Michel Legrand (1932-2019): 6-10/1/25

[MickyD]

Goodness, the choreographer of that wonderful Swine Lake sequence with Nureyev and the Muppets! What a full and interesting career he had.

Ha ha, yes, he was brilliant in so many different fields and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of show songs. Also a lovely dry sense of humour, I miss him a lot.

[Ein Heldenleben]

As far as whether the thread should continue with its original focus, I am open to suggestions. When the answer is Yes and No, I tend to do nothing. But I struggle to comprehend the sense of the sentence: "Even when as with Le Chanson de Maxence from Lee Demoiselles de Rochefort the new song You Must Believe In Sprinf bears no relation to the original." No matter

Yes well all the typos don’t help.

Le Chanson de Maxence sung by a young French Sailor in the film Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

I think the lyrics were written by Demy himself

Je l'ai cherchée partout, j'ai fait le tour du monde
De Venise à Java, de Manille à Angkor
De Jeanne à Victoria, de Vénus en Joconde
Je ne l'ai pas trouvée et je la cherche encore

Je ne connais rien d'elle et pourtant je la vois
J'ai inventé son nom, j'ai entendu sa voix
J'ai dessiné son corps et j'ai peint son visage
Son portrait et l'amour ne font plus qu'une image

Elle a cette beauté des filles romantiques
Et d'un Botticelli, le regard innocent
Son profil est celui de ces vierges mythiques
Qui hantent les musées et les adolescents

Sa démarche ressemble aux souvenirs d'enfant
Qui trottent dans ma tête et dansent en rêvant
Sur son front, ses cheveux sont de l'or en bataille
Que le vent de la mer et le soleil chamaillent

Je pourrais vous parler de ses yeux, de ses mains
Je pourrais vous parler d'elle jusqu'à demain
Son amour, c'est ma vie mais à quoi bon rêver
Je l'ai cherchée partout, je ne l'ai pas trouvée

Il pourrait nous parler de ses yeux, de ses mains
Il pourrait nous parler d'elle jusqu'à demain
Son amour, c'est sa vie mais à quoi bon rêver
Il l'a cherchée partout, il ne l'a pas trouvée

Est-elle loin d'ici, est-elle près de moi
Je n'en sais rien encore mais je sais qu'elle existe
Est-elle pécheresse ou bien fille de roi
Que m'importe son sang puisque je suis artiste

Et que l'amour dicte sa loi
C'est un joli portrait
Mais je ne vois pas ça dans mon entourage

Legrand wrote a wonderful tune for this little gem .

The English lyrics were written by the Bergman’s who also rewrote Windmills of Your Mind. They are radically different from the origanal

When lonely feelings chill
The meadows of your mind
Just think if Winter comes
Can Spring be far behind

Beneath the deepest snows
The secret of a rose
Is merely that it knows
You must believe in Spring

Just as a tree is sure
Its leaves will reappear
It knows it's emptiness
Is just the time of year

The frozen mountain dreams
Of April's melting streams
How crystal clear it seems
You must believe in Spring

You must believe in love
And trust it's on it's way
Just as the sleeping rose
Awaits the kiss of May

So in a world of snow
Of things that come and go
Where what you think you know
You can't be certain of

You must believe in Spring and love
You must believe in love
And trust it's on it's way
Just as the sleeping rose
Awaits the kiss of May
So in a world of snow

Of things that come and go
Where what you think you know
You can't be certain of
You must believe in Spring and love

so at some length and acknowledging the copyright of the lyricists it shows how versatile a great tune can be.
It also was an attempt to tie together the song in translation discussion and Michel Legrand and has had some modest success in doing so.

[Ein Heldenleben]

The contribution of the highly talented young choreographer Norman Maen to Les Demoiselles is not given all the credit it is due, either. He was an old mate of mine and he spoke with great affection about the shooting of the film. He later went on to stage big shows in Vegas and the West End .

He must be in that YouTube video behind the scenes of the making of the film . Great film which features everyone we’ve been talking about .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NkoVBXliEk

[french frank]

Yes well all the typos don’t help [ ...]

so at some length and acknowledging the copyright of the lyricists it shows how versatile a great tune can be. It also was an attempt to tie together the song in translation discussion and Michel Legrand and has had some modest success in doing so.

[MickyD]

He must be in that YouTube video behind the scenes of the making of the film . Great film which features everyone we’ve been talking about .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NkoVBXliEk

Yes, he is, mainly In the London rehearsal room scenes. I had difficulty recognising him as he is so young, and I didn't get to know him until some 20 years later.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes, he is, mainly In the London rehearsal room scenes. I had difficulty recognising him as he is so young, and I didn't get to know him until some 20 years later.

Yes indeed but the bit with Gene Kelly on the streets of Rochefort sorting out a dance sequence isn’t in this which makes me think it’s another behind the scenes film!

[MickyD]

No doubt...here in France I've seen quite a few programmes about the film. It would be good to collect all the footage together. I'd hoped for more in the recent film I saw at the cinema but it was much more centred on the latter years of his life.