Paris is arguably the most sung about city in the world and now, for the first time in its history, an exhibition in sound and picture has been dedicated to the dozens and dozens of songs and ballads about the capital reaching all the way back to the 16th century.
The exhibition, Paris en chansons : si Paris m'était chanté ! (‘Paris in songs: if Paris were sung to me’), which is on until July 29th, is the fruit of a joint project by the Paris Médiathèque musicale and the Bibliothèque historique – the library of the city’s history.
The show is also mirrored by an internet presentation, which includes a virtual singing tour of the capital’s sites from a collection of songs that date from the late 18th century.
Held at the Galerie des Bibliothèques exhibition centre in the central Marais district (see details below), the display is less Paris singing its own song than a nostalgic and romantic tour illustrating the crush of generations of musicians for Paname, the popular nickname for the capital recurrent in 20th-century songs.
The exhibition offers a vast collection of original documents – photographs, posters, music scores, books, magazines - and audio recordings, including many rare gramophone (vinyl) records from the Médiathèque musicale, and audio-visual presentations.
Enlargement : Illustration 2
Set out in nine themed sections, the different items on display trace the real history of Paris and the corresponding interpretation of it – realistic, imaginary and mythical – in French song. The individual sections illustrate widely different themes, including songs from the 16th-18th centuries, ‘In Paris by foot, by car, by metro’, ‘Paris is a party’, ‘Legendary artists’ and ‘Songs of Paris in cinema’. These are illustrated with audiovisual documents (extracts from cinema films and TV programmes, video clips) and also scopitones, a sort of jukebox mounted with a film screen.
There are nine separate headphone posts where visitors can sample songs from a sound-base collection of more than 200, the list of which can be found (and some played) on the exhibition’s website (see here).
To whet its readers' appetites, Mediapart has edited a series of extracts of music hall maestro Maurice Chevalier - including a performance in English - into the official video presentation of the exhibition (click screen below).
Enlargement : Illustration 4
The exhibition 'Paris en chansons : si Paris m'était chanté !' is on until July 29th at the Galerie des Bibliothèques, 22, rue Malher in Paris' 4th arrondissement.
Open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 1pm to 7pm (late closing Thursdays at 9pm).
Entrance fee: 6 euros. Nearest metro: Saint-Paul
