Jacques Brel

Belgian cabaret and pop vocalist, songwriter, and film-score composer

• Born: April 8, 1929
• Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
• Died: October 9, 1978
• Place of death: Bobigny, France

A major figure in the French chanson tradition of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Brel wrote and performed songs that were musically rich and varied and were noted for their masterful and expressive lyrics.

The Life

Jacques Romain Georges Brel (jahk brehl) was born to Romain and Élisabeth Brel. Although at first Brel worked in his father’s cardboard factory, he displayed little interest in continuing in that line of work, focusing instead on culture. He began acting and singing after joining the Franche Cordée, a Catholic humanist youth organization. It was there that he met his wife, Thérèse Michielsen, whom he married in 1950.

In 1953 Brel quit his job in Belgium and moved to Paris to pursue a singing career. He performed in the city’s cabarets and music halls, and he wrote music. By the late 1950’s Brel was being recognized in France and beyond, thanks to his albums and to his performance schedule of nearly three hundred shows a year. With the assistance of his friend Georges Pasquier and pianists Gérard Jouannest and François Rauber, Brel found his songs attaining new depth as he explored the grim sides of life, love, death, and society.

Inspired by a visit to Broadway during a trip to the United States in 1967, Brel translated L’Homme de le Mancha (Man of La Mancha) into French, and he directed and starred in the musical in France. In the late 1960’s Brel appeared frequently as an actor and director in films such as L’emmerdeur and Mon oncle Benjamin. In 1974 Brel embarked on a cruise around the world, and upon reaching the Canary Islands, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. After spending his final years in Paris and the Marquesas Islands, Brel died in 1978. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in the Marquesas Islands.

The Music

Along with Georges Brassens, Brel stands as one of the most significant composers of French popular chanson. Brel’s chanson is varied and innovative, responding sensitively to the mood and meaning of the text, with recitativelike vocal lines that favor declamation over melody. Brel’s initial performances in the 1950’s consisted solely of voice and guitar; later, in collaboration with his arranger, pianist Rauber, his songs used extensive orchestral accompaniments, often featuring the skills of pianist Jouannest.

“Ne me quitte pas.” Although Brel composed nearly forty songs before 1959, his Parisian experiences led to more complex and diverse themes. “Ne me quitte pas” (1959) is among the most well-known of Brel’s songs. Inspired by an ill-fated affair with fellow singer Suzanne Gabriello, “Ne me quitte pas,” typically accompanied by piano, strings, and flute, is characterized by gradually descending vocal lines of minimal breadth in a recitative style.

“Les Bourgeois.” Brel’s songs were also notable for their social criticisms. The lyrics of “Les Bourgeois” (1962) comment on society, quite a different theme from Brel’s somber love ballads. While not as penetrating or caustic as Brel’s other songs dealing with society (“Les Singes,” 1961, and “Jaures,” 1977), “Les Bourgeois” is a gently mocking piece set in a waltzlike triple meter with an abundance of dotted rhythms. Accordion, harpsichord, percussion, and brass instruments showcase Brel’s increasing forays into larger and more colorful accompaniments. A substantial number of Brel’s songs portray either people (“Mathilde,” 1964; “Les Flamandes,” 1959) or places (“Le Plat Pays,” 1962; “Bruxelles,” 1962).

“Amsterdam.” One of the most notable aspects of Brel’s craftsmanship was his ability to create striking verbal portraits. He did not shy away from depicting the unsavory side of society; alcoholics, drifters, drug addicts, and prostitutes are given insightful and compassionate portraits in “Jef” (1964), “La Chanson de Jacky” (1965), and “Amsterdam” (1964). “Amsterdam,” which he recorded multiple times with a full orchestral arrangement, displays Brel at his most caustic, with the harsh criticism of society implicit in the song’s text mirrored by an ever-rising and frenzied vocal line and accompaniment.

“Jojo.” The late 1960’s and 1970’s saw a decrease in Brel’s chanson output as he focused instead on musical theater and his growing film career. The songs of Brel’s final years are intensely personal and reflective (“Avec élégance,” 1977, and “L’Amour est mort,” 1977), and the primary example of this is “Jojo” (1977). In 1974, shortly after embarking on his trip around the world, Brel received word that his friend Pasquier (“Jojo”) had passed away. With only guitar for accompaniment, “Jojo” shows Brel at his most intimate as he reflects on the significance of his friendship with Pasquier and Brel’s own impending death.

Musical Legacy

Although Brel’s music is not widely known outside of French-speaking countries, it has had a remarkable influence on artists and performers worldwide. In the English-speaking world, despite the difference in genres, he is often seen as a forebear of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, whose lyrics, similarly, delved into personal, sometimes dark, subjects with unflinching seriousness.

English translations of Brel’s songs have been recorded by artists worldwide, including David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, and Shirley Bassey. “Ne me quitte pas” has been translated into numerous languages (Marlene Dietrich’s “Bitte geh nicht fort” and Rod McKuen’s “If You Go Away” are two of the most well known) and recorded in the original French by artists ranging from Nina Simone to Sting.

In 1968 the Off-Broadway musical Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris was introduced to the American public with great success. Although some criticized the English translations of Brel’s lyrics, the musical brought Brel’s brand of energetic, introspective, romantic, touching, hopeful, and humorous songs to a wide audience.

Principal Works

film scores:Un Roi sans divertissement, 1963; La Bande à bonnot, 1969; Mon oncle Benjamin, 1969; Le Bar de la Fourche, 1972; L’Emmerdeur, 1973.

Principal Recordings

albums:Jacques Brel et ses chansons, 1955; Jacques Brel Vol. 2, 1957; Jacques Brel Vol. 3, 1958; American Début, 1959; Jacques Brel Vol. 4, 1959; Jacques Brel (1962), 1962; Jacques Brel accompagne pas François Rauber et son orchestra, 1963; Jacques Brel Vol. 5, 1964; Jacques Brel Vol. 6, 1964; JacquesBrel, 1965; Encore, 1966; Jacques Brel, 1966; J’arrive, 1968; Jacques Brel, 1968; Brel, 1977; Infiniment, 2004.

Bibliography

Blau, Eric. Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1971. A narrative of the creation of the Off-Broadway musical, with biographical details about Brel and the French lyrics and corresponding English translations of songs used in the musical.

Clayson, Alan. Jacques Brel: The Biography. London: Sanctuary Publishing, 1996. A brief biography of Brel’s career, one of the few resources in English.

Tinker, Chris. Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel: Personal and Social Narratives in Post-war Chanson. London: Liverpool University Press, 2005. An interesting study that examines the mix of personal and social personas developed in the songs of Brassens and Brel.