the French, who have been devoted to Edith for centuries, do not really like those who strive to take her place.
Alizee
The fate of this girl is so shrouded in mystery that from time to time she is even credited with death from a drug overdose, the presence of doubles, and in general, versions have arisen several times that Alizée does not exist at all - different performers perform under her name. In fact, she is alone, alive and well, widely known in France and is also famous for constantly participating in all kinds of shows. Media personality.
She was born on the southern coast of France. Her parents, big fans of windsurfing, named Alize after one of the winds. She is one of those child stars who usually lose popularity as they grow older. Alize, however, was not going to give up, childhood and then adolescence were long over, and the singer still remained on the first lines of the charts, performed new songs, released albums, and won over the audience. Today Alize sings less, preferring dancing, but is still loved by fans.
Amel Bent
Amel Bent is a typical representative of France - the daughter of an Algerian and Moroccan mother. She was born in the commune of La Courneuve, from childhood she was fond of singing and even took part in the popular competition “Nouvelle Star”. True, she never managed to snatch victory from her more professional rivals, but the producers became interested in Amel. A new star has risen into the sky.
Amel released the album “Un Jour d'été”, then “Ma Philosophie”. The first single from “Ma Philosophie”, which the singer recorded together with the French rap artist Diam’s, became platinum and remained in the first position in French for 6 weeks after its release chart. In 2006, at the Victoires de la musique award ceremony, Amel was recognized as “Discovery of the Year.” Amel continues to perform a lot and has even gone on tour in Russia, although today the singer has temporarily suspended her activities - Amel got married and gave birth. daughter.
Isabelle Marie-Anne de Truchy de Varenne was born in the suburbs of Paris. For her thirst for adventure and restlessness, her mother gave her a nickname - Zazi, that was the name of the heroine of one of her favorite books, “Zazi in the Subway.” She wanted to be a writer, filmmaker, fashion model or writer, but fate led her to music.
Zazi has several successful albums to his name, prestigious awards and awards and, despite the solid seniority, which is still the love of the public.
Mylene Farmer
This name is probably familiar to every music lover. And the question here is not a love for French music specifically, but for music in general, because what Mylène Farmer creates is difficult to fit into any framework, one can only admire it. Mylene Farmer has been on stage for a long time, her experience deserves respect. Few people stay that long, even in France, where stability is valued above all else. Farmer was born in Canada in 1961, then moved with her parents to France. It was in her homeland that Milen realized that she only wanted to be an actress! It’s true that everything didn’t work out from the very beginning - the poor thing was not taken either to the theater or to the cinema. However, she managed to star in several commercials.
A chance meeting with the composer and poet Jerome Dahan turned her whole life upside down. The songs performed by Milen conquered the whole of France, and then the planet. In addition, Mylene also became famous for her videos, each of which is more like a skillfully shot short film. Today, Farmer continues to sing, record songs, and, oddly enough, remains a favorite among the French, despite the fact that local music lovers have a rather biased attitude towards “their own”.
Lara Fabian
Despite the fact that we traditionally consider Fabian a French singer, she has the most indirect relation to France. Lara was born in Belgium to a Fleming father and a Sicilian mother, where she first captivated the public with her voice, and then moved to Canada. Today Fabian enters Europe a lot, in his arsenal he speaks English and Italian, but most of the songs are still recorded in his native French. Since 2000, the singer began to appear on television screens in France with enviable regularity. The girl takes part in different programs. At the same time, her albums are selling at incredible speed - 5 million copies in a few months.
Following Celine Dion, Isabelle Boulet and Lara Fabian, the new star. Although young talent was found in Canada, for Europe such a bright rise could not go unnoticed: in 2001, Natasha was given an unprecedented honor - she had an almost unique opportunity to represent France at Eurovision with the song “Je n"ai que mon âme” (“I only have my soul"), authored by Robber Goldman (brother of Jean-Jacques Goldman). She only took fourth place, but won the hearts of all the French.
By 2003, Natasha Saint-Pierre confidently won the status of a French song star. She gave solo concerts, won one competition after another, and in general, it must be said, she moved so rapidly to the top of Olympus that other, much more seasoned performers could only envy her. Natasha was offered cooperation by Garou himself, who organized a European tour for her, then she recorded several successful albums under the guidance of older French comrades.
