“He was a very endearing personality and, in recent years through my new projects, like ''Non, je ne regrette rien'' from the title of a song he composed, he had a big part, he gave me a lot of confidence, he was an inconsiderable, unconditional support, to be able to let go and stand on my own two feet and sing Piaf.” Very saddened by the death, at the age of 95, of Charles Dumont, who disappeared during the night from Sunday to Monday, the Var singer Anne Carrère remembers the man and the composer of genius.
An artist who remained open to new talents, until the end. “As long as Piaf was sung, in whatever way, by young people or by older people, for him, it was necessary to sing it, it was necessary to continue to bring his songs to life, to make it exist, underlines Anne Carrère. He paid particular attention to the way of interpreting. I saw him crying in front of me, I reminded him, not of the voice because I am not Piaf, but of a personality. He told me: “Keep singing with your soul and you will touch people”, I think I will stick to this advice, even more today…”
With the man who wrote unforgettable successes for Edith Piaf, Dalida and Barbra Streisand, the Toulon native had established a bond of friendship through artistic projects paying homage to La Môme. With Florence, his companion, too. “The first time we really shared something in common was on the Olympia stage, with the old show [”Piaf, le spectacle”, en septembre 2017, le show imaginé et produit par les Niçois de Directo Production, qui a fait le tour du monde, ndlr]. Charles Dumont came and we both sang a duet, it was a real artistic and human encounter. He had come, beforehand, to the Nice Opera, to see the show and, at the end, he was full of praise for me, he was full of emotion. This first impression, his, made me say: we are going to continue on this path, if you touch a gentleman like Charles, it is because it is right”remembers Anne Carrère.
Another memorable memory for the Var artist, who continued to promote the work of Edith Piaf, notably through her album “Non, je ne regrette rien” (released in 2021) and the show that followed: this day registration, in 2021. “At the Meudon studio. We were both there and we recorded this song [“Je m’en remets à toi”, composée avec Jacques Brel, qui figure sur l’album d’Anne Carrère sous forme de duo avec Charles Dumont] which was intended for Piaf. And there, we spent time sharing croissants, pain au chocolat, coffee and then getting to work. It was magical, magical.”
After having interpreted the work of Edith Piaf and giving new life to so many titles composed by Charles Dumont, if she had to keep only one, which one would it be? “I would be lying if I said that it was obvious for me to choose. I would still say “No, I don’t regret anything”, it’s like a new beginning. She says: he Lots of things happened, lots of good things and lots of bad things, and this song has this power of resilience. She says: I'm coming back, and I don't regret anything. He wasn't the one who wrote it, of course, but he largely contributed to its success with this captivating melody.”
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