Mireille Mathieu cante Paul Mauriat

Limited Edition! Published only in Russia. Below is our English translation of the text from the booklet that comes with this CD. The translation is courtesy of Rarecds.us. Russian warm welcome is known To strangers from foreign lands. One dear guest feels here at home; She's known as A Song From France. This quotation from a popular song performed by Mark Bernes in the 60's is a great epigraph to the melodies on the disk that you are holding in your hands. Its tracks contain not simply the creation of two popular performers but truly two epochs of the French musical culture of the second half the 20th century -- Mireille Mathieu and Paul Mauriat. She was a Mademoiselle from Avinion -- the capital of the south French province Provans -- a comfortable medieval city, surrounded by the meadows of ruby-colored May poppies, by the astringent smell of lavender, and by the golden vineyards. The life of Mireille, girl from a large and friendly family, to a large degree is akin to the fairy tale about Cinderella. He was a native of the French Mediterranean, born to the middle class Marseille family of a post office clerk. His parents recall that at the earliest age Paul showed an unusually strong interest for music. Already at the age of three, he happened to approach an old fortepiano that stood in his parents' house and strummed a simple motive with the fingers of one hand, which astonished his relatives. It is possible that despite the age difference, the encounter of these two talented people was predetermined by fate to take place at the moment when Paul had already became a well-known musician and has achieved fame for this its original arrangements, and Mireille had just barely approached the beginning of her creative career. Mireille Mathieu's decisive victory at an amature singers TV competition in November, 1965, has attracted the attention of one of the best "celebrity makers" of the time, the famous Johnny Stark. As an experienced manager, he almost immediately saw the natural gift and the spark of Mireille's talent, which was supposed to develop and shine as a world mega star. (Looking back many years, we can say that that is exactly what happened. The fame of Mireille Mathieu's talent had crossed the boarders of France and Europe and had won over the hearts of millions people of Canada, USA, France, China, Russia, Australian, Japan, the simple people as well as presidents and monarchs alike.) A true star's road to Olympus is harsh, far, and long. Very experienced Johnny Stark understood that along with the painstaking practice, there was a great need for an original repertoire that would be liked and remembered by the audiences. (Before that, Mireille, just like probably hundreds of other French women singers, was performing the songs of the great Edite Piaf, acting as an impressive, but, alas, still just an imitation of the original.) While pondering this problem, Stark has decided that the key to Mireille's success was cooperation with Paul Mauriat, a composer. Stark's talent as a producer has certainly caught onto something in Mauriat's compositions and arrangements that would be ideal for both the voice and personality of Mireille Mathieu. According to his own recollection, Paul Mauriat was not extremely happy about Stark's suggestion. He watched Mireille Mathieu's contest performance on TV, but treated her victory with no particular enthusiasm, if not "with indifference". "Johnny Stark's secretary had kept calling me throughout December, 1965, and kept making me offers of cooperation." The composer recalled, "But I was just as persistent in rejecting their offers". To make Stark give up on his idea, however, was very difficult. On his insistence, Bruno Coquatrix, the owner of "Olympia", had invited Mireille to perform in a Christmas concert of the famous Sacha Distel. Paul Mauriat, who came along with his wife Irene, had attended one of these concerts and became completely charmed by the young singer. In fact, her impression on him was so great that literally the next day he conceived a theme for the song that became Mireille Mathieu's artistic passport, her credo, for the rest of her life. The song, by the way, was named just that -- "My Credo" ("Mon credo"). Starting with this moment, Mireille Mathieu and Paul Mauriat began their cooperation. Mireille began spending long hours with the music and voice teachers, while Paul, obsessed by the desire to compose an original repertoire for her, had began meeting with the poets and rehashing various poems. According to Paul's recollection, the two were working virtually around the clock. Meanwhile, the composer had declined the opportunities to work with many other singers. Soon, the joint work had borne fruits -- Mireille's first LP, "My Credo" got published, Paul Mauriat wrote new songs, filled with the unusual lyricism: "Alone in the World" ("Seuls au monde"), "The First Star" ("La premiere etoile"),"The Children of Christmas" ("Les enfants de Noel"). In less than a year, in September of 1966, a very important event took place in the life of Mireille Mathieu -- the solo concerts in the famous "Olympia", which lasted for thee weeks. The musical director of the program was none other than Paul Mauriat. As these performances became a triumph, the young Mireille received telegrams from the most prominent stars: Salvatore Adamo, Dalida, Petula Clark, and Franck Sinatra. The fairy tail success continued, as Mireille Mathieu and Paul Mauriat's orchestra crossed Atlantic to conquer the audiences in the United States. Those performances also enjoyed a tremendous success, and Mireille received the blessings of Maurice Chevalier himself. The meeting of the famous Maurice Chevalier with the young French singer was planned to take only fifteen minutes. Charmed by the easygoingness, pleasantness, and, of course, Mireille's voice, however, Chevalier spends several hours with her. In June, 1967, there was a new event -- the director of "Olympia", Bruno Coquatrix, was organizing a performance of the Fresh music hall in the Soviet Union. The artists selected for the performance included Gerard Majax, an illusionist, Michel Delpech, a singer, 18 dancers, 35 musicians, Paul Mauriat as a conductor, and Mireille Mathieu as the main star of the program. Their six concerts in Moscow, three in Kazan, and five in Leningrad have conquered the Soviet audience. This engagement brought about the love of the French singer to the Soviet (and then Russian) audience and a profound praise of her talent by our compatriots. During this tour, Paul Mauriat conceived the idea to write music for Gaston Bohner's poem about the Great October Revolution, "When will there be the Dawn, Comrade?" ("Quand fera-t-il jour, camarade?"). The song premiered in a few years in Paris during the visit of Alexander's Soviet Army Song and Dance Ensemble to France. The time of Mireille Mathieu and Paul Mauriat's cooperation was not very long -- just under three years -- but it was very productive and successful. The performances, studio recordings, publishing of joint records, and concerts in "Olympia" became unforgettable events in the lives of these amazingly talented individuals. Naturally, their interests grew, as Mireille began working with new authors, and Paul Mauriat would not give up his passion of the instrumental music and arrangements. Hence, while their musical careers parted, their mutual tenderness and deep sympathy have remained till these days. Michael Filatov