This month marks the birthday of one of the greatest names French chanson has ever known; Charles, the great Charles, turned ninety on May 22, 2014. Nonante, and still all his teeth!
That's the incredible thing about this phenomenon: he's still with us. Like Johnny Hallyday, Aznavour fascinates with his unflappable longevity, his love of life and the passion that drives him - that famous passion that is stronger than death. But unlike Johnny, his young disciple in his seventies, Charles has maintained his own line throughout his career - both situations are admirable, and it's enough to remember the positive: artistic curiosity and evolution for one, constancy and authenticity for the other.
It was a happy coincidence that the author, composer and performer of La Bohème was born in Paris on May 22, 1924. In fact, his Armenian parents were waiting in France to obtain a visa for the United States. Circumstances, therefore, created an incredible career that has never been equaled. But success isn't just a matter of luck, it's above all the result of a certain talent. And there's a lot to be said for that. The lyrics of his famous I could see myself lose their irony:
«I've never been given a chance
Others have succeeded with few votes and a lot of money
I was too pure or too early
But one day, I'll show them that I'm talented».»
Charles Aznavour's unwavering style is awe-inspiring. From How sad Venice is to Love and the war via Now, The same musical poetry remains: the sublime, the bellissimo, the one that marries Vigny and Tchaikovsky, the one that prolongs Piaf's genius and ennobles Brel's verses; the one that grips the guts and the temples!
The singer's greatest merit is to have made classic French verse popular - «popular» in the sense of «known», «appreciated», «dominant», «widespread» and not «common» or «close to the people», which would wrongly associate Aznavour's style with the repugnant trend towards realism, a taste for the mediocre, for the natural in all its ugliness. Aznavour's songs aspire to the extreme but harmonious opposite: classicism. However, it's a very intelligent classicism, and one with even more class, because it's interested in all human passions, in all situations found in society: a father in distress, a homosexual teenager and a toreador all find their way into the songs of this great humanist.
Twelve- or eight-syllable verses are no longer an obstacle but almost a condition for the success of Aznavour's songs.
Who could fail to be moved when listening to the masterpiece No, I haven't forgotten anything right from the start?
«I never thought we'd meet
Chance is curious, it makes things happen
And destiny, pressed for a moment, pauses».»
Who could remain indifferent to the story of a father whose child has taken an overdose?
My child, my pure air, my blood, my hope
My ferment, my future, my flesh, my survival
You will not perpetuate my name or my race
Everything I've built I've dreamed in vain
I will leave this world without a trace
Your eyes will never open to tomorrow.
(The needle)
In addition to these odes to the diversity of human life, and this récomfort that Charles Aznavour offers many people - such as the wish he sings in Ave Maria: «Light their way and take them by the hand» - a very strong appeal is made to youth. «Yesterday, I was twenty years old / I caressed time and played with life / As one plays with love and I lived at night / Without counting on my days which fled in time / I made so many projects which remained in the air / I founded so many hopes which flew away / That I remain lost, not knowing where to go / The eyes seeking the sky but the heart put in the ground», the singer confesses to us. But if you don't want to waste your youth, you should make the most of it, because..:
Before we smile and leave childhood behind
Before you know it youth flees
It seems so short that we're all surprised
That before we understand we leave existence
This is why His youth emphasizes one point:
When you see
Far ahead
Laugh life away
Embroidered with hope
Rich in joy
And madness
Drink till you're drunk
His youth
Charles Aznavour's world is one of genius, but on a human scale. A friend called him «the last poet of French song». Undoubtedly, and above all, an example to follow!
Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com
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