A feature of the present lockdown experience has been the creative ways in which musicians have continued to pursue their art. Whilst we have been having zoom minutes and Facebook Live get togethers, some folk have been arranging performances of great complexity. The Symphonie Confinee are forty-five musicians and singers are brought together in a delightful and moving ensemble from all over France, to deliver their version of Bourvil’s “Tenderness”.
Valentin Vanderhaegen, singer and actor, the driving force behind the recording, began by sending his part in guitar-voice to all the participants. He then each contributor’s recording and assembled them to arrive at the final result. A technical performance that required hours of patience.
“It’s a big puzzle game. I wanted there to be an evolution throughout the song, a crescendo. ” “This song was obvious. It speaks about essential things common to all men, And then there is this sentence: Work is necessary but if you have to stay for weeks without doing anything, well … We get used to it . It suited the news pretty well. “
This again has been one of those songs that I have found myself listening to again and again. Not only that, but I have discovered the individual work of many of the artistes featured in the video, to be a rich vein of new music. Enjoy.
