Léo Ferré

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Léo Ferré (born August 24, 1916 in Monaco , † July 14, 1993 in Castellina in Chianti , Italy ) was a French poet, composer, singer and anarchist . Ferré is considered one of the most important chansonniers of the 20th century.

Life

Léo Ferré's father worked as a personnel manager at the Princely Spa Administration of Monaco, his mother was of Italian origin. As both parents were very religious, he spent his early childhood in the monastic boarding school in Bordighera , Italy. For the boy, who was already quite free-thinking at the time, this was a disaster. Contrary to the ideas of his parents' house, where they would have liked to see him in a good position in the administration, Ferré became a musician. He lived with his first wife in a small village near Monaco and ran a small property. Self-taught he continued his musical education and received theoretical lessons in composition from Leonid Sabaniev, an impoverished Russian emigrant who had studied with Alexander Scriabin in his youth . Payment was made in kind.

In the spring of 1946 Ferré went to Paris. After various appearances in smaller bars, he was able to record his first successes as a writer, as many singers interpreted his chansons. This was followed by the separation from his wife and the wedding to Madeleine, a young woman who brought a daughter into the marriage. A chance meeting with Prince Rainier of Monaco in Paris turned out to be a turning point in his life.

The invitation to Monte Carlo followed , where he orchestrated the Chanson du mal aimé by Apollinaire and performed it himself.

Square Léo Ferré ( Livry-Gargan )

Back in Paris, he was able to make recordings for the first time. However, commercial success failed to materialize. In the early 1960s he succeeded with major appearances at Olympia , the Mecca of chanson, together with his friend and technician Maurice Frot and the blind Paul Castanier at the piano. For fifteen years the three friends and colleagues were inseparable. In 1973 they parted ways. Only shortly before his death, Ferré met again with Maurice Frot. "Popaul" Castanier died in 1991 at the age of 56.

Ferré, who many believe to be the French poet of the 20th century, has left an extensive body of work. It includes compositions and performances with the Milan Symphony Orchestra, his settings by Rutebeuf , the French counterpart to Walther von der Vogelweide , and by François Villon , the street poet of the late Middle Ages .

Discography

  • 1953: Paris canaille
  • 1954: Chansons de Léo Ferré
  • 1954: Le Piano du pauvre
  • 1955: Le Guinche
  • 1955: Récital Léo Ferré à l'Olympia (live)
  • 1957: Les Fleurs you times
  • 1957: La Chanson du mal-aimé
  • 1958: Léo Ferré à Bobino (live)
  • 1958: Encore du Léo Ferré
  • 1960: Paname
  • 1961: Les Chansons d'Aragon
  • 1961: Les chansons interdites… et autres
  • 1961: Récital à l'Alhambra (live)
  • 1962: La Langue française
  • 1964: Ferré 64
  • 1964: Verlaine et Rimbaud chantés by Léo Ferré
  • 1966: Léo Ferré 1916–19 ...
  • 1967: Cette chanson (la Marseillaise)
  • 1967: Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire
  • 1969: L'Été 68
  • 1969: Récital à Bobino, 1969 (live)
  • 1969: Les Douze Premières Chansons de Léo Ferré
  • 1970: Amour anarchy
  • 1971: La Solitude
  • 1972: La Chanson du Mal-Aimé, de Guillaume Apollinaire
  • 1972: La Solitudine
  • 1973: Il n'y a plus rien
  • 1973: Seul en scène (Olympia 72, live)
  • 1973: Et ... that's that!
  • 1974: L'Espoir
  • 1975: Ferré must conduct ...
  • 1976: Je te donne
  • 1977: La musica mi prende come l'Amore
  • 1977: La Frime
  • 1979: Il est six heures ici et midi à New York
  • 1980: La Violence et l'Ennui
  • 1982: L'Imaginaire
  • 1983: L'Opéra du pauvre
  • 1984: Léo Ferré au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (live)
  • 1985: Les Loubards
  • 1986: On n'est pas sérieux quand on a dix-sept ans
  • 1988: Léo Ferré en public au TLP Déjazet (live)
  • 1990: Les Vieux Copains
  • 1991: Une Saison en enfer

Official publications after Ferré's death

  • 1993: Alors, Léo ... (TLP Déjazet 90, live)
  • 1998: La Vie d'artiste: les années Le Chant du Monde 1947–1953
  • 2000: Métamec
  • 2000: Le Temps des roses rouges
  • 2001: Sur la scène (Lausanne 73, live)
  • 2001: Un chien à Montreux (Montreux 73, CD maxi, live)
  • 2004: De sac et de cordes
  • 2004: Maudits soient-ils!
  • 2006: La Mauvaise Graine
  • 2008: Les Fleurs du mal, suite et fin

Compilations

  • 1972: Avec le temps: les chansons d'amour de Léo Ferré (1962–72, a CD)
  • 1990: Léo chante Ferré (1960–74, two CDs)
  • 1998: Thank you Ferré (1960–74, three CDs)
  • 2003: Les Années toscanes (1975-92, a CD)
  • 2010: Trois poètes - Brel Brassens Ferré (1960–74, one of three CDs)
  • 2013: Best of Léo Ferré (two boxes with two or five CDs)

literature

  • Michaela Weiß: The authentic three-minute work of art. Léo Ferré and Jacques Brel - Chanson between poetry and commitment. Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-8253-1448-0 , 325 pp.

Web links

Commons : Léo Ferré  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Ferré, Léo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French musician and anarchist
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Monaco
DATE OF DEATH July 14, 1993
Place of death Castellina in Chianti , Italy