A new box set in five volumes pays tribute to the immense composer of French film music Michel Legrand, who passed away in 2019. Iggy Pop, Clara Luciani, Philippe Katerine, Thomas Dutronc and other stars cover his most emblematic titles in the first volume of the box.
Yesterday tomorrow : this is the new musical sum devoted to Michael Legrand (1932-2019), legendary composer of film music and outstanding arranger. During his long career, Michel Legrand composed the music for more than 150 films, including of course his emblematic collaboration with Jacques Demy which popularized the genre of musicals, with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Demoiselles of Rochefort then Donkey Skin. Michel Legrand went so far as to win three Oscars, the first time in 1969 for The Windmills of Your Mind (The mills of my heart), the unforgettable score composed for the soundtrack of The Thomas Crown Affair (Norman Jewison, 1968), then for A summer 42 and Yentl in 1972 and 1984.
Today therefore appears an imposing musical anthology in five volumes – “Reprises et relectures”, “Singer”, “Jazz”, “Instrumental Variety” and “Cinema” – giving pride of place to the prolific work of Michel Legrand, who should have celebrated its 90th anniversary this year, and opens with an album of covers and re-readings (rather a compilation than real novelties) of its flagship titles.
Clara Luciani and Vladimir Cauchemar resume there Delphine’s song (The ladies of Rochefort); Thomas Dutronc sings Alcatraz, composed by Legrand for Claude Nougaro; Iggy Pop Tries On christmas of hope alongside Madeleine Peyroux, Carla Bruni, Emilie Simon and Rufus Wainwright; Macha Méril, ambassador of her repertoire, sings The one–to be with Hervé Sellin at the piano, and Juliette Armanet meanwhile signs a moving and bewitching revival of Les Moulins de mon coeur.
This set invites, among other things, to (re)discover Legrand’s deep love for jazz: in New York, the composer conducts, among others, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Miles Davis, giving rise to the album Legrand jazz (1959). Macha Méril, his wife, will create in 2020 a prize in his memory (the Michel Legrand Prize) to celebrate film music. The second edition of the prize, chaired by director Claude Lelouch, who can count on Agnès Jaoui and Bertrand Burgalat among his jurors, will take place on May 8 and will award an honorary prize to Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi (known for soundtracks of the films of Hayao Miyazaki), including the recovery of Cherbourg umbrellas is contained in the first volume of the set.
