From the chanson française to the canzone d'autore in the 1960s and 1970s

The similarities between the chanson française and the canzone d'autore have been often noted but never fully explored. Both genres are national forms which involve the figure of the singer-songwriter, both experienced their golden age of production in the post-World War II period and both are enduringly popular, still accounting for a large proportion of record sales in their respective countries. Rachel Haworth looks beyond these superficial similarities, and investigates the nature of the relationship between the two genres. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, encompassing textual analysis of song lyrics, cultural history and popular music studies, Haworth considers the different ways in which French and Italian song is thought about, written about and constructed. Through an in-depth study of the discourse surrounding chanson and the canzone d'autore, the volume analyses the development of the genres' rules and rhetoric, identifying the key themes of Authority, Authenticity and Influence. The book finally considers the legacy of major artists, looking at modern perspectives on Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré, Fabrizio De André and Giorgio Gaber, ultimately affording a deeper understanding of the notions of quality and value in the context of chanson française and the canzone d'autore.

Rachel Haworth is Lecturer in Italian at the University of Hull. She has published work on various aspects of French and Italian popular music from the 1950s and 1960s. Her research explores questions of gender, performance, stardom, legitimation, and value in post-war Italian and French popular music.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Thinking the chanson française and the canzone d'autore; Writing about chanson in the 1950s and 1960s; Brassens, Brel and Ferré as paradigms of chanson; Brassens, Brel and Ferré in their own words; Italian popular music prior to 1960: the Sanremo Festival and the Cantacronache; Italian popular music discourse in the 1960s and 1970s; Relationships and influences between the cantautore and the auteur-compositeur-interprète: Fabrizio De André and Georges Brassens; Relationships and influences between the cantautore and the auteur-compositeur-interprète: Giorgio Gaber and Jacques Brel; Contemporary perceptions of the chanson française and the canzone d'autore; Conclusion: authenticity, authority and influence in the context of the chanson française and the canzone d'autore; Bibliography; Index.