Sunday will be Sylvain Lelièvre’s day. The late, very late Sylvain Lelièvre, who died in the sky (literally, on board a plane) twenty years ago. At the Salle Jean-Duceppe at Place des Arts, there will first be a small ceremony, quite simply but not without a certain solemnity, because the thing is important: Daniel Lavoie will induct Sylvain Lelièvre into the Pantheon of authors and Canadian composers, as were Beau Dommage, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and a few other notable artists. A show will follow, where Joe Bocan, Daniel Boucher, Stéphane Archambault, Florence K, Pierre Verville, Roberto Medile and Danielle Oderra — under the musical direction of Jean-Fernand Girard — will sing Sylvain Lelièvre. From a repertoire of a few hundred songs of the highest quality of poetic and musical craftsmanship, most of them however little known, not to say forgotten.
Forgotten? Name ten, here. That can ? We are not that many. Why ? “I often ask myself this question,” says Joe Bocan. Why is this masterpiece not better known? The singer, who designed the show in addition to directing it, thinks that Sylvain Lelièvre “wasn’t too showbiz, rather discreet. To his own detriment? “We never put him alongside Vigneault, Leclerc, and yet. Even Vigneault says he was his alter ego. »
Passion without tricks
The oblivion of the man, if we have not rubbed shoulders with him a little, is almost explained. For having met him in his basement in Anjou, for having conversed, discussed, caused tireless song with him, I know that one can only have in mind a smile of extreme tenderness, laughing eyes, hands on the piano. We remember much more to have been listened to by him, to have benefited from his teaching, than to have seen and heard him in full glory. Glory, what for? “He was not aiming for success even if he hoped for it all the same a little”, nuances Joe Bocan. Sylvain Lelièvre could certainly be jazzy cool on stage, but he wasn’t looking for the limelight or the spotlight. “During the few meetings we had, recalls Pierre Verville, we always talked about our passion for Bill Evans. That and, of course, Brazilian music. The mere fact of talking about it transported him with joy… His happiness was so contagious! »
At Sylvain and Monique Lelièvre’s, on the walls of the basement—his place of work—there was nothing. No “useless things” as in his song which so affectionately inventories the objects that surround us and that speak of us. No poster frames or scrolls of honor that he took care of himself. Nothing. Nothing but the piano, recording equipment (the minimum), scores being worked on. In the adjacent office, filing cabinets. Scores for all instruments in all attempted versions, contracts. Nothing but useful. Sylvain Lelièvre had nothing to do with the container, he was contained. Matter. Words, rhymes, notes, melodies, arrangements.
“Félix Leclerc also had a fairly sober work environment,” notes Martin Leclerc, producer of the show. “Music was his refuge. He didn’t need any tricks. For the very active Martin, Sylvain Lelièvre’s repertoire would benefit from “constant work as an editor, from enhancement of the recorded heritage”. Provided that we collaborate in all sectors, including radio, he says. “Keeping the flame burning on a craftsman like Sylvain is a very different job from what you would do for a performer. In the lists of “immortelles” from our area published by the media, usually around Saint John’s Day, sometimes we neglect Marie-Helenethat is to say…
Immortals waiting, somewhere in limbo. You friend, Early morning, Letter from Toronto, Limoilou, Coming into the world, Lower town, Old Orchard, The undertaker behind the scenes, The best job, Moman is there, Funny country : not chart-topping hits, rather what used to be called “album songs”, all worth hearing, re-reading, perpetuating. There is good The free singer (the complete text, Typo, 2008), there is the collective work You friend. A hundred looks at Sylvain Lelièvre (L’instant meme, 2013), there is the great radio series by Élizabeth Gagnon (Espace musique, Radio-Canada), but it feeds the converts above all. This show is in this an attempt to open up.
Songs must live. And these songs demand excellence in everything. Sylvain Lelièvre took care of it. “He was picky about the interpretation of his pieces, because each arrangement, each written line was skilfully orchestrated, we had to respect his writing in its entirety”, relates Jean-Fernand Girard, who accompanied him. Pleasure was not without rigor, and bonds were woven from a job well done. That’s the way of Sylvain Lelièvre. “And it sings well! exclaims Joe Bocan. “The words ring out, the tonic accents. Everything is perfect ! To all the performers who don’t already know: it’s there. And it’s just waiting for you.