Les Quatre Barbus

A humorous French vocal quartet, Les Quatre Barbus have served popular song, whether childish, maritime or bawdy. Formed in the aftermath of the Front Populaire in 1938, the group led by literature student Jacques Tritsch (bass) was completed by three Beaux-Arts students, including Marcel Quinton (baritone). Originally called Les Compagnons de Route, the group performed at summer camps, and was spotted by Agnès Capri, who hired them in 1939 to perform at her cabaret, before recording their first album. The Second World War hampered the group's activities, which were recomposed in 1942 with the arrival of Pierre Jamet (tenor), a former choir singer and friend of Jacques Prévert. Several countertenors followed, including André Schlesser and Jean-Marie Périsson, until 1949, when the position was filled by Georges Thibaut (countertenor), choirmaster at the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Paris). This stabilized quartet staged the show Le Gueux au Paradis and toured extensively, before renaming themselves Les Quatre Barbus and signing with Philips. Their repertoire of popular songs in the vein of satirical music-hall and folk tunes encompassed children's songs with Lucienne Verlay, sea chanteys and chansons paillardes over the course of some thirty albums and multiple hit singles in the 1950s. Among the group's recordings, which include performances at Les Trois-Baudets and the Olympia, are Rondes et Chansons de France (1954-1962), Chansons Paillardes (1956), Chansons à Boire (1957), Chansons de Marche, Chansons d'Étapes (1958), Les 4 Barbus Chantent ... (1958), Les 4 Barbus à la Mouff', Volumes 1 & 2 (live, 1960) and Chansons de la Marine à Voiles (1963), featuring Pierre Dac and Francis Blanche's "La Pince à linge" on Beethoven's 5th symphony and the "Chant d'allégresse" on a Chopin Etude, the"Overture to the Barber of Seville" performed in the film Boum sur Paris (1954), "Honneur aux Barbus" to another Rossini aria, "L'Alcool" to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and "Le Parti d'en rire " to Ravel's Bolero. In 1969, a final album devoted to anarchist songs brought the career of Les Quatre Barbus to a close. Marcel Quinton died in 1984, followed by Jacques Tritsch in 1991, Georges Thibaut in 1998 and Pierre Jamet in 2000.

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