On this precise day of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Georges Brassens in Sète, the birthplace of the poet welcomes a creation, Brassens is 100 years old, performed on Friday evening, October 22, and Saturday October 23 at the sold-out Molière Theater. In the process, four other dates spread between Montpellier and Narbonne are also full. For this high point of the many festivities organized in Sète since the spring, François Morel will be surrounded by artists who come to express, like him, their passion for Brassens. At his side, the singer Juliette among others, without forgetting the musician and actor Antoine Sahler, “Kingpin” of the project in the words of François Morel with whom he has been working for several years: “He’s wonderful and he made some wonderful arrangements.”
The creation in Sète must be filmed and broadcast on Friday evening on the Roquerols boat, the epicenter of the centenary celebrations in the birthplace of the singer-poet, for people who will not have been able to get seats at the Molière theater. It will also be broadcast live on France Inter.
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Franceinfo Culture: What is your personal story with Georges Brassens and his songs?
Francois Morel: In 1971, I saw Georges Moustaki at the Le Viking cinema in Flers. I am 11 or 12 years old, I accompany my brother and my sister. I’m crazy about Moustaki, I love everything he does and I read all of his interviews. In each of his interviews, he talks about Brassens, he even says that he took his first name in tribute to Brassens, because I believe his name was Joseph [ndlr : Moustaki fut baptisé Giuseppe par ses parents, nommé Youssef à l’État-civil de l’Égypte où il est né, appelé Joseph à l’école française]. From there, I became interested in Brassens, I had his records offered to me on my birthdays … and I love Brassens. His work is so rich that it accompanies the different ages of life. There are things that make me laugh when I’m 12, 13 because he says bad words and I like that a lot. Afterwards, we also feel all the melancholy, the beauty, the depth of the work, and that accompanies me.
Have you seen him in concert?
At 17 I think, I will see him in Bobino, it is the last time he performs there [en 1977, ndlr], I go there on a Sunday afternoon. The day of his death, I am with my friends in rue de Douai, where I live because I have just entered rue Blanche [ndlr : il a intégré la célèbre école de théâtre parisienne située à cette adresse]. At 6 p.m., the newspaper of France Inter begins with the Petition to be buried at the beach of Sète, I immediately understand that Brassens is dead and I cry. This is my story with Brassens, which will continue … I was very sorry to say to myself: “I’ll never see him.” I told myself that maybe one day I could meet him, that man.
In your opinion, with your artistic gaze, what does Georges Brassens represent in French song even today?
For me, it’s a kind of perfection, an ideal marriage between melodies and lyrics. Everything falls exactly as it should, all the time, it is extremely worked songs which accompany me … He is very high in the French song. At Trenet, there is surely something more thrown, more spontaneous, there is a crazy inspiration. Brassens, him, sometimes works for months on the same song, on the right word, it is a perfectionist. And at the same time, it’s extremely popular. I was talking yesterday with young people in their twenties who thought they did not know Brassens, and who finally, immersing themselves in his work, realized that they knew most of the songs.
You are performing on October 22, the exact day of Georges Brassens’ centenary, in his town. How did this project get started ?
It was born about a year ago. I dreamed around, I didn’t want to do it alone, so I wanted to surround myself with people who love Brassens. I immediately thought of Juliette because I had already worked with her on projects around the song. I wanted to tell Brassens about my little report, why I love him and why he is important to me.
So you are going to tell your personal story with the poet.
I wrote two small texts that surround the show, one opening, the other to conclude. And in the meantime, I’ve asked people who love Brassens – Juliette, Judith Chemla … – to sing their favorite songs. For my part, I will sing songs that I love.
On the sites of the Molière theater in Sète and the Domaine d’O in Montellier, the name of Jean-Louis Trintignant is mentioned among the guests of the show … Will he be there?
He won’t be there physically, but we went to record him at his place last Sunday. When I asked myself, a year ago, who was the best poem-teller in France, I immediately thought of Jean-Louis Trintignant. When I told him about it, he was enthusiastic straight away, saying he liked Brassens a lot. He spent the year learning Brassens by heart because he can no longer read the texts. But today he is very fragile and he cannot move. During the show, we will listen to him, we are very happy that he is with us in a way, for this tribute to Georges Brassens.