How Gauche

The Left Bank are the french quarters located on the left side (or rive gauche) or the river Seine in Paris. It has always been famous for being poorer but more welcoming of creative and artistic talents. Apparently after WWII, there was a resurgence of French music that originated from this area.

Alliance Francaise, a centre designed to promote la francophonie, held a night of cabaret music to celebrate songs from this era. I went to the cabaret with the expectation of perhaps 20-30 people. In fact, probably over 70 people sat cheek to jowl on plastic chairs in a small gallery. Late-comers had to stand in the back or sat on the floor. It didn't feel very much like a lazy, romantic night in Paris.

But our hostess, Sophie Perceval, took us away from Toronto to the Rive Gauche of the 40s. Actually being from there before moving to Toronto, her soft and oh-so-smooth Parisian french painted some beautiful images of this area as the show continued. She even joined in on some ensemble singing throughout the night.

First up was Tom Howell, who was the pianist for the night, as well as switching now and then to a violin or a guitar. He opened the cabaret with A Saint-Germain-Des-Prés (lyrics). He had a slight difficulty wrapping his English tongue around a few French sounds but was otherwise in fine form. His occasionally raspy voice reminded me of a younger Tom Waits. An amusing singer but overall average.

19-year-old Kaili Kinnon made a grand entrance with Mathias (lyrics), very much in full Edith Piaf mode with her deep voice and trills (which I think is an affectation as her songs online do not have the same phrasing.) She is a student of Catherine Robbin at York University in jazz and classical music. Her training was evident as she often sang standing a full foot or more away from the microphone. Perhaps because of her age or sensibility, she typically emoted in a pop-style. She had a major meltdown on her second song, Je chante pour passer le temps, when she forgot the lyrics multiple times. It was a little bit painful to watch but she recovered for the rest of the evening.

In contrast, Geneviève Cholette showed her musical theatre and acting background. Her singing was more theatrical, with pauses, some spoken words, and many expressive movements. She is not as strong as singer as Kaili (relatively-speaking) but inhabited her role more fully. Her first song, Ta Katie t'a quitté (lyrics), was a comedic piece full of tongue twisters and sound play. Apparently, she has a small acting career and a trio of comediennes, Les Chiclettes.

Joining the 3 singers on a few songs was accordionist Tangi Ropars in a suit, fedora, scruffy beard, and pony tail. However, I don't think he was dressed in period wear.

In all, 18 songs were sung, much to the delight of the more white-haired attendees. However, most of the audience were probably under 40. The songs that talked more about the war and the period after didn't have as much resonance with me. Possibly because my auditory understanding of la belle langue is probably only around 80-85%. But there was a stretch of 4 songs, Une petite cantate, Les feuilles mortes, Verre brisé, and L'écharpe that was quite beautiful. The evening ended with the sing-along Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't much Cletus-style quebecois french heard. Most spoke with a french accent (Parisian and elsewhere), some had the relatively cosmopolitan Montreal french, and there was a smattering of utilitarian, but inoffensive, Franco-Ontarian. If I had known that show would have been attended by so many young French women who spoke with that buttery accent, I would have come much earlier before the show, and perhaps tried to remember what I can from my French Immersion classes from oh so long ago.