High point of the year Brassens in Sète, the date of October 22, marking the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the endearing troubadour, was marked by the creation of the show Brassens is 100 years old by François Morel, at the Molière theater. Twenty songs, twenty magnificent texts – sometimes only recited – in different and always correct voices, those of François Morel, Juliette, Judith Chemla, Lucrèce Sassella (also on keyboards, ukulele, percussions …), Thibaud Devefer ( also on guitar), Amos Mâh (also on cello …) and the essential Antoine Sahler, arranger brilliantly inspired by this revisited repertoire (also on piano, accordion, trumpet, gazou. ..). Without forgetting Jean-Louis Trintignant, absent on stage but present by his recorded voice, the time of a recited text, in a suspended moment.
François Morel had announced “two little texts” by presenting his show and his passion for Georges Brassens to franceinfo Culture, one opening the concert, the other ending. The actor, singer and comedian will keep his word, but he will also slip a hilarious sequence during the show …
The tribute opens with two youthful faces, two boys standing in front of the lowered curtain, Elie and Oscar, one wearing a false mustache, the two respectively equipped with a guitar and a dummy double bass, wink of course to Georges Brassens and his faithful guide Pierre Nicolas. “It always starts like that, a guitar and a double bass”, said François Morel in a voiceover, explaining his original desire to “bring down the clichés on his Brassens”, celebrate the Brassens “on which it was built”, and point out the minimalism of the character of“bear” that the poet invented for himself, at the antipodes of emphasis and pomp. No offense to the shy poet, Morel emerges from behind the curtain (which will rise after this sequence) with a birthday cake. We are not 100 years old every day.
When it comes to Brassens, François Morel and Antoine Sahler are no more willing to betray the spirit than the letter, except for a few skilfully distilled shine. An immense respect, palpable, at the height of their admiration for the departed poet, guided their choices when writing the show. Morel begins the song tour with the iconic Auvergne, reciting the text, then singing.
On the orchestration side, Antoine Sahler has opted for sober and delicate arrangements, sometimes very refined, flirting with folk, sometimes jazz, posing new lights, new colors, on songs that we thought we had made the rounds. On the singing side, all the protagonists get their hands dirty, sometimes solo, sometimes in duet, even with four male voices for The Four Bachelors, or all together, sharing the words on a formidable Lamentation of the maidens of joy.
The singer Juliette, who we would like to see more often on television, imposes with her deep and powerful voice, not to mention her humor to spare. Dressed in black leather, except for touches of purple (her scarf and two-tone shoes), she comes on stage during the song Uncle Archibald started by François Morel. For her part, Judith Chemla, actress endowed with a very pretty voice, interprets several titles with a sensitivity on edge, among which The No Marriage Proposal and Penelope. As for François Morel, we feel him particularly moved on certain songs interpreted solo, in particular The Wedding March.
The evening is punctuated by humorous winks to the international aura – rather unknown – of Georges Brassens. An excerpt from an interview in which the poet affirms that he is not passionate about travel comes back as a common thread, followed by excerpts from Lovers of public benches in different languages, sung with phlegm by Lucrèce Sassella. If Brassens did not like to move too much, his songs have traveled for him.
Among the highlights of the show, we retain this striking version, between rap and rock, of Hecatomb, by Juliette. The singer likes to recall that several decades before the rappers vilified for their anti-police remarks, Georges Brassens was already writing very controversial songs about the gendarmes … And what about François Morel’s hilarious monologue, 7 minutes 18 seconds long, the precise time of the duration of the Petition to be buried at the beach of Sète…
After a long standing ovation, at the time of the recall, François Morel launched a small ironic tackle to a famous musical columnist who, a few years earlier, had epilogated on the “massacre” in good standing Friends first by all kinds of collective meetings of amateur singers … And the comedian to launch a giant karaoke on this ultimate Brassens classic, with the lyrics projected in real time on the giant screen at the back of the stage. The public is not sulking its pleasure. Triumph.
In the room, we could recognize Jean Castex, native of Occitanie like Brassens. At the end of the day, the Prime Minister, surrounded by officials and photographers, appeared in the tranquility of the Paul Valéry museum, on the heights of Sète, where an exhibition of works by Robert Combas is held around Brassens and his hometown.
On the public side, we leave the theater with the feeling of having attended a privileged moment … and the irrepressible desire to immerse ourselves in the unthinkable marvels of sensitivity and humanity that are the songs of Georges Brassens.
After a second date in Sète on Saturday 23 October, the show Brassens is 100 years old must be presented in Montpellier, then Narbonne, sold out. The evening of Sète on Friday will be broadcast on France Inter in a few days. We would like to see it programmed in other cities.