Théodore Botrel
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter
, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany
, of which the most famous is La Paimpolaise. During World War I
he became France's official "Bard of the Armies".
, Botrel was the son of a blacksmith. He was left with his grandmother in Saint-Méen-le-Grand
as a child, since his parents had moved to Paris. He joined them in the capital at the age of seven. His native language was the Gallo
dialect, though almost all his songs are in standard French, and he learned the Breton language
later in life.
As a teenager he became involved in amateur theatricals, performing on stage in plays, and writing songs. His first published song La Petit Biniou (The Little Bagpipe) was not a success.
Botrel shelved his theatrical ambitions, joining the army for five years and then working as a clerk for the Paris-Lyon-Marseille
railway company. He continued to appear on stage and to write and perform songs. In 1891 he met and married Hélène Lugton, known as Léna.
and its people. In fact Botrel only visited Paimpol in 1897, after he wrote the song. The song's refrain "J'aime Paimpol et sa falaise" (I love Paimpol and its cliff) was apparently chosen because 'falaise' rhymes with 'Paimpolaise'. It has often been noted that there is no cliff in the town. Nevertheless the nearby Pointe de Guiben has been marketed as the cliff described in the song. The choice of Paimpol probably derived from the popularity of Pierre Loti
's recent novel Pêcheur d'Islande, which is set in the town. The song was a central feature of the repertoire of Félix Mayol
until his death in 1941. Mayol also showcased many of Botrel's later songs.
La Paimpolaise inspired a number of other sentimental songs which idealised Breton towns and regions. In Jésus chez les bretons (Jesus Among the Bretons) he implies that the second coming
will be in Brittany.
and the intellectual coterie associated with the Le Chat Noir
club, though he most often performed at the rival Le Chien-Noir club. With the support of Parisian intellectuals a collection of Botrel's songs was published as Chansons de chez nous (Songs Bretonnes) in 1898, with a preface by the Breton folklorist Anatole Le Braz
. The book was highly praised and was awarded a prize by the Académie française
. Edmond Rostand
wrote, "les adorable chansons de Botrel font pousser des genêts quand ou les chante". François Coppée
said "While I read Botrel's verses...I compare myself to a sick man dragging his walking stick along the suburb of a city and stopping now and then to listen to the young voices of the children singing. Ah, Botrel's voice is high and true and clear!."
Botrel gave up his day job to become a professional singer-songwriter. When not performing in Paris, he lived in Brittany, initially taking a house in Port-Blanc
, then moving permanently to Pont-Aven
. He edited the journal of popular verse La Bonne Chanson and in 1905 founded the Fête des Fleurs d’Ajonc (Gorse Flower festival) in Pont-Aven, the first of the music festivals that have since become common in Brittany. In 1909 he established a permanent monument to Breton writer Auguste Brizeux in Pont-Aven.
In addition to songwriting, Botrel tried his hand at drama, writing and performing in a number of plays, including an original Sherlock Holmes
story, Le Mystere de Kéravel, in which the detective solves a murder while travelling incognito in Brittany.
His wife Léna often sang duets with him, and regularly appeared in publicity images with him in traditional Breton costume (though in fact she was from Luxembourg
). She also co-wrote some songs. Botrel's friend Émile Hamonic created number of photographic tableaux representing the scenes and stories of his songs and plays, which were widely sold and circulated as postcards with Botrel's signature. Botrel, Léna and friends including François Jaffrennou
often played the roles.
Botrel also became involved in the burgeoning Pan-Celticist
movement. In 1904 he and Léna attended the Pan-Celtic Congress in Caernarfon as Breton representatives.
Botrel was politically conservative, a Royalist and a devout Roman Catholic. Many of his later songs celebrated these values, and appealed to popular patriotism. The song Le Mouchoir rouge de Cholet (The Red Handkerchief of Cholet
) is about a soldier in the Chouannerie
, the Royalist Catholic rebellion against the French Revolution, who buys the handkerchief for his girl. It inspired a local manufacturer to create red Cholet handkerchiefs, the popularity of which boosted the local textile industry.
. Turned down for service in the French army because of his age, he attempted to enlist with Belgian forces, but was again rejected. He decided to work for the war effort by writing and performing patriotic songs.
He had already published a collection of military songs before the war in 1912 as "Coups de Clairon". A British writer noted "It is a noble work, and one cannot think of another poet, here or in France, so abundantly equipped for its performance. Botrel has no counterpart in Britain, so it were vain to seek comparisons."
After his rejection for military service Botrel started a monthly publication entitled Les chants du Bivouac containing songs for the soldiers. In 1915 he was appointed as official "Chansonnier des Armées", or "Bard of the Armies". According to the New York Times he was authorised by the Minister of War "to enter all military depots, camps and hospitals for the purpose of reciting and singing his patriotic poems." He travelled throughout the front line performing to the troops. The patriotic songs were also published as poems for a children's book promoting the war effort, Les Livres Rose pour la Jeunesse. Botrel's most famous wartime songs were Rosalie (the nickname of the French bayonet) and Ma P'tite Mimi (about a machine-gun). The latter was revived by Pierre Desproges
in the 1980s.
At this time some of his lyrics were translated into English by G.E. Morrison and Edgar Preston as Songs of Brittany.
Botrel's wife Léna died in 1916. In 1918 he remarried, to Marie-Elisabeth Schrieber, known as Mailissa. He had two daughters with her, the elder of whom, named Léna after his first wife, married the writer Emile Danoën
. The younger, Janick, was the mother of the singer Renaud Detressan
.
Botrel died in 1925. His incomplete autobiography, souvenirs d'un barde errant, was published after his death. His daughter Léna later wrote extra chapters to complete the story of his life. A monument to him was erected in Paimpol designed by Pierre Lenoir. It shows the Paimpolaise gazing out to sea from the imaginary cliff. There is also a statue of him in Pont-Aven.
that "from the moment you yourself compose the melody, even if you dictate it to a musician you remain the sole author of your chanson." From that point on he insisted on sole credit, but this produced some resentment from musicians who believed their contributions were being denied. It was also objected that songs and arrangements that were essentially in the style of modern Parisian chanson
were being marketed as "Breton" music. Botrel and Léna also made a number of recordings.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, of which the most famous is La Paimpolaise. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he became France's official "Bard of the Armies".
Life
Born in DinanDinan
Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France.-Geography:Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside, overlooking the river Rance...
, Botrel was the son of a blacksmith. He was left with his grandmother in Saint-Méen-le-Grand
Saint-Méen-le-Grand
Saint-Méen-le-Grand is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.It is located southwest of Rennes between Montauban-de-Bretagne and Gaël.At the 2006 Tour de France, Saint-Méen-le-Grand hosted the start of Stage 8....
as a child, since his parents had moved to Paris. He joined them in the capital at the age of seven. His native language was the Gallo
Gallo language
Gallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...
dialect, though almost all his songs are in standard French, and he learned the Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
later in life.
As a teenager he became involved in amateur theatricals, performing on stage in plays, and writing songs. His first published song La Petit Biniou (The Little Bagpipe) was not a success.
Botrel shelved his theatrical ambitions, joining the army for five years and then working as a clerk for the Paris-Lyon-Marseille
Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée
The Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée was a French railway company ....
railway company. He continued to appear on stage and to write and perform songs. In 1891 he met and married Hélène Lugton, known as Léna.
La Paimpolaise
One evening in 1895, standing in for another act, he performed his song La Paimpolaise (The Paimpol Girl) to great acclaim from the audience, launching himself as a popular singer. La Paimpolaise became his signature song - a lilting ballad about the quaint charms of the fishing village of PaimpolPaimpol
Paimpol is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.It is a tourist destination, especially during the summer months when people are attracted by its port and beaches.-Population:...
and its people. In fact Botrel only visited Paimpol in 1897, after he wrote the song. The song's refrain "J'aime Paimpol et sa falaise" (I love Paimpol and its cliff) was apparently chosen because 'falaise' rhymes with 'Paimpolaise'. It has often been noted that there is no cliff in the town. Nevertheless the nearby Pointe de Guiben has been marketed as the cliff described in the song. The choice of Paimpol probably derived from the popularity of Pierre Loti
Pierre Loti
Pierre Loti was a French novelist and naval officer.-Biography:Loti's education began in his birthplace, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime. At the age of seventeen he entered the naval school in Brest and studied at Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906...
's recent novel Pêcheur d'Islande, which is set in the town. The song was a central feature of the repertoire of Félix Mayol
Félix Mayol
Félix Mayol was a French singer and entertainer.-Career:Mayol was born in Toulon, France. His parents were both amateur singers and actors, who arranged for Felix to make his debut stage at six years of age....
until his death in 1941. Mayol also showcased many of Botrel's later songs.
La Paimpolaise inspired a number of other sentimental songs which idealised Breton towns and regions. In Jésus chez les bretons (Jesus Among the Bretons) he implies that the second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
will be in Brittany.
Fame
Botrel attracted the attention of Caran d'AcheCaran d'Ache
Caran d'Ache was the pseudonym of the 19th century French satirist and political cartoonist Emmanuel Poiré. "Caran d'Ache" comes from the Russian word karandash , meaning pencil...
and the intellectual coterie associated with the Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir was a 19th-century cabaret, meaning entertainment house, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris...
club, though he most often performed at the rival Le Chien-Noir club. With the support of Parisian intellectuals a collection of Botrel's songs was published as Chansons de chez nous (Songs Bretonnes) in 1898, with a preface by the Breton folklorist Anatole Le Braz
Anatole Le Braz
Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" was a Breton folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm....
. The book was highly praised and was awarded a prize by the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
wrote, "les adorable chansons de Botrel font pousser des genêts quand ou les chante". François Coppée
François Coppée
François Edouard Joachim Coppée was a French poet and novelist.-Biography:He was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war, and won public favour as a poet of the Parnassian school. His first printed verses date from 1864...
said "While I read Botrel's verses...I compare myself to a sick man dragging his walking stick along the suburb of a city and stopping now and then to listen to the young voices of the children singing. Ah, Botrel's voice is high and true and clear!."
Botrel gave up his day job to become a professional singer-songwriter. When not performing in Paris, he lived in Brittany, initially taking a house in Port-Blanc
Penvénan
Penvénan is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Penvénan are called penvénannais.-Port-Blanc and islands:...
, then moving permanently to Pont-Aven
Pont-Aven
Pont-Aven is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called in French Pontavenistes.-History:...
. He edited the journal of popular verse La Bonne Chanson and in 1905 founded the Fête des Fleurs d’Ajonc (Gorse Flower festival) in Pont-Aven, the first of the music festivals that have since become common in Brittany. In 1909 he established a permanent monument to Breton writer Auguste Brizeux in Pont-Aven.
In addition to songwriting, Botrel tried his hand at drama, writing and performing in a number of plays, including an original Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
story, Le Mystere de Kéravel, in which the detective solves a murder while travelling incognito in Brittany.
His wife Léna often sang duets with him, and regularly appeared in publicity images with him in traditional Breton costume (though in fact she was from Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
). She also co-wrote some songs. Botrel's friend Émile Hamonic created number of photographic tableaux representing the scenes and stories of his songs and plays, which were widely sold and circulated as postcards with Botrel's signature. Botrel, Léna and friends including François Jaffrennou
François Jaffrennou
François-Joseph-Claude Jaffrennou was a Breton language writer and editor. He was a Breton nationalist and a neo-druid bard. He is also known as François Taldir-Jaffrennou, since he also used the Druidic name Taldir...
often played the roles.
Botrel also became involved in the burgeoning Pan-Celticist
Pan-Celticism
Pan-Celticism is the name given to various political and cultural movements and organisations that promote greater contact between the Celtic nations.-Types of Pan-Celticism:Pan-Celticism can operate on one or all of the following levels listed below:...
movement. In 1904 he and Léna attended the Pan-Celtic Congress in Caernarfon as Breton representatives.
Botrel was politically conservative, a Royalist and a devout Roman Catholic. Many of his later songs celebrated these values, and appealed to popular patriotism. The song Le Mouchoir rouge de Cholet (The Red Handkerchief of Cholet
Cholet
Cholet is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. It was the capital of military Vendée.-Geography:Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the fifteenth century...
) is about a soldier in the Chouannerie
Chouannerie
The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising in twelve of the western departements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the French Revolution, the First French Republic, and even, with its headquarters in London rather than France, for a time, under the Empire...
, the Royalist Catholic rebellion against the French Revolution, who buys the handkerchief for his girl. It inspired a local manufacturer to create red Cholet handkerchiefs, the popularity of which boosted the local textile industry.
World War I and after
Botrel was an enthusiastic supporter of the French cause in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Turned down for service in the French army because of his age, he attempted to enlist with Belgian forces, but was again rejected. He decided to work for the war effort by writing and performing patriotic songs.
He had already published a collection of military songs before the war in 1912 as "Coups de Clairon". A British writer noted "It is a noble work, and one cannot think of another poet, here or in France, so abundantly equipped for its performance. Botrel has no counterpart in Britain, so it were vain to seek comparisons."
After his rejection for military service Botrel started a monthly publication entitled Les chants du Bivouac containing songs for the soldiers. In 1915 he was appointed as official "Chansonnier des Armées", or "Bard of the Armies". According to the New York Times he was authorised by the Minister of War "to enter all military depots, camps and hospitals for the purpose of reciting and singing his patriotic poems." He travelled throughout the front line performing to the troops. The patriotic songs were also published as poems for a children's book promoting the war effort, Les Livres Rose pour la Jeunesse. Botrel's most famous wartime songs were Rosalie (the nickname of the French bayonet) and Ma P'tite Mimi (about a machine-gun). The latter was revived by Pierre Desproges
Pierre Desproges
Pierre Desproges was a French humorist. He was famous for his elaborate, eloquent and above all, virulent diatribes criticizing anything and everything....
in the 1980s.
At this time some of his lyrics were translated into English by G.E. Morrison and Edgar Preston as Songs of Brittany.
Botrel's wife Léna died in 1916. In 1918 he remarried, to Marie-Elisabeth Schrieber, known as Mailissa. He had two daughters with her, the elder of whom, named Léna after his first wife, married the writer Emile Danoën
Emile Danoën
Emile Danoën was a French journalist and novelist.Danoën was born Emile Orvoën, to Peter and Leonie Le Doze at Moëlan-sur-Mer in Finistère, Brittany, but he grew up in the seamen's hostel run by his parents in the district of Saint-François in Le Havre.During the Second World War, he moved to...
. The younger, Janick, was the mother of the singer Renaud Detressan
Soldat Louis
Soldat Louis are a French rock group originally from Lorient, who mix the traditional music of Brittany with typical rock music instruments - electric and acoustic guitar, drum kit, etc - as well as the traditional bagpipes and bombard...
.
Botrel died in 1925. His incomplete autobiography, souvenirs d'un barde errant, was published after his death. His daughter Léna later wrote extra chapters to complete the story of his life. A monument to him was erected in Paimpol designed by Pierre Lenoir. It shows the Paimpolaise gazing out to sea from the imaginary cliff. There is also a statue of him in Pont-Aven.
Songwriting
Unable to write music, Botrel could only publish his work by singing the tune to a professional musician who would write it down. Initially he was denied credit for the melody of his most famous song when the transcriber Eugène Feautrier asserted that he was the "author" of the music. Another claimed credit as "arranger". Botrel was advised by specialists at the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musiqueSociété des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers and music publishers.-History:...
that "from the moment you yourself compose the melody, even if you dictate it to a musician you remain the sole author of your chanson." From that point on he insisted on sole credit, but this produced some resentment from musicians who believed their contributions were being denied. It was also objected that songs and arrangements that were essentially in the style of modern Parisian chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
were being marketed as "Breton" music. Botrel and Léna also made a number of recordings.