Hélène Martin | |
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Background information | |
Born | Paris, France | 10 December 1928
Died | 21 February 2021 Cordemais, France | (aged 92)
Genres | Chanson |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1956 | –2009
Labels |
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Website |
www |
Hélène Martin (French: [elɛn maʁtɛ̃], 10 December 1928 – 21 February 2021) was a French singer-songwriter.
Born in Paris, Martin was daughter of a university professor ( Sciences Po), and started singing in cabarets in the 1950s. [1] In 1962, she recorded poems by Jean Genet who encouraged her. [1] Jean Vilar asked her to stage a show based on poems by René Char for the Festival d'Avignon, interpreted by her and Roger Blin, Francesca Solleville, Bachir Touré (1966). [1] She was a friend of many poets and writers, including Louis Aragon and Jean Giono. Surrealist poet Philippe Soupault published a book on her and her work. [2]
She created a TV series dedicated to poetry, Plain-Chant (1972). [3] She also directed a TV movie after Jean Giono's novel Jean le Bleu (1979). [4] In 2009, aged 81, she gave a last performance at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. [5]