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October 1, 2018 Monday
Charles Aznavour, the unmistakable voice of nostalgia
Singer Charles Aznavour , who passed away at dawn on Monday at the age
of 94 , rose to world fame despite an atypical voice and physique that
did not prevent him from devoting himself with his nostalgic melodies
as the last giant of the 20th century French song .
They told him that he was too ugly, too short and that he could not
sing. But this 165-centimeter giant nicknamed "Aznovoice" by his
critics - in a word game in English for "has no voice", has no voice -
sold more than 180 million records in eight decades of a marathon race
that never abandonment.
The French Frank Sinatra of Armenian origin boasted of having recorded
in the heavy discs of 78 revolutions up to the CDs, going through the
LP of vinyl, which immortalized more than 800 songs composed by
himself, including some 70 in Spanish.
"If something of me or my work should last, my albums will be broad
enough," Aznavour wrote in his autobiographical book "From one door to
the other," published in 2011.
From "La Bohême" to "Que c'est triste Venise" ("Venice without you",
in Spanish), his recitals throughout the world continued to summon
thousands of unconditional fans who applauded his great melodic
successes over love or the passage of weather.
Like that of Charles Trenet (1913-2001), the popularity of Aznavour
transcended ages and social classes , although without actually
entering the literary firmament of singer-songwriters like George
Brassens, Leo Ferré or Jacques Brel.
But Aznavour was first and foremost the ambassador of the French song
in the world , and in that role he agreed to sing in any language:
Spanish, Italian, German, English, Russian ... He sang for popes,
kings or presidents.
In 1998, CNN and Time magazine crowned him "artist of the century".
When age began to set limits, Aznavour did not take notice. He used a
high stool on the stage and backed up his memory with an electronic
pointer.
Shortly before his death, he had been on tour in Japan and planned to
perform this month in Brussels.
UNDER THE WING OF EDITH PIAF Born on May 22, 1924 in Paris to a family
of Armenian immigrants who fled Turkish persecution , Aznavour resided
for many years in Geneva, where he found a tax shelter and became an
ambassador of Armenia, a country he also represented at the European
headquarters. from the ONU.
At the birth of the midwife, the legend could not pronounce the name
his parents wanted him to give - Shahnourh - and immediately converted
him to a more French Charles.
"Paris is the city of my childhood, Yerevan the one of my roots" ,
assured Aznavour, who always proudly claimed his Armenian roots that
flavored with a touch of melancholy to the most joyful of his songs.
His childhood was immersed in the bohemian of musicians and actors in
Paris. At age 9, he practiced alone in front of a mirror and decided
to change the paternal surname Aznavourian to the patronymicartistic
Aznavour.
The fortune was late and he smiled for the first time in 1946 when he
caught the attention of the singer Edith Piaf, who together with the
pianist Pierre Roche embarked the following year on a tour of the
United States .
In the 1950s he wrote songs for Gilbert Bécaud , but along with the
success came the first criticisms. "What were my disadvantages? My
voice, my stature, my gestures, my lack of culture and instruction " ,
admitted the singer.
But Aznavour persisted in his determination, stronger than that "veil
of fog" that covered the timbre of his voice. And that finally ended
up being his unmistakable stamp and one of the keys to success.
ON THE BIG SCREENWorld glory came in the 1960s , with some of its
greatest hits: "Les comédiens" , "Hier encore" , "Il faut savoir" ...
At that time it stormed the Carnegie Hall in New York, before a world
tour that catapulted him to fame with songs like "La Mamma" , which
other greats on stage such as Ray Charles , Liza Minnelli or Fred
Astaire.
Aznavour also appeared on the big screen , in "Disparen al pianista"
by François Truffaut, and then in "And then there were none" (1974),
inspired by the Agatha Christie novel "Diez negritos".
In the following decade, he delved into more novel and sensitive
topics for the time, such as that of homosexuality in "Comme ils
disent" (1972).
In 1998 he led humanitarian efforts to help the hundreds of thousands
of victims of the earthquake that devastated Armenia , and for years
he campaigned for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the
Turks.