Article المقال ( Octobre )

 

¯ Aznavour: The Song Lives On ¯

Written by : Prof. Essam Fattouh

Department of English

Faculty of Arts – University of Alexandria

 

When the singer transcends the song; when lyrics become poetry; when the human voice impersonates pain and hope simultaneously; and when exile transforms all the countries of the world into one unified homeland, an artist such as Aznavour (1924-2018) becomes an icon. As the French president Emannuel Macron personally paid tribute at a military state funeral, a sad world looked on in grief. Shahnug Vaghinag Aznavourian was born in 1924 to Armenian parents, who had fled to France escaping genocide. Later his family gave asylum to Armenians and Jews during the Nazi occupation of France, putting their own lives at risk. It is no surprise that his father, Michael Aznavourian sang in restaurants and night-clubs in Paris. Young Charles started singing, dancing and performing at the early age of nine when he left school. Azanvour danced and performed professionally in different nightclubs. By the early fifties, Aznavour wrote songs for various artists. It was Edith Piaf who first advised him to make a profession of singing. For over seventy years, his reputation as a singer/composer spread from France and Canada to the rest of the world. His work has been compared to that of his mentor Edith Piaff, and to the American Frank Sinatra, considered the best American singer of the 20th century. Aznavour has recorded in more than nine languages, including English, Italian and Spanish among others. His shows and concerts quickly came in demand in most European capitals, the USA and the Middle East, as well as Egypt and the Gulf. He has performed more than ten sold-out concerts in Lebanon over the years, due to his immense popularity. He was the first foreign singer to perform in Beirut after the Civil War ended. Aznavour’s professional performances are distinguished by the ritual movements of his hands, his facial expressions and the movement on the stage that accompany his deep baritone voice. He mastered, for example, sign language to perform a love song dedicated to a deaf-mute. When a devastating earthquake hit Armenia in 1988, Aznavour quickly responded by founding a charity organization called “Aznavour for Armenia”; he also sang “Pour toi, Armenie”, which topped the charts world-wide for months. Armenia has named a street in his honor and erected a statue in Gyunri. It also appointed Aznavour as a permanent delegate of Armenia to UNESCO. Charles Aznavour passed away while he was preparing and rehearsing for yet another musical tour. Charlie had devoted his entire life to art and, in its turn, art responded by offering him immortality and the love of millions around the world. Adieu, Aznavour; goodbye to Charlie, whose unique art - two years after his death - continues to transcend differences of language, culture, ethnicity, religion, by singing of love, the common bond which makes us all human.   Beirut, 1st October 2020