CHARLES AZNAVOUR: 'QUE Ç'EST TRIST VOTRE ADIEU...'

Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian

Today, The Grandma has studied two new lessons of her First Certificate Language Practice manual (Grammar 34 & 35).

She wants to talk about Charles Aznavour, one of the most unforgettable Armenian-French voices who died in Mouriès, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region two days ago. The Grandma received the news with terrible sadness because Charles Aznavour was a great friend and a great teacher of French when she studied this language listening his songs day by day.

The Grandma wants to homage this incredible singer and, personally, she will always remember his wonderful concert in the Liceu Theatre, in Barcelona, last April, 20, and, of course, she will always remember Charles Aznavour being the soundtrack of her life in Venice with Corto Maltese, her lost love.

More information: Spelling and pronunciation

Charles Aznavour (22 May 1924-1 October 2018) is an Armenian-French singer, lyricist, actor, public activist and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his distinctive tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in eight languages. He wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others.

Aznavour was one of France's most popular and enduring singers. He sold 180 million records during his lifetime and was dubbed France's Frank Sinatra, being described as a French pop deity. He was arguably the most famous Armenian of his time andnamed Entertainer of the Century by CNN.

Charles Aznavour in the Liceu, Barcelona (2018)

Aznavour sang for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Levon Sayan.

In 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva. He started his most recent tour in 2014.

On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that year he and his sister were awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Award for sheltering Jews during World War II. His last concert took place in NHK Hall in Tokyo on 17 September 2018.

More information: Aznavour Foundation

Aznavour was born at the clinic Tarnier at 89, rue d'Assas in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement of Paris, into a family of artists living on rue Monsieur-le-Prince. He was born with the name Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian of Armenian immigrants Michael Aznavourian from Akhaltsikhe, Georgia and Knar Baghdasarian, an Armenian from Smyrna, present-day İzmir, Turkey. His father sang in restaurants in France before establishing a Caucasian restaurant called Le Caucase. Charles's parents introduced him to performing at an early age, and he dropped out of school aged nine, taking the stage name Aznavour.

During the German occupation of France during World War II, Aznavour and his family hid Jews and a number of people who were persecuted by the Nazis, while Charles and his sister Aida were involved in rescue activities, according to a statement issued in 2017 by the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin. In that year, he and Aida received the Raoul Wallenberg Award for their wartime activities. The Aznavours were closely linked to the Missak Manouchian Resistance Group and in this context they have offered shelter to Armenians, Jews and others at their own Paris flat, risking their own lives.

Charles Aznavour

Aznavour was already familiar with performing on stage by the time he began his career as a musician. At the age of nine, he had roles in a play called Un Petit Diable à Paris and a film entitled La Guerre des Gosses.

Aznavour then turned to professional dancing and performed in several nightclubs. In 1944, he and actor Pierre Roche began a partnership and in collaborative efforts performed in numerous nightclubs. It was through this partnership that Aznavour began to write songs and sing. The partnership's first successes were in Canada in 1948-1950. Meanwhile, Aznavour wrote his first song entitled J'ai Bu in 1950.

During the early stages of his career, Aznavour opened for Édith Piaf at the Moulin Rouge. Piaf then advised him to pursue a career in singing. Piaf helped Aznavour develop a distinctive voice that stimulated the best of his abilities.

Sometimes described as France's Frank Sinatra, Aznavour sang frequently about love. He wrote or co-wrote musicals, more than one thousand songs, and recorded ninety-one studio albums.

More information: All Music

Aznavour's voice was shaded towards the tenor range, but possessed the low range and coloration more typical of a baritone, contributing to his unique sound. Aznavour spoke and sang in many languages like French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian or Neapolitan, which helped him perform at Carnegie Hall, in the USA, and other major venues around the world. He also recorded at least one song from the 18th-century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, and a popular song, Im Yare in Armenian. Que C'est Triste Venise, sung in French, in English How Sad Venice Can Be was very successful the mid 1960s.

How Sad Venice Can Be...

In 1974 Aznavour became a major success in the United Kingdom when his song She was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during a fourteen week run. His other well-known song in the UK was the 1973 The Old Fashioned Way which was on UK charts for 15 weeks.

Since the 1988 Armenian earthquake, Aznavour helped the country through his charity, Aznavour for Armenia. Together with his brother in-law and co-author Georges Garvarentz he wrote the song Pour toi Arménie, which was performed by a group of famous French artists and topped the charts for eighteen weeks.

There is a square named after him in central Yerevan on Abovian Street, and a statue erected in Gyumri, which saw the most lives lost in the earthquake.

More information: Juno Records

In 1995 Aznavour was appointed an Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Armenia to UNESCO. Aznavour was a member of the Armenia Fund International Board of Trustees. The organization has rendered more than $150 million in humanitarian aid and infrastructure development assistance to Armenia since 1992. He was appointed as Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1997.

In 2004 Aznavour received the title of National Hero of Armenia, Armenia's highest award. On 26 December 2008, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a presidential decree for granting citizenship for the Republic of Armenia to Aznavour whom he called a prominent singer and public figure and a hero of the Armenian people.

In 2011 the Charles Aznavour Museum opened in Yerevan, Armenia.

He wrote a song about the Armenian Genocide, entitled Ils sont tombés, known in English as They fell.

More information: The Guardian

They fell that year they vanished from the earth
never knowing the cause or what laws the offended.

They fell like tears and never new what for
in that summer of strife of massacre and war.

Their only crime was life there only guilt was fear
the children of Armenia nothing less nothing more.

Charles Aznavour