Monday 17 November 2008

Feuilles Mortes

Fallen leaves make great arty shots, don't they?

Here (below) the London Planes were making a collage a few years ago on the road outside the V&A (which if you are ever in London, is always worth a visit, with delightful treasures too numerous to mention – it even holds a painting by John Petit).



Here in Preuilly, our own autumn leaves this year were just as stylish, with maple leaves on the grass by the plan d'eau (taken about 6 weeks ago).


Susan






This is Juliette Greco. Not a name I am familiar with, but it's interesting to hear the verse sung.

Simon

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

At the risk of being thought gallant, Susan, I would say that you might be too young to be familiar with the name Juliette Greco.
I am not sure how much Australians would have been connected with the wider european music scene way back. When I was at university, my wife, who read French, commandeered my record player and it spent a lot of time playing French singers such Brassens, Francoise Hardy, and Juliette Greco.
John

Simon said...

John

At the risk of being ungallant :¬)

When I told Susan I didn't know the name she said "surely not". Ask me about 70's rock and I'm a bit of an expert. Chanson, though, is a completely new thing to me, and I often struggle with it.

All those serious words and so few tunes!

Simon

Susan said...

John – I was quite surprised that Simon had never heard of JG. It's most unusual for me to know something music related that he doesn't and usually it is quite the other way around. I did think it was very clever of him to remember this song though (which is called Autumn Leaves in English and is a jazz standard, so he knew the song) and to find such a beautiful version of it.

Anonymous said...

The verse is by Jacques Prévert and the music by Joseph Kosma.

Simon said...

CHM
I had to look that up! I have played this song so many times - it's amazing how many people choose imappropriate music for their weddings - but had never heard the verse until I found this performance.

Most versions are two goes through the chorus in English, then one in French. That was the song as translated by Johnny Mercer. (I knew that without having to look it up, so one point claimed back for the blue team!)


Simon

(today's word verification is almost insulting: inespert)

Anonymous said...

This is Serge Gainsbourg singing about "the song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0pGGLbn_SM&feature=related

Claude ( from Blogging in Paris) talked about cette chanson last year and that's how I came to know about the Gainsbourg's song.

Yves Montand does a good rendition of "Feuilles Mortes"

Ken Broadhurst said...

Gréco is now 81 years old. She was quite a star back in the 1950s in St-Germain-des-Prés, praised by Sartre and others. She is still singing and we see her on television fairly regularly.

Susan said...

Ken – yes, I gathered from her Wiki entry that she was still alive and occasionally still performing. Amazing!

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