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“A Little Bit of Paris: The Songs of Edith Piaf and Paris in the 1930’s and 1940’s”
Feinstein’s at Loews Regency – February 14
There were many opportunities around town for celebrating Valentine’s Day. I, unfortunately, wasted a perfectly good evening of romance going to Feinstein’s at Loews Regency for Raquel Bitton’s “A Little Bit of Paris: The Songs of Edith Piaf and Paris in the 1930’s and 1940’s.”
It sounded promising. What’s more romantic than Paris? I have numerous French recordings by Piaf, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour, Patachou at home, but I wasn’t familiar with Raquel Bitton. Her press release stated that Bitton is “the foremost singer of French jazz music in America today and has been internationally praised as a superb interpreter of the music from the Édith Piaf repertoire.” I had never heard of her, but Valentine’s Day seemed the time to give her a try.
What went wrong? Everything. Fortunately for Feinstein’s, the room was packed. Unfortunately for us, we were given a table with a prime view of the pianist’s back and the top half of the bass player. I could see the head and shoulders of Mlle. Bitton but saw none of the six other instrumentalists.
That’s not all. Mlle. Bitton speaks with a strong accent and it was difficult to follow her patter and the introductions to her songs. Admittedly, my high school French is barely couci-couça, but seeing songs written down on a list would have helped. I spent a lot of time trying to see around the pianist’s back, straining up and to the side to glimpse something of the petite Mlle. Bitton’s facial and body expressions. To her credit, she did turn to face different parts of the room, but just as I was relaxing to listen comfortably, she turned away again. I would suggest Mlle. Bitton always provide a song list and the names of her accompanists.
I would suggest also that she bring some depth and freshness to her sketchy bio about Piaf and her many lovers. What made Piaf so charismatic? Aside from hearing old records, what drew Mlle. Bitton to Piaf’s music? Were these particular songs particularly personal to her?
Added to this, Bitton’s interpretations lacked passion and intensity, which are staples in Latin music. With French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian songs, even if you can’t understand the lyrics very well, you can usually grasp the emotion. Her light voice often veered off pitch and did not display the gutsy grit of a song like “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” (Charles Dumont, Michel Vaucaire). I was disappointed when she opened with the English version of Léo Chauliac and Charles Trenet’s “Que Reste-t-il de Nos Amours?,” which translates to “What remains of our love?” The popular English version, “I Wish You Love,” with lyrics by Albert Beach, lacks the poignant intent of the original. “Autumn Leaves” (Jacques Prevert, Joseph Kosma) did not render the necessary melancholy and “Hymne à l’Amour” (Marguerite Monnot, Édith Piaf), an anthem to Piaf’s lost love, lacked its soulful pathos.
Significant difficulties with her program included a sense of insecurity with her arrangements. Her persevering musical director and pianist, Larry Dunlap, did a heroic job trying to keep her on track with the band. This was made even more difficult as her timing shifted, racing ahead of the instrumentalists or falling behind, and this became more evident as the show progressed.
Kudos to: Dunlap; Barry Finclair, concert master and violinist; violinist Antoine Silverman; Richard Brice on viola; cellist David H. Heiss; Jeff Carney on bass; Ray Marchica on drums; and Andrew Sterman on alto sax and clarinet.
On the plus side, everyone got a Valentine chocolate. These were free! My husband I went home with our Valentine chocolates and sat back to listen to the real thing (on CD)—Édith Piaf. Oui, je regrette ce soir.
