The musician Charles Dumont, composer of the legendary “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf, died on the night of Sunday to Monday in Paris at the age of 95. In 2018, he came to sing in Besançon (Doubs) for two new concerts in philharmonic version. A meeting that Pascal Vuillemin has not forgotten.
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September 2018. On the stage of the Grand Kursaal, the voice of a great singer resonates. The one who composed for Piaf, Barbara, Tino Rossi, Barbara Streisand, Dalida, will perform his songs for two concerts, accompanied by a symphony orchestra.
“He had never done it. I know he was very proud of these two concerts. He kept a photo of the Besançon philharmonic orchestra in his living room. testifies Pascal Vuillemin, director of the philharmonic orchestra, to whom we learned of the death of Charles Dumont.
Karim Brusseleers immortalizes this moment in a documentary.
The meeting between Charles Dumont happened somewhat by chance. He gave a concert in 2015 in Villers le Lac (Doubs) with his pianist. In the first part, “the merchants of happiness” perform, including a double bassist who is one of the 65 musicians of the Besançon philharmonic orchestra. The idea is born. Offer him a recital with this orchestra.
“We went to his house in Paris with Anne Cuche, president of the orchestra. He accepted, but he did not have scores of his songs suitable for a philharmonic orchestra” summarizes Pascal Vuillemin. Everything had to be rewritten. For a year, Pascal Vuillemin will go to Charles Dumont in Paris to work. “He was a personality with a big heart, super kind, caring, always attentive, full of humor, fine, subtle” remembers the Bisontin who was lulled during his childhood by the hits of Charles Dumont.
Charles Dumont, composed the music for iconic songs, such as “No, I don’t regret anything” d’Edith Piaf. “He had the art of writing songs that went around the world, it’s incredible to have left such a legacy. A two-minute song seems easy to compose. He had a genius for melody” pays tribute to Pascal Vuillemin. Charles Dumont was also humble:
It’s hard to do without the public. I say, it’s the public, we owe them everything. It is he who makes us successful, that we can live easily, that we have courage, it is he.
Charles Dumont, September 2018 in Besançon
On stage in Besançon, Charles Dumont performed “No, I don’t regret anything“, “Les Amants”, “Mon Dieu”, “A song” one of his hits, but also “the pianist of the bar”.
The career of this trained trumpeter took a major turn at the turn of the 1960s when he convinced the star Edith Piaf to perform one of his compositions, after having suffered several refusals.“No, I don’t regret anything” has since become an unforgettable standard of La Môme, known throughout the world.
“My mother gave birth to me but Edith Piaf brought me into the world”said the singer and pianist born in Cahors on March 26, 1929. “Without her, I would never have done everything I did, neither as a composer, nor as a singer”he assured during an interview with AFP in 2015.
For Charles Dumont, this meeting will mark the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with Piaf, which will give birth to more than thirty pieces, including “My God” or “The jokers of the ball”.
Throughout his nearly sixty-year career, Charles Dumont also collaborated with Dalida and Tino Rossi and converted to a “crooner” at the end of the 1960s, abandoning his protest songs.
He then released a series of albums, where love took the lion’s share. His last appearance on stage dates back to 2019 at the Eiffel Tower theater.
