Left - Micheline Van Hautem. Photo - Jaap ReedijkI was first mesmerised by charming, Belgian-born chanteuse, Micheline Van Hautem, a few years ago, '@ Newtown'. So news of her current tour came with allure. This time, she's concentrating on the immortal canon of chanson from her countryman, Jacques Brel. Former celebrated interpreters of Brel's songs are hard acts to follow: Sinatra; Simone; Springfield; to say nothing of the incomparable Piaf and, as is often overlooked, Brel himself; (for Brel was a chansonnier, or singer-songwriter). Yet Van Hautem remains undaunted, as well she might, since her talent looms as large. Indeed, she comes to us with an international pedigree, having, by all reports thoroughly engaged, captivated and spellbound audiences across the globe.
Of course, Brel's songs being veritable millefeuilles, there is much with which to work. They are pliable, poetic, poignant, passionate and tragic; grappling with two keynote facets of the human experience (love and loss). In exhibiting but, moreover, embodying these qualities so vividly, they are also remarkably resilient: hard to ruin; not that Van Hautem presents the merest threat.
Even if you think you don't know Brel, you almost certainly do. Ne Me Quitte Pas (in English, If You Go Away; 'though, literally, Don't Leave Me), for example, will surely insinuate & imprint itself, on the strength of a single exposure; carving out an inevitable indelible neural pathway, such is its affecting depth. Brel was a one-off and utterly original, but wasn't above 'homage'. Ne Me Quitte Pas' melody is borrowed from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6. But even that doesn't explain the shattering power of this song: its lyrics that truly immortalise it and which elevate it to a transcendent plane. Understood to have been first recorded by Simone Langlois, in 1959, prior, even, to Brel's own take, the same year, it's lost nothing, in 50 years; not even Web 2.0 can diminish its cultural presence or integrity.
In the intelligent hands of Van Hautem, Brel is not only paid the respect his songs so richly deserve, by way of pathos, but given an inimitably seductive makeover: 'Brel with Chocolat', presumably making reference to the common origins of Brel and Van Hautem, as well as an analagous allusion to the comparable fineries of Brel and Belgian chocolate, suffuses Van Hautem's fave Brels with her own intensely charismatic lifeforce, a magnetic commodity which led The London Times to proclaim her as 'simply, fabulous!'
Of course, opening up Brel is like opening up a luxurious chocolate-box. Rod McKuen, I expect, would've known that, when he set to translating the precious French lyrics of Ne Me Quitte Pas, as well as numerous other gems from the same songbook. In the unfolding, life imitates art: McKuen rumoured to have written the lyrics for Greta Keller, a singer's singer and cabaret diva if ever there was one. Was romance afoot, or merely professional respect?
The only problem for non-French speakers, such as myself, is that, as one might expect, much is lost, in translation. In fact, translation is misleading. McKuen, knowing full well, one suspects, the folly and futility of mere translation, opted instead for a reinterpretation, while remaining true to the feeling and spirit of the song. So, whereas in French, Don't Leave Me, quivers with all the supplication the tile suggests, If You Go Away is a tormented, even tortured lamentation, musing and speculating on 'what if?'
While she might be too young to have performed his uncle, Mich recently enchanted Europe, on a 60-date (50 in Belgium & Holland) tour with Bruno Brel, who is almost singlehandedly ensuring the kero is kept up to Jacques' musical lamplight. One could hardly be better informed about, versed, or steeped in, the Brel legacy, presumably.
The evening began with the appearance of the virtuosic guitarist, composer and producer, Erwin Van Ligten, who strode casually onto the stage, seated himself, picked up his guitar and started playing. Magnificently. He can be showy, and he has oodles of technique to show. But these flashes of brilliance are never overwrought, overdone, or overcooked; his musicality is at least as evident in his restraint, his tasteful observance of negative space. I'm unsure as to the tune with which he opened the show. It was a fittingly beautiful piece, however; I'd wager an original, for there are many on Chocolat, the new joint venture album from the Vans. Indeed, this was the surprise of the night, for the originals bear feint, if any resemblance to the Brels. In fact, I had a sense there is a quiet quest to fertilise a North American hit, as the songs bear blues, folk and country hallmarks.
Van Hautem appeared in a flowing russet dress, more modest attire than I remember from the last time I saw her, wrapped around a more voluptuous figure, perhaps denoting a new phase in the life and career of this artist. For the most part, she wasn't as brazen or provocative as I remember, perhaps adopting a more refined, gracious manner befitting the material.
I didn't recognise her first, unannounced song, but it was followed by the so-called Song Of The Old Lovers, a bittersweet reflection; resigned, yet tender. Even the title sounds so much better in French (as, of course, most things do): La Chanson Des Vieux Amants. There is amazement & incredulity: 'in spite of all, we're still together, so many years, of smiles & tears'. Enduring, thick-and-thin intensity: 'from year to year, as all the seasons fall, I love you more'. Confession: 'how many times I found another'. It is a thrilling masterpiece; authentic, true, tangible and real, refreshed by the flawlessly judged, interpretative delivery & evocation of which Van Hautem's vocal instrument is, apparently, effortlessly capable. Every flavour and movement is savoured and elevated by her breathtaking talent, honed and finessed by exceptional discipline & rich experience.
From Brel to a soaring country ballad, somewhat at odds with the character of Brel, but integrated as seamlessly as possible, and a fine song in its own right. Then to Brussels, also a tale of mature love, between Brel's grandparents, the constantly missing-in-action military man and his abandoned wife. This initiated us into the jaunty, comical side of Brel, the brighter flipside, so often obscured and eclipsed by his untouchable torch songs.
One of the latter was eloquently introduced by Micheline, who spoke of Piaf and Brel in the same breath, as they were of the same ilk; and of the song he wrote for her, but which she never sung, as she passed away too, too soon. 'I Hand Myself Over To You', given again, by Bruno Brel, to Micheline, who is arguably worthy of the same, or similar exaltation to Edith herself. And in her literacy, thoughtfulness and theatricality, she probably stands as tall as both Piaf & Brel. She is the cabaret singer's cabaret singer.
As 'Michka' points out, Brel loved women, as evidenced in the number of songs he named after them. 'Marieke' is but one, written mostly in Dutch, in deference to the origins of the object of his fleeting affections, but a particularly impassioned one; a dimension driven all the way home by the devastating Micheline.
Van Hautem announced the following song as Brel's most masculine: Au Suivant, one of his most popular, but perhaps oddly so, given it's rather confrontingly sordid narrative, telling of a soldier's first conjugal encounter, at a mobile brothel. It has a strident, dramatic, tango like rhythm, and Ms Van H imbues it with brilliant theatricality.
Again departing from Brel, in deference to Chocolat, and her 'grungier' side, Micheline & Erwin showcased another original, 'a song that began in Zimbabwe and ended in Hong Kong'. For this, the diving Ms M picked up her own guitar, strumming robustly, in concert with the masterful, innovative, highly distinctive stylings of Van Ligten.
To sustain a costume change, we were treated, once more, to an enchanting solo from EVL.
Then came the moment: a superb rendition of Ne Me Quitte Pas, with flashes of Arabic guitar from Van Ligten. Haunting; heart-in-mouth breathtaking. Hot on it's heels was the story of meeting the head of Universal Music publishing, here in Sydney, and asking to be hooked-up with the Finn brothers. Out of this came a meeting in Utrecht, followed by Skype encounters, resulting in 'Your Reign Shall End', a veritable modern-day Brel, and every bit as good; a tale of lost love and the seemingly unwinnable battle to exorcise the scent, sense, and ghostly presence of a former love. (Well, that's what I took, on first hearing.)
As memory serves, there was another original called, I think, Deep Inside, again with dual guitars. And another: Stand By Your Own ('they say to stand by your man, but you can stand by your own'), a gentle song with a sturdy feminist sentiment; a kind of 21C I Am Woman.
Then to another of the loves of Brel's life, in Mathilde, an emotionally-charged song, in a way seemingly peculiar to the Franco-Belgian temperament. 'My heart, stop being overjoyed; remember, you were once destroyed, by Mathilde, who's come back to me.'
Once again to Paris, where Brel worked 4 & 5 nights a week, in different clubs. To Paris, where Brel met Piaf, on the streets of Pigalle, where she sang. And then to Amsterdam, bringing Van Hautem's impeccably phrasing right into the spotlight, in telling this raw and raucous tale of a sailor, who eats only fish heads and tails. 'In the port of Amsterdam, there's a sailor who sings, of the dreams that he brings, from the wide, open sea.' But rather than leave us floating on the unpredictable and unforgiving ocean, having taken their bows, the Vans returned for an encore of Chocolat (a sweet tune indeed) and one other.
Micheline has a truly beautiful voice: technically flawless, but, above all, one which is capable of expressing profound emotion, with profound power. She is as at home in her native Belgium; in Paris, Amsterdam, New York and elsewhere. It's hard to know where she's heading, with Brel, on the one hand, signifying her capacity for cabaret, and some indelibly catchy songs, many of which could persuade you she grew-up in, Texas, or Boulder, Colorado, rather than in close proximity to Bruxelles. But regardless of wherever she's heading, she has already, in so many ways, arrived. And her collaborations with the likes of Van Ligten and Finn can only but do her even more credit.
Micheline Van Hautem
Brel with Chocolat
Venue: The Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown
Date: Saturday 10 October, 9pm
Tickets: $45 + booking fee (show only), $81 + booking fee (main course + show), Premium package $105 + booking fee
Bookings: 9550 3666 or www.thevanguard.com.au
Venue: The Factory, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville
Date: Friday 16 October, 8pm
Tickets: $39 + booking fee
Bookings: 9550 3666 or www.factorytheatre.com.au
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2009
Brisbane Judith Wright Centre - Saturday 17 October | jwcoca.qld.gov.au
Canberra Street Theatre - Monday 19 October | thestreet.org.au
Tauranga Arts Festival NZ - Thurs 22 & Fri 23 October | taurangafestival.co.nz
Nelson Arts Festival NZ - Sat 24 & Sun 25 October | nelsonartsfestival.co.nz
