Les Lunaisiens

ORIGINAL PROJECTS

The ballads of Monsieur Brassens

Brassens in the footsteps of François Villon

If he is a singer who easily crosses the boundaries of time, it is Mr. Brassens, with his extraordinary repertoire on the one hand, consisting of more than 200 songs; and on the other hand his singing art so particular, original, simple and greasy ...

This Mister Brassens is above all a voice! Original voice, voice of the storyteller or the poet who will tell you by singing wonderful stories. There is also this guitar which seems simple accompaniment ... and yet, the proposed harmonies are effective and subtle; so well placed to highlight the powerful words ....

Also, Mr. Brassens is a great singer, in the purest tradition of these ancestors, aedes and minstrels, singers of texts and poems, admirers of Villon, Ronsard, Nerval or Baudelaire who understood that the French language was so beautiful, when it was sung.

When Monsieur Brassens sings, we ask for more Poetry! It is with this great Lady, his muse, that he walks: he walks us!

Rhymes and Alexandrines are the strength of all these beautiful battles that could lead us to a new victory for the French Language ... Language for all, musical and spleenetic language. Because nostalgia strikes our hearts. Not this macabre or reactionary nostalgia which believes that everything was better before! Quite the contrary.

Mr. Brassens, with his ballads, also propels us towards the future, accompanies us towards better days, made of "friends first" and "public benches" where love and friendship take precedence over the rest and particularly on all nonsense, on all artificial paradises.

The ballads of Monsieur Brassens walk with Victor Hugo, Verlaine, Musset, Corneille, Lamartine, Richepin…
They embody an exceptional French language art. The exceptional offered to all, this is what Mr. Brassens wanted in his manifesto of simplicity!

With this "Tour de Chant" around the musical universe of Georges Brassens, La Clique des Lunaisiens, specializing in the Historical Heritage of French Song, takes over an original and recent page of what was the favorite repertoire of French listeners between 1960 and 1980.
Certainly, Georges Brassens remains in the collective memory, like the ideal singer with Ferré and Brel. But what is less known is that it belongs to a vocal tradition, centuries old. These songs with texts, ballads and complaints, melodies and romances come from these troubadour practices where the poet proclaimed in music his literary recreations.

Without going back to the Middle Ages, with the songs of Toile by Jean Renart or the Chansonnier de St Germain des Près from 1250, we can already refer to Pierre Attaignant (around 1527), Adam de Billaut (around 1644), then Philippot the Savoyard (1664)… In the 19th century, Béranger, Pierre Dupont and Gustave Nadaud (set to music twice by Brassens) were the most famous.
In short, Mr. Brassens is the ideal passer of this innumerable, inexhaustible, indomitable encyclopedia that was French song over more than a thousand years. Let us take a stroll around this “Tour de chant” which pays homage to French poetry and one of its most respectful but also the most comical singers.

One last thing ; we have chosen exceptional instruments, fruit of the tradition of the popular singer, to accompany all these melodies. With the flageolet, the viola da gamba and the lute, we recreate a totally acoustic and baroque musical atmosphere to give even more astonishment and wonder to this vocal repertoire which must cross all borders and all prejudices.

Les Lunaisiens

Arnaud Marzorati baritone
Mélanie Flahaut flageolet, flute, bassoon
Étienne Mangot viola da gamba, cello
Éric Bellocq guitar, archiluth

Press

Théâtre & Musique

Arrangées façon Renaissance, les pièces jouent la fausse piste et la surprise, au point de soumettre le Chansonnier de Chardavoine, fin du XVIe, à la pompe rythmique du malicieux moustache. Rien ne manque, pas même la paillardise, et l'interprétation impeccable finira par convaincre les plus difficiles.

L'Alsace, Novembre 2018

Entouré des Lunaisiens et forçant « les portes du temps », Arnaud Marzorati apporte une teinte moyenâgeuse au répertoire de Maître Georges. Les textes résonnent comme autant de saynètes médiévalisées démontrant qu’une bonne chanson traverse les âges quel que soit le sens. Ainsi, écouter Brassens comme au temps des trouvères est une savoureuse redécouverte.

Le Figaro et vous, Novembre 2018

Avec les ballades Mr Brassens, Les Lunaisiens relient l’art du célèbre chansonnier à celui des ménestrels. Jouissif!

Emmanuelle Pesqué, Le Forum, Novembre 2018

En une construction rigoureuse où les thèmes se répondent et s'entrecroisent, et dans laquelle les affects sont tout de ruptures et de goguenardise, ces chansons aux oripeaux variés ont été rajustées de bien plaisante manière. Certes, Ronsard et Piron retrouvent Béranger et Hugo, Vadé garde l'oeil sur Villon, et Rousseau, du haut de sa postérité, fait la nique à des anonymes méritant d'y passer. Cela aurait py suffire à notre bonheur, cependant ces textes savoureux se dégustent avec d'autant plus de gourmandise qu'ils sont enchâssés dans un univers ondoyant de nuances enlevées, tissé par de biens éloquents Lunaisiens et façonné par un Protée coruscant et âpre, un Arnaud Marzorati à la diction époustouflante.
En joignant en apothéose l'auteur de La Ballade par laquelle Villon crye mercy à chascun et le Moyenâgeux Brassens, Les Lunaisiens attestent avec panache et talent que les racines de l'art du Sétois moustachu participent de l'éternelle reverdie des refrains humains. En une bigarrée et superbe démonstration.

Discography

The Ballads of Monsieur Brassens

Arnaud Marzorati baritone, musical director
Mélanie Flahaut bassoon, flutes
Étienne Mangot viola da gamba
Éric Bellocq theorbe

Muso, 2018

If there is one singer who easily crosses the boundaries of time, it is Georges Brassens, with his extraordinary repertoire of more than 200 songs on the one hand, and his singular singing art on the other, original, simple and greasy.

Brassens is above all a voice: original voice, voice of the storyteller or the poet who tells by singing wonderful stories. There is also this guitar which seems simple accompanist. And yet, the proposed harmonies are efficient and subtle, wonderfully placed to highlight the power of words.

But Brassens is above all this great singer, a faithful descendant of a centuries-old tradition: aedes and minstrels, singers of texts and poetry, admirers of Villon, Ronsard, Hugo, Nerval, Béranger, Vadé or Rousseau who understood that the French language was so beautiful when it was sung. These songs with texts, ballads and complaints, melodies and romances come from these troubadour practices where the poet proclaimed in music his literary recreations, and Mr. Brassens is the ferryman of this inexhaustible encyclopedia that was French song over more than a thousand years.

With this "singing tour" around the musical universe of Georges Brassens, Arnaud Marzorati and Les Lunaisiens, specializing in the historical heritage of French song, invest an original and recent page of what was the favorite repertoire of the French between 1960 and 1980. If Brassens is the common thread of this program, Arnaud Marzorati also walks on almost five centuries of songs to offer an original and colorful program. The choice of exceptional instruments to accompany the voice - flageolet, bassoon, viola da gamba and archiluth - recreates a completely acoustic and baroque musical atmosphere to give even more amazement and wonder to this extraordinary vocal repertoire.

Videos

The Ballads of Monsieur Brassens - Teaser

Arnaud Marzorati, dir. artistic, baritone
Mélanie Flahaut, flutes, bassoon, flageolet
Éric Bellocq, theorbo, guitars
Étienne Mangot, viola da gamba, cello

Muso label