GUILFORD — Claire de la Fontaine presents a program of classic French Cabaret music from the 1940s through the 1960s, accompanied by her husband, multi-instrumentalist Ernest Chapman, on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Both teach and perform professionally in Nashville and around the country.
In her third appearance in this Guilford house concert series, singer, guitarist, and composer Claire de la Fontaine again provides an elegant entrée into the romantic world of French chanson. Her passionate interpretations of classics from Edith Piaf and Jaques Brel, along with newer artists such as Zaz, are as authentic as any you will find today.
Claire de la Fontaine is the stage name of Jessie Friedman, a French/American musician who grew up in Paris, Geneva, and New York City.
“When I lived in Manhattan I went to the Lycée Français, so I was always immersed in French culture,” she says. “I created this project out of a desire to share some of the culture that I grew up with. There is a poetry to the language, to the way of living and viewing the world that I miss, and that is perfectly captured in these songs. And it's not just the poetry of the words and melodies: the very chord choices themselves are poetic, colorful, rich.”