At the initiative of the Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers (TAP), Barbara Carlotti has just completed a week of residency for the creation of a tribute concert to Christophe, who died last spring. A recording for Arte Concert was held on Thursday evening. We were there.
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“Baby, baby …” The first echoes of a melody resonate, like a song, in the Auditorium Theater of Poitiers (TAP), this Thursday evening, but very quickly interrupted. “Can we start again,” says Barbara Carlotti?
Emblematic figure of the independent French scene, the singer, requested by the TAP to create a tribute to Christophe, who died last spring, orchestrates this Bevilacqua Laboratory, as the TAP and the artist have chosen to name it. 65 minutes of songs from the Beau bizarre repertoire. Surrounded by Juliette Armanet, Philippe Katerine or even Malik Djoudi, the concert, which was initially supposed to take place in front of the Poitevin audience, but canceled due to health restrictions linked to the Covid 19 pandemic, is finally held under the lens of the cameras d’Arte, for the program “Arte Concert”.
“Love, love, love”
Against a background of subdued red lights, the musical introduction resumes. Juliette Armanet goes on stage in her off-white tuxedo and sings the first notes of “Beau bizarre”. The voice is limpid, then withdraws to make room for ample orchestrations. The few privileged spectators (the TAP team, a handful of journalists and elected officials), seated at the top of the bleachers, are on familiar ground. Follow “Little guy” with behind the microphone, Malik Djoudi. Barbara Carlotti joins the synth keyboard. In his frail voice, Djoudi sings “At the end of a corridor a naked woman looks at me. She shouts” Love, love, love, love, love, love “.
In turn, Philippe Katerine sits behind the desk, dark glasses and laughing voice for “We must dare to do it”, then joined by Barbara Carlotti. The atmosphere on the TAP stage is very calm, almost too polite. Surely the fault of the too short week of rehearsals offered by the residence in Poitiers and the objective of making a success of the televised capture. However, from the first notes, each artist appropriates Christophe’s titles in a singular way. Barbara Carlotti’s tone of voice immediately dispels any hint of mimicry. The way of appropriating Christophe’s repertoire gives a new boost to each title. Every reinvention works wonderfully.
During rehearsals for the Arte Concert of homage to Christophe, created by Barbara Carlotti, here on stage with Philippe Katerine.
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© TAP Poitiers
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Under Juliette Armanet’s clear timbre, “La Dolce Vita” on the piano sounds like a song that the singer could have written herself, like a new piece.
Interruption and laughter dissipated
While Philippe Katerine and Malik Djoudi reinvest the stage, one exclaims: “We stop. We do not have the second text.” This interruption disturbs the quiet order of the recording and brings a moment of lightness and relaxation in an atmosphere that has remained very serious in front of the cameras of the equally serious Arte.
Philippe Katerine lets out a great burst of laughter: “No, but you had it, Malik!” “It was the Dolce Vita”, he intones in his high pitched voice. While the two artists wait for the lyrics sheet for the next song to be found, shadows are activated away from the stage. Barbara Carlotti shortens with the text “missing”. “The Lost Heavens” can begin. Like a miracle, the fragile interpretation of Malik Djoudi reveals all of Christophe’s intentions in the grace of the inflections of his voice. Malik Djoudi sings but it’s as if it was Christophe that we heard. He’s there and suddenly it’s disturbing. Philippe Katerine joins him, each one verse, alternately, to end with a recorded echo of Christophe’s spoken voice.
Oh, hey, I wouldn’t have done that (like that), me.
Barbara Carlotti then finds herself alone to interpret “Mal comme”. The song sounds beautifully. We let ourselves be carried away and, like the singer, distracted for a moment. “Stop, stop. We did it again,” she said shyly. “I had a hole, I’m sorry, really sorry.” And she takes up in her spoken voice the missed piece of words: “And all at the end of the day, when it declines … ahhhh!”, She exclaims. Surprisingly, the moments when the artists interrupt the pieces each time bring a little more lightness and abandonment after the recording.
The second take is a marvel and promises to be a highlight of this Arte Concert, just like the fragile and stripped down version of the “Blue Words” in Malik Djoudi’s voice. Le Poitevin seems worried and turns at the very end of the piece to his fellow singers in the front row. “Ah! But that was great!” we hear from a little far away. Djoudi is reassured.
The version of “Little Girl of the Sun” turns out to be quite surprising in the duo Philippe Katrine, Juliette Armanet: the unexpected alliance of the childish voice of one and the bright and unfolding voice of the other. It’s solar and funky at the same time.
At the time of interpreting “Aline”, the atmosphere is this time perfectly dissipated. Philippe Katerine attracts benevolent smiles to him. “The first note was wrong, right?” He therefore takes Aline and tries to find the thread of his interpretation by looking for the famous “good note”. A few tries later, he admits: “oh, hey, I wouldn’t have done that (like that), me.” Also ready to revisit Christophe, Philippe Katerine gives “Aline” yéyé intonations which are not to displease. His performance ends with a few laughs from his comrades on stage. Philippe Katerine has just released a long “Aliiiiine” which concludes with a “Bravo!” by Barbara Carlotti.
The 65-minute program finally turns into almost two hours of concert, between breaks and repeats. The recording of a television program thus sometimes leaves room for a few unforeseen events which a few privileged people, perfectly distanced and masked, have witnessed. The concert, in its edited version, does not yet have final broadcast dates, but it should be in January 2021 on the Arte antenna.
The repetitions
Barbara Carlotti received our team a few days earlier, in full rehearsal, that day with Malik Djoudi. Report by Noémie Javey and Alexandre Keirle.
A little more discussion, with Barbara Carlotti
Barbara Carlotti had granted us a long interview at the time of the recording of his album “Magnétique”, in 2018, disc created thanks to crowdfunding. Link to blog Encounters Here and Elsewhere.
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