Barbara FA5411

BARBARA (1955 - 1961)
Interprète Brassens, Brel, Moustaki, Barbara…

Barbara (1955-1961)
par Olivier Julien

Barbara (1955-1961)
by Olivier Julien

The year 2013 sees the singer Barbara celebrated as a symbol of peace and liberty on both sides of the Rhine, now that the song Göttingen – which she recorded in French and then in German – is recognized as a hymn of reconciliation between the two countries. In 2003, on the fortieth anniversary of the Treaty which sealed friendly relations between France and Germany, Chancellor Schröder gave voice to the couplet in the song which pleads, “Oh, make sure that times of blood and hatred never return”, and then went on to declare in his speech: “In those days I lived in Göttingen myself. I was there for ten years, and it was there that I did my studies. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see her sing, but that song seemed to ring all around the city. To me, as a young man, what Barbara sang in Göttingen – and it went straight to our hearts – meant the beginning of a wonderful friendship that was to unite the French and the Germans.”
Today, like the singer Edith Piaf she admired, Barbara is recognised as one of the greatest French artists. Her humanism and modernity have crossed frontiers to reach down over the decades, and her songs, even the most personal, have created echoes inside the conscience of everyone who has listened to them. After a debut marked by setbacks and self-doubt, Barbara made her audiences a second family. At first, she reprised songs by her contemporaries, drawing from the legacy of the “Caf’Conc’” era which she consequently revived for listeners; from one cabaret – or brothel – to the next, for little or no money, she persevered, and finally wrote her lyrics and music herself, which lead to her consecration. Pursuing her career regardless of fashion, she imposed intimacy on song – even though she possessed exceptional vocal skills – sweeping away a whole generation of “loud” singers.

Les Batignolles
Barbara – it wasn’t the name she was born with – came into the world in the Paris quarter known as the Batignolles. She was born Monique Serf on June 9th 1930, at N°6, rue Brochant, the house where her parents lived with her brother Jean (her elder by two years). Her parents were Jewish – her mother Ester (née Brodsky) came from Moldavia and worked at the Paris Prefecture, and her father Jacques Serf, born in Alsace, was a travelling-salesman selling furs and leather goods. The Batignolles would retain its charm for Monique Serf. She often took a solitary stroll down the wide path in the “Square des Batignolles” which today bears her name, and in 1972, in the song Perlimpinpin, she sang of “The taste of life, the taste of water, the taste of bread and perlimpinpin1 in the Square at Batignolles”; and in 1980, in the song Il automne, she referred to the square’s “great chestnut tree with its blue tits and robins”.

The Serf family on the road...
In 1937 the family left Paris for Marseilles, where Monique experienced the first flutters of love. Her sister Régine was born a year later in Roanne, where her parents had settled, and Monique remembered it as the home where the bailiffs took their furniture… except for the table where she used to sit and pretend she was playing the piano at some great recital. Early in 1939 she went to live with her aunt Jeanne Spire in Le Vésinet, just outside Paris, but their respite was short-lived. War was declared in September, her father was drafted into the Army, and exile began with the separation of the family: Monique and Jean went to Poitiers in the care great aunt Jeanne, and only rejoined their mother a year later, in Blois, where she was employed at the Prefecture. Air raids were announced, and the children left by train with their aunt. The convoy was bombed by German aircraft and they were halted for several days in the middle of the countryside before they finally found refuge in the village-school in Préaux, later living above the Café Lanchais. It took them more than a year to trace their parents to Tarbes where, finally reunited, they settled at N°5, rue des Carmes; the family’s third child Claude was born there in March 1942.

Discovery of song
Aged 17, Monique continued her piano studies at Pleyel and then passed the audition for the École Supérieure de Musique in Paris before entering the Conservatory. Her teacher Madame Dusséqué regularly took her to the Paris Opera and the Opéra-Comique. She appeared on a stage for the first time on January 31st 1947 as a mannequin-member of the chorus in Violettes impériales at the Mogador theatre, where she remained for a few months before ending her contract. One spring evening, she attended Edith Piaf’s recital at the A.B.C. theatre and was “pinned to her seat”. A new world had opened for her, the world of Chanson, and she decided to leave the Conservatory.

When her father disappeared from home the following year, Barbara had to resort to menial tasks in order to help her mother; their hired piano was returned.

Brussels
In February 1950 she decided to leave for Brussels, where she was given a place to stay by a cousin; she remained only two months after he became violent. Then she met a pregnant young girl named Peggy – as lost as she was – and they shared a room at the Hotel Central. Monique even envisaged prostitution as a means of survival, but her first “client”, when faced with her helplessness, preferred to invite her to dinner. The two young women went to Charleroi, Peggy’s home town, and they settled in at La Mansarde, living above the Etoile du Sud in Marcinelle. There was a dancehall there fitted out as a concert-venue, and Monique felt at home in this entertainers’ environment, singing timidly with those who appeared there and accompanying herself on the piano. Together they opened the Vent Vert cabaret in Charleroi, and Monique hitched lifts to Brussels to sing at the Arche de Noé. It was there that Monique took the stage-name “Barbara”, singing in various venues on Sunday afternoons under the name “Barbara Brody” (after “Brodsky”, her mother’s maiden name). Accompanying herself on the piano, she would sing Piaf’s L’hymne à l’amour, songs by Mireille, Monsieur William by Jean Roger Caussimon and Léo Ferré, as well as pieces by Aristide Bruant.

Barbara’s return to Paris
There were, however, setbacks, and Barbara decided to return to Paris (by the usual method, hitching lifts). On the way to the capital she met a “kind rascal” by the name of Mr Victor who would become the hero of a song she sang at Pantin in 1981: “What does it mean if your only dream is your madness in wanting to sing? Victor, Monsieur Victor, you had a strange look. When you stopped I didn’t trust you, and yet I still got into your Chrysler coupé.”

Claude Sluys and Ethéry Rouchadzé
Barbara went back to Le Vent Vert and then appeared at La Maison du Vieux Tilleul in Brussels as well as other cabarets like La Rose Noire. She was looking for a musician to accompany her when she met a pianist at La Jambe de Bois and gave him her telephone number. In the room was a young lawyer named Claude Sluys, who noticed the young singer: “I saw this strange character go by, barefoot and draped in a big black cloak, wearing long Berber earrings. I thought she was beautiful. She was very plump. Absolutely not the skinny woman we discovered later.” He recovered her telephone number and introduced her to a pianist-friend from Georgia, Ethéry Rouchadzé; she agreed to become Barbara’s accompanist.

The White Horse
On February 8th 1953, in the Brussels suburb of Ixelles, a new adventure began in a back-room at a chip-shop: a venue called Le Cheval Blanc. Ethéry played with her at weekends and then four times per week: the first part of the show there consisted of plays, like Chekhov’s Marriage Proposal and Marcel Marien’s Le perce neige, in both of which Barbara played a role. Thanks to Ethéry’s lessons, soon she could accompany herself on the piano to sing her Piaf titles, plus pieces by Germaine Montéro, Xanroff’s Le fiacre which Yvette Guilbert had premiered, or Damia’s Le Grand Frisé. Jacques Brel was appearing at La Rose Noire at the same time, but he never mixed with the artists at the Cheval Blanc: he considered them “on the fringe.”

When Barbara’s Belgian visa expired, she was arrested after a police raid on the hotel where the couple was living. Claude Sluys, to avoid her deportation, pleaded before the judge, saying that they were about to be married, and the banns were published the same day. An official ceremony took place in front of the Mayoress of Ixelles on October 31st 1953, when Monique Andrée Serf married Claude Jean Luc Sluys, witnessed by pianist Ethéry Rouchadzé and Claude Weiler, a friend of the groom. The wedding-breakfast was provided by Prudence as a gift to the bride and groom. Barbara would always treat prostitutes kindly, helping them financially and even paying tribute to them, notably in the album Madame whose title De jolies putes vraiment [“Pretty whores, really”] remains a highlight of the genre.

In 1954 the Cheval Blanc was renamed Les Enfants Terribles, and Barbara also sang at Chez Adrienne, a pick-up bar whose most regular patrons were pilots with Belgium’s national airline Sabena.

L’Écluse
Barbara and Claude Sluys returned to Paris. “Her ambition really was enormous. Success was all she thought about. And to get it, she hauled me off to Paris where we lived for a few years.”
Claude spent the mornings unloading crates of produce at the central market, Les Halles, and Barbara accompanied him in the evenings at the Caveau des Légendes in the Rue Jacob, where he did conjuring tricks. At around this time she met Jacques Brel who gave her one of his songs, Sur la place. In September, Barbara was finally given a singing residency at The Ecluse, and Claude returned to Belgium for his military service. Barbara appeared at the Atelier in Brussels on October 1st 1954, where she was noticed by the director of Decca Records Belgium and offered the chance to record. She was heard on Belgian radio for the first time in November (in the programme La vitrine aux chansons presented by music-journalist Angèle Guller.)
In February Barbara recorded her first 78rpm record at Decca’s studios in Brussels. Two titles were recorded, Mon pot’ le Gitan, written and first-performed by Jacques Vérières but better known as an Yves Montand hit, and L’œillet rouge, by Brigitte Sabouraud, one of the Écluse’s managers, with Léo Noël and the duo Marc (Chevalier) & André (Schlesser). A concert on March 5th 1955 was organized to coincide with the release of the record; it was presented by Angèle Guller and Claude Sluys staged it at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels with Marc & André on the same bill. After a few appearances in Belgium, Barbara returned to Paris at year end to sing at the Ecluse again. In early 1956 she sang at the Rose Rouge and the Port du Salut before deciding to live in the capital for good, this time without Claude Sluys, who said, “We said goodbye in the street. The repertoire was the reason: she wanted to sing Brassens and I was encouraging her to work with younger songwriters”.
In 1957 she moved into Chez Moineau on the rue Guénégaud, living in an upstairs room. Robert Doisneau took a photograph of her left hand for the cover of a thriller novel. At year end she was taken on by the Écluse again, and this time she would stay until 1964. She paid a vibrant homage to the cabaret in the song L’île aux mimosas, singing: “In my life in seclusion / sometimes I see myself again / onstage at the Écluse / taking my first steps.” Liliane Benelli accompanied her on piano and became Barbara’s accomplice in helping her to perfect her piano skills despite not being able to sight-read. Liliane’s death – a car accident in August 1965 – touched Barbara so much that she wrote her a tribute to her with the song Une petite cantate:
“But you’ve gone away, fragile, to the beyond, and I am still clumsy, fah, soh, doh, fah… I can see you again with a smile, sitting at that piano saying, ‘Good, I’ll play, you sing. Sing, sing it for me.’”

A future great, great star of song
Then Serge Beucler, an artistic director at Pathé-Marconi, offered her a three-year contract to record for the label La Voix de Son Maître. On February 5 & 6 1958 Barbara recorded her first 45rpm EP (“Extended Play”) containing four titles. It was produced by Pierre Hiégel of Radio Luxembourg and entitled La chanteuse de minuit, after the nickname they’d given her at the Écluse (she always came on stage towards midnight). For this first EP Barbara adapted an Italian hit – Vecchio Frack by Domenico Modugno – with Pierre Delanoé’s French lyrics as L’homme en habit; there was also a title by the scientist, author and singer-songwriter Paul Braffort, called (Menuet pour) la Joconde, which he recorded himself for his (only) 33rpm 10” record “des atomes et des hommes” (cf. Chansons et Oulipo: Raymond Queneau et Paul Braffort, released by Frémeaux & Associés.) Barbara might have considered herself “only a woman who sings”, but she also recorded the two first songs she wrote herself, J’ai tué l’amour and J’ai troqué, which she registered with SACEM under the pseudonym of Rawson. On March 25th, the same Pierre Hiégel produced her recording of three titles which had been in her repertoire for years: Les Amis de Monsieur by the famous early 20th century entertainer Fragson; Maitresse d’acteur, by Xanroff, which she borrowed from Yvette Guilbert; and another from Guilbert’s repertoire, Paul Marinier’s D’elle à lui.
In February Barbara was present when actor Marcel Cuvelier was given an audition; he didn’t pass, but Barbara liked his song Veuve de Guerre and asked him if he’d allow her to sing it herself. Her recording of it was banned from radio by French government censors because they thought it was immoral in the political context as the French were at war in Algeria. Barbara was seen on French television for the first time on July 12th 1958, in the programme Cabaret du Soir. Presenter Colette Mars introduced her to viewers as “a future great, great star of song.”
January 30th 1959 was the date of the studio session for Barbara’s first 10” LP Barbara à L’Écluse. She played piano herself (accompanied on the accordion by Freddy Balta) and applause was added to the recording to recreate the cabaret atmosphere. It was also the first time that she recorded a song by Georges Brassens (La femme d’Hector), and another by Jacques Brel entitled Il nous faut regarder. The song Les sirènes was given to her by Brigitte Sabouraud while André Schlesser gave her the title Souvenance. Barbara wrote the music for La Belle amour, whose lyrics are by Jean Poissonnier, and she picked up the Edith Piaf title Un monsieur me suit dans la rue and also Tais-toi Marseille by the duo Maurice Vidalin and Jacques Datin (the song later became a hit for Colette Renard). The same duo provided Les boutons dorés which she sang in March 1959 (a version of it by the young Jean-Jacques Debout became a hit), and then she took up La belle amour again before unveiling two new titles, Les voyages by Raymond Lévêque, a Quebec artist who was a resident at the Écluse (the song was also recorded by Jean Sablon) and Souris pas Tony, by Jeannette Picot and Christiane Verger. Note that the death of her father (on 20th December 1959) inspired her to write the song Nantes, which she began to compose on a newly-acquired piano but only completed in November 1963.

Barbara sings Brassens and Jacques Brel
In the autumn of the following year Barbara went into the studios again. In the space of a single day – September 19th, 1960 – she recorded eight titles by Georges Brassens in addition to nine by Jacques Brel. The result of the former was a 10” LP entitled Barbara chante Brassens and it was released at the end of the same month. It was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque.
In November she appeared at the Petit Théâtre in Paris – in the twin role of a chorus-girl/transvestite – in the musical Le jeu des dames. Every evening after her performance she would return to the Écluse to finish the evening in her other (usual) role as the chanteuse de minuit (cf. above).
A new contract with Odéon Records replaced her previous Pathé Marconi agreement and it was the Odéon label which released the 10” album Barbara chante Jacques Brel the following January (1961). On the 10th of February, for her new EP, she preferred younger songwriters and chose Liberté composed by Charles Aznavour (with lyrics by Jacques Vidalin), and two pieces by Georges Moustaki: the first was Vous entendrez parler de lui and the second De Shanghai à Bangkok, which Moustaki had done earlier for his debut on record. They sang together for the first time on television, and it was the beginning of a long friendship, sealed by their recording of La dame brune together in 1967, which went on to become a classic of French song. Barbara also recorded Chapeau bas, a title she wrote in 1958, at the same time as J’ai troqué and J’ai tué l’amour.
Her first appearance at Bobino music-hall came when she opened for Félix Marten, and then she left for Abidjan to rejoin the diplomat Hubert Ballay, whom she’d met four years earlier… It was a short visit, and their complex relationship inspired Barbara to write the famous song Dis quand reviendras-tu ? on her return to Paris.

To become a member of SACEM an exam was required, and Barbara passed. Now a fully-recognized composer, she returned to the studios on May 8th 1962 to record her first genuine hit, Dis quand reviendras-tu?, together with two other titles for which she wrote both words and music, Le temps du lilas and Tu ne te souviendras pas, in addition to a song with a text by Jean Poissonnier called Le Verger en Lorraine, which was a tribute to the soldiers who died in battle during the Second World War.
Barbara met with success again with her 1964 recording of Nantes, and she joined the Philips label for all her future recordings. The fact that she was now a recognized songwriter, both as a lyricist and as a composer, might explain the title of her following record, Barbara chante Barbara, and it’s true that from then on she would hardly ever record a song written by someone else. She also had a reputation as an “album-artist” (as opposed to being known for isolated songs), but many of the works to be found in her discography have left an indelible imprint on the collective consciousness of France: Nantes, Göttingen, Marienbad, Une petite cantate or, again, L’aigle noir.
Barbara was always in phase with young people; she wanted youth to be “not too well-behaved”, for example, and the discovery of her repertoire has come as a surprise to succeeding generations. During the Seventies, she became less “visible” in the media as she much preferred the stage to television, and her studio-albums were rare. Her concerts, however, were occasions for genuine communion with her audience, those same people without whom Barbara had the impression she was “not really alive”. When she retired to her home in Précy-Jardin in 1996, she left her admirers a final album produced by Jean-Yves Billet – an artistic director who worked alongside Serge Gainsbourg amongst others – and the record received a Victoire de la Musique Award in 1997 which recognized Barbara as “Artist of the Year”. She began writing her autobiography that March. Her memoirs carried the working-title “Il était un piano noir”, but Barbara would never complete them: she passed away in Neuilly’s American Hospital on November 24th 1997 after a sudden respiratory infection.
Olivier Julien
1 Originally an ineffective powder sold to the credulous as a miracle-cure; a synonym for magic.
.

This set is dedicated to the most beautiful symbol of Franco-German fraternity: Manon Giraud.
To her mother and father.
For their strength, their support and their integrity, thanks to Elli Medeiros and Frieder Wasmuth.
For their trust, thanks to Brigitte, Gerhard and Stephane Biesenbach, Patrick Frémeaux, Martina Hess, Stanislav Liwschitz, Annick and Dominique de Ribbentrop, Ewald Karl Schrade, Diana Schultz, Susanne Zuehlke and the Arthea Gallery.
For their complicity, thanks to Olivier Boscovitch, Olivier Ciappa, Laurent Léger, Pumita Matta, Helena Noguerra and Olivier O’Mahony.
For their patience and professionalism, thanks to Alexis Frenkel and Christophe Henault at the studio Art et Son.
For their assistance, thanks to Jean Buzelin and Michéle Roure.
The quotes attributed to Claude Suys – he died in 2005 – are taken from an interview he gave in 2001 to Eddy Przybylski: my thanks for his permission to use them.
In memory of Daniel Darc.
“It’s been how many days and how many nights? ... How long has it been since you’ve been gone?”

© FRÉMEAUX & ASSOCIÉS 2013

CD 1. BARBARA - PREMIERS ENREGISTREMENTS ET CABARET L’ÉCLUSE (1955-1959)

1. Mon pote le gitan (Jacques Verrières / Marc Heyral)
2. L’œillet blanc (Brigitte Sabouraud)
Direction d’orchestre Jacques Say.
78 tours Decca 22405. 1955

3. L’homme en habit
(Domenico Modugno/Pierre Delanoé)
4. J’ai troqué (Barbara)
5. La Joconde (Paul Braffort)
6. J’ai tué l’amour (Barbara)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano accompagnée par l’orchestre de Armand Motta.
45 tours EP La voix de son maître 7 EGF 339. 1958

7. Les amis de monsieur (Fragson)
8. Maîtresse d’acteur (Xanroff)
9. Veuve de guerre (Marcel Cuvelier)
10. D’elle à lui (Paul Marinier)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano avec Freddy Balta à l’accordéon.
45 tours EP La voix de son Maître n° 7 EGF 371. 1958

BARBARA A L’ÉCLUSE
11. La femme d’Hector (Georges Brassens)
12. Souvenance (André Schlesser)
13. Il nous faut regarder (Jacques Brel)
14. Un monsieur me suit dans la rue
(Jean-Paul Le Chanois/Jacques Besse)
15. Les amis de Monsieur (Fragson)
16. Tais toi Marseille (Maurice Vidalin/Jacques Datin)
17. La belle amour (Jean Poissonnier/Barbara)
18. La Joconde (Paul Braffort)
19. Les sirènes (Brigitte Sabouraud)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano avec Freddy Balta à l’accordéon.
33 tours 25 cm La voix de son Maître FDLP 1079. 1959

20. Les boutons dorés
(Maurice Vidalin/Jacques Datin)
21. Les voyages (Raymond Lévêque)
22. La belle amour (Jean Poissonnier/Barbara)
23. Souris pas Tony
(Jeannette Picot/Christiane Verger)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano.
45 tours EP La voix de son Maître 7 EGF 424. 1959

CD 2 : BARBARA - CHANTE GEORGES BRASSENS, JACQUES BREL ET GEORGES MOUSTAKI (1960-1961)

BARBARA CHANTE BRASSENS
1. La marche nuptiale (Georges Brassens)
2. Le père Noël et la petite fille (Georges Brassens)
3. Pauvre Martin (Georges Brassens)
4. La légende de la nonne
(Victor Hugo/Georges Brassens)
5. Oncle Archibald (Georges Brassens)
6. Pénélope (Georges Brassens)
7. Il n’y a pas d’amour heureux
(Louis Aragon/Georges Brassens)
8. La femme d’Hector (Georges Brassens)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano, avec Elek Bacsik à la guitare, Freddy Balta à l’accordéon, René Duprat à la guitare, Marcel Azzola à l’accordéon et Pascal Groffe à la basse.
33 tours 25 cm Odéon 1260 M – 1960
BARBARA CHANTE JACQUES BREL
9. Les flamandes (Jacques Brel)
10. Je ne sais pas (Jacques Brel)
11. Voici (Jacques Brel)
12. Seul (Jacques Brel)
13. Sur la place (Jacques Brel)
14. Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel)
15. Il nous faut regarder (Jacques Brel)
16. Le fou du roi (Jacques Brel)
17. Litanies pour un retour (Jacques Brel)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano avec Elek Bacsik à la guitare, Freddy Balta à l’accordéon, René Duprat à la guitare, Marcel Azzola à l’accordéon et Pascal Groffe à la basse.
33 tours 25 cm Odéon 1266 M. 1961

18. De Shanghai à Bangkok (Georges Moustaki)
19. Vous entendrez parler de lui (Georges Moustaki)
20. Liberté (Maurice Vidalin/Charles Aznavour)
21. Chapeau bas (Barbara)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano avec Darzee au second piano.
45 tours EP Odéon MOE 2306 M. 1961

CD 3 : BARBARA - VERSIONS ORIGINALES DE SES PREMIERS ENREGISTREMENTS (1902-1961)

1. Le temps du lilas (Barbara)
2. Le verger en Lorraine (Jean Poissonnier/Barbara)
3. Tu ne te souviendras pas (Barbara)
4. Dis quand reviendras-tu ? (Barbara)
Barbara s’accompagne au piano, direction d’orchestre François Rauber.
45 tours EP Odéon MOE 2324 M. 1962
BARBARA ET SES INFLUENCES
5. Jacques Vérières. Mon pote le Gitan
(Jacques Verrières / Marc Heyral)
Avec Jean-Michel Defaye et son orchestre.
45 tours EP Pathé 45EG126. 1955

6. Brigitte Sabouraud. L’œillet blanc
(Brigitte Sabouraud)
Brigitte Sabouraud s’accompagne à l’accordéon.
Inédit – Collection privée. 1955

7. Domenico Modugno. Vecchio frack
(L’homme en habit) ( Domenico Modugno)
Domenico Modugno s’accompagne à la guitare.
45 tours SP RCA Italiana 45N0316. 1955

8. Paul Braffort. Menuet pour la Joconde
(Paul Braffort)
Direction d’orchestre Paul Braffort et Armand Motta
33 tours 25cm Columbia FS 1076. 1958

9. Yvette Guilbert. D’elle à lui (Paul Marinier)
Accompagnée au piano par Iréne Aitof
78 tours Gramophone K7559. 1934

10. Georges Brassens. La femme d’Hector (Georges Brassens)
Georges Brassens s’accompagne à la guitare.
33 tours 25 cm Philips B76 451R. 1958

11. Jacques Brel. Il nous faut regarder
(Jacques Brel)
Arrangements André Grassi.
45 tours EP Philips 432043NE. 1955

12. Edith Piaf. Un monsieur me suit dans la rue (Jean-Paul Le Chanois – Jacques Besse)
Direction d’orchestre Guy Luypaerts.
78 tours Polydor 516 802. 1943

13. Colette Renard. Tais-toi Marseille
(Maurice Vidalin/ Jacques Datin)
Accompagnée par Raymond Legrand et son orchestre.
45 tours EP Vogue EPL 7438. 1958

14. Jean-Jacques Debout. Les boutons dorés
(Maurice Vidalin/Jacques Datin)
Accompagné par Jean Leccia et son orchestre.
45 tours EP Vogue EPL 7602. 1959

15. Georges Moustaki. De Shanghai à Bangkok (Georges Moustaki)
Direction d’orchestre André Livernaux
45 tours EP Ducretet-Thomson 460 V 504. 1961

16. Charles Aznavour. Liberté
(Maurice Vidalin/Charles Aznavour)
Orchestre sous la direction de Jean Leccia.
45 tours EP Ducretet-Thomson 460 V 470. 1960

18. Georges Brassens. Il n’y a pas d’amour heureux (Louis Aragon/Georges Brassens)
Georges Brassens s’accompagne à la guitare
33 tours 25 cm Polydor LP 530025. 1954

17. Le père Noël et la petite fille
(Georges Brassens)
Accompagné par Pierre Nicolas
33 tours 25 cm Philips N76488R. 1960

19. Jacques Brel. Sur la place (Jacques Brel)
Arrangements musicaux d’André Grassi
33 tours 25 cm Philips N76027R. 1954

20. Jacques Brel. Les Flamandes (Jacques Brel)
Avec François Rauber et son orchestre
33 tours 25 cm Philips N76483R. 1959

TITRES BONUS :
21. Yves Montand – Mon pot’ le gitan
(Jacques Verrières / Marc Heyral)
Accompagné par Bob Castella et ses rythmes
78 tours 25 cm Odéon 282966. 1954

22. Jean Sablon. Ah les voyages (Raymond Lévêque)
Orchestre sous la direction de Mario Bua
La Voix de son Maître (7 EGF 442). 1959

23. Fragson. Les amis de Monsieur (Fragson)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre.
Cylindre Pathé n° 3206. 1902

Olivier Julien met en exergue les premiers enregistrements de Barbara qui, avant de devenir « La dame en noire » fut la grande voix des cabarets de la Rive Gauche comme l’Écluse dont elle fit les plus riches heures. Qu’elle interprète les œuvres de Brassens, Brel, Moustaki ou bien ses propres compositions avec humour, gravité et mystère, la sensibilité et la technique vocale de Barbara ont mené la chanson française à son firmament. Elle est devenue avec Piaf, la plus grande dame de la chanson française. 
Patrick FRÉMEAUX

Olivier Julien’s selection highlights the earlier recordings of French singer Barbara, whose voice, before she became known as “The Lady in Black”, was one of the greatest to be heard in such Left Bank cabarets as L’Ecluse. Barbara made this period a Golden Age, singing the works of Brassens, Brel and Moustaki (and indeed her own compositions) with a sense of humour, gravity and mystery. Her artistic sensibility and vocal technique led the art of French Chanson to its peak: the equal of Piaf, Barbara was the greatest lady in French song. 
Patrick FRÉMEAUX

CD Barbara (1955-1961) interprète Brassens, Brel, Moustaki, Barbara..., Barbara © Frémeaux & Associés 2013