Daphne, chiaroscuro Barbara – RFI Musique

Classic and air on it Barbara ten flowers of love, singer Daphne takes on the “Lady in Black” repertoire for the second time in ten years. With Gérard Depardieu at his best.

RFI Musique: What was the reason for his reunion?
Laurel: An invitation from Swiss radio RTS to sing Barbara during a special edition at the end of November 2021. I had very strong feelings. And it made me want to go back to his songs.

Songwriters who dedicate two albums to an existing repertoire are rare. Is it an obsession, Barbara?
Going back there can really be like an obsession. It’s just a story of feelings: something so physical, so authentic, that moves me through his words. And then what I’m interested in is passing. separate Nantes and Vienna, most of the songs on the disc are not among the best known. Going back to flipping through his repertoire, I discovered titles I had yet to catch. I wanted that speed of sharing, that communication.

We can even say that since you joined the song, you have covered it every five years Marienbad the album’s all-female cast They and Barbara …
She was first invited by Thierry Lecamp (her former manager) and Bernard Cerf (Barbara’s nephew). The second was the invitation of Edith Fambuena and again Bernard. He knew I loved him Marienbad, a song I performed on stage and haven’t recorded yet. This time, I was actually the one who decided when I was working on my album. Title Ten love flowers from Barbara I came up with the idea of ​​giving gifts to people very quickly in this somewhat anxious and distant period. It is a very spontaneous gesture, even though it coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of his disappearance. I wasn’t bent, and I learned that as the album progressed a lot.

Have you made any new discoveries in his repertoire since then?
Most of the songs on here are, yes. I couldn’t sing Nantes for the first album. Tears often flowed while doing this, it was very difficult. On the contrary, it did not bother me on stage. Since I tamed this title, I really wanted it on this disc. For the rest, I went at my own pace. As a child, I didn’t listen to Barbara at all, and neither did my parents. Not one that lives in my memory. I just heard Black Eagle and Tell me, when will you be back? When Thierry Lecamp asked me to read it ten years ago, I replied that I knew very little because it made me cry so much. I spent a week listening to many of his songs. I told myself that it is too good to refuse.

Wondering about legalities and how to get hold of songs?
I didn’t take it seriously from the first album. There is something very theatrical about Barbara. What I like about it is that we are both in the shadows and in the light. She does not hide anything: sadness, death, laughter, love… Barbara takes on all life and all its aspects. This makes me very happy and reassures me. There are people for whom touching his songs is sacred. I don’t usually see things like that. It is by continuing to interpret the songs of the late artist that the repertoire lives on. I don’t own this report about sacralization or bigotry, because other than that. I don’t see people symbolically. I did a lot of theater before I became a singer, and we deliver works written by geniuses. The same is true of classical music. Then no one would dare to attack with Mozart, Ravel…

Is it a real desire not to spoil the interior of his songs?
It makes no sense to me. Electro Barbara? Anyone is free to make one. I personally don’t feel that way. Lyrics and melodies are already very powerful. There are two discs with strings, pianos and the whole family of these instruments, celesta or very bare stuff that gives it a lot of sweetness and something quite magical.

Why the choice of Thibaud Defever and François Morel, which you comment on respectively Straight line and flowers of the meninges ?
I worked with Thibaud Defever (formerly known as Almost Yes, editor’s note) on two songs from the album I’m making, and I’ve heard some of his songs that I really like. His voice has bossa tinges. Then I met François in 2011 for a project around Maxime Le Forestier. He touched me humanly. I loved our exchanges so much that I said I would sing with him one day if he wanted too.

flowers of the meninges, Straight line, I balance. Is this also a way to celebrate Georges Moustaki, the artist with whom he collaborated on three songs?
His writing as well as his melodic sense. For example, flowers of the meninges, did the music, not the lyrics. Georges Moustaki is someone who marked my path. I found it beautiful and touching because they are love songs and have stories together.

Open the album by title I can not say seems far from a trivial choice. Do you approve?
It was clear that I put it first. I like Étienne Champollion’s presentation a bit like Chopin. First, I tried to start the record with something musical rather than a direct song. Then it’s about everything that’s said on the album or on stage. I couldn’t count the number of times I said “I love you” (laughs). There’s a seduction game in this song, of course, but it’s evolved because she’s a daredevil. Suddenly a flight appears and he pays lip service.

See you in ten years?
A priori, it should not be a new adventure. But I like the unexpected in life. I leave the door open to many things.

Daphne Barbara ten flowers of love (EPM) 2022

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