Jacques Brel - Still In Paris

[dj]

I'm just going into rehearsal for my company's April production of the musical Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris, which is built around the songs of the great Belgian composer Jacques Brel.

Although Jacques actually passed away in 1978, his music is very much alive. We are creating a whole new set of arrangements for the popular show for our production, bringing it from a very 60s sound (the musical debuted in 1968) into the 21st century.

Brel's songs influenced many musicians in many genres of music, from pop to rock to "art" and we are trying to reflect some of that in our new production.

As an example, here is a piece that shows how Brel was an underlying voice in "progressive rock". My Death has some very Pink Floyd elements, reinforced, I think, by this arrangement.

And, of course, the biggest thing about Brel is the depth of his lyrics, which cut to the core of a song every time.

Do, please look at this in Page mode, as it's very pretty.

David

[dj]

Here's a simpler song, but still with a wonderful lyric.

Fanette is a heartfelt story of lost love.

Very simple accompaniment here, just a few chords on a Rhodes sound and some strings.

[dj]

And another while I'm here.

Still on a "down" note, but on a different topic: moral uncertainty. In the end, we're all Alone.

Many of Brel's songs start small and build large.

I created a very "jagged" piano ostinato, doubled by 12-string guitar at times, which alternates with sharp punctuating chords.

And, in true Brel style, it builds and builds until it collapses on itself.

My singers are fighting over who gets to do this number.

[dj]

One more to show that it's not all doom and gloom.

Jacques Brel, despite being an ugly little spud, was quite successful with the girls, which is why this number is a little strange.

That and the fact that it's in 7/8, with the metre alternating between 3+4 and 4+3. A challenge for the band! I've added a quirky little synth noodle on top to punctuate -- on the Korg MS2000 that's indicated, it's a high-resonance, long decay sound that fades under the voices.

The Girls And The Dogs is sometimes dropped from new productions of the show, but I think it's a great song. Maybe I just had my heart broken too many times as a young man.

[aulos43]

Elegant, straight-forward .not files.

For content, I particularly like "Fannette." The minimal setting adds to the poignancy.

Thanks for introducing me to Jacques Brel.

Walt