Les Chansons de Barbara

Perhaps I've come a bit late to the party, but recently I've been enchanted by the late French chanteuse, Barbara. The song, Ce Matin-La (1963), in particular is such a beautiful and haunting tune that it inspired me to learn a bit more about this lesser known, melancholic singer. So, being the inquisitive Francophile that I am, I did a little research and found that Barbara (given name Monique Serf) was a bit of a left bank darling in the late 1950's.
 A poet, musician and artist in her own right, Barbara had joined French legends such as Edith Piaf and Juliette Greco by the tender age of twenty-seven. She was a stunning presence on stage (reportedly raven haired, lanky and hypnotic in her hymns), and she created art as sensitive and passionate as she was rumored to have been. She sang mostly of lost love and heartache, and always with a honeyed charm that made her music sweetly nostalgic in a way that stands the test of time. Sometimes moody, sometimes poppy, but always a joy to listen to, I like to think of her as a slightly shadowy and obscure Audrey Hepburn-esque beauty with a voice all her own.