Love belongs to everyone – Chansons de la Vie – Jacques Brel

Conductor, musical arrangements, double bassJukka Nurmela

VocalsJoni Kuokkanen

PianoKaisa Ristiluoma

AccordionHenri Haakana

Costume designMirkka Nyrhinen

Belgian actor, director and singer-songwriter Jacques Brel has sold over 25 million records, a feat that proves that his songs are both well-loved and timeless. Brel’s songs are called chansons and perhaps the reason for their lasting appeal lies in the lyrics. Jacques Brel has rightly been called a poet. He is also considered to be one of the greatest french-language composers and his texts have been translated to a myriad of languages.

In this performance the musicians of Rimpparemmi let loose. At times they run like the Bulls of Salvador towards death and sometimes they hold their breath in fear of saying too much. Concert consists of the absolute best of Brel’s chansons that have been translated to finnish.

Songs by Jacques Brel tell a grand tale of life; love, death and society as a whole. Even darker subjects are handled with humour, the Brel way. In the Port of Amsterdam, The song of the old lovers, Don’t leave me and other chanson-classics transport the audience to backstreets of Amsterdam and towards gentle, bitter love.

The band is lead by conductor Jukka Nurmela, who wished to bring to the concert the intimate and hazy mood of Brel’s earlier club gigs. In addition to Nurmela’s double bass the band consists of accordionist Henri Haakana and pianist Kaisa Ristiluoma. Performer Joni Kuokkanen takes the stage as the leading man and vocalist.

Duration approx. 1h

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