Performer: Jure Ivanušič & NORDunk
Label: Celinka
Release: 2011
Duration: 44:09
Rating: 4.5/5
Jacques Brel ranks alongside Georges Brassens, Camille Dalmais, Edith Piaf and Olivia Ruiz among the biggest and most representative names in chanson.»Srce v kovčku« is a »Slovenian transcription« of a famous work by the famed Belgian-French chansonnier, backed up by original translations. The work, originally titled »Le coeur dans une valise«, paints the life of Jacques Brel, from his early years of growing up, through success, and finally to withdrawal, as he spent his last years in Tahiti. The translations from French into Slovenian were handled first and foremost by Jure Ivanušič, though he also »wrangled« some help from the work of Janez Menart (Obupanci, Pesmi okna) and Dušan Velkavrh. The latter contributed the translation for the song Ne zapusti me (Ne me quitte pas), written for Majda Sepe’s vocal interpretation. Nina Simone and Sting have also covered this song in their own varieties, and Brel’s contemporary Edith Piaf performed it too.
So in that sense, Ivanušič isn’t reinventing the wheel, but if we look only at Slovenia’s cultural and artistic pulse, this new creative adventure of his is undoubtedly a notable stone in the mosaic and a creative high point on the Slovenian scene. Just how popular a challenge it is to take on a cover of any Jacques Brel standard is also proven by the hit »Seasons in the Sun« by Canadian singer-songwriter Terry Jacks, who in 1974 turned Brel’s Le Moribond (Umirajoči) upside down. That one is also included on »Srce v kovčku«
For this occasion Ivanušič had to squeeze really all of his talents into his artistic cumulus, talents embodied in the singular role of an esteemed and acclaimed Slovenian artist, actor, director, screenwriter, composer and, last but not least, what matters most in this piece, keyboardist and chansonnier. Given the enormous mileage this artist has behind him, the artistry of his past work, which in its insightful solutions and adaptations leaves absolutely nobody indifferent, and the proven pedigree of his interpretation (or reinterpretation, if you like), the morsel Jure Ivanušič set out to chew this time is undoubtedly an ambitious move, a kind of new way of challenging himself creatively, as his artistic language understands it, exploring its still-unexplored dimensions and setting new milestones that only broaden the artist’s own range and add new value, new quality.
Where Brel was originally accompanied by arrangements of piano, accordion and the strings of a backing orchestra, Ivanušič, while staying faithful to the guiding melodic structures of the originals in his re-arranging, brought piano, woodwinds and accordion to the front. They carry the bulk of the sonic backdrop and, alongside the vocal interpretation, the mood of the songs. Without strings, he has in this sense even further emphasized and highlighted the typical elements of French cabaret melos. The bulk of the hard work on this project, which has been ripening for years and whose seeds of an idea reach back to the nineties, fell to adapting Brel’s poetry into Slovenian. The meaning of the message had to be held on to, and the rhymes in the verses had to build the theater up adequately, with a suitably shock-therapy punch in the metaphorical barbs that ignite in an instant when conveying emotion!
We can say with a clear conscience that Ivanušič pulled off a big one and masterfully slipped into the skin of Jacques Brel. A copy is certainly no better than the original, but this record needs to be looked at differently. Its purpose isn’t to try to improve on the original. It’s a note of thanks from Jure Ivanušič to the figure and work of Jacques Brel, who has in fact inspired Ivanušič creatively all these years and opened the door to exploring his own creative genius, so as to enrich Ivanušič’s expressive language, nurture it, and carry it to a new qualitative level.
»Srce v kovčku« is also an attempt to pour an artistic work into a »Slovenian« mold! And it was realized to the fullest. Right away, in the song Hudič, Ivanušič signals that this project is no joke. From the very start you’re struck by the convincing infectiousness of the theatrical »stinginess« of the verses, which keeps the listener alert and firmly glued to the record. The emotions, a mix of madness and pain, love and despair, disgust and fear (the unease of loneliness), are on the other hand enriched with the character of mocking theater, full of irony, anti-war messages, even gallows humor and satire. A sensible red thread ties the events together, we might say the life thread of Jacques Brel, and in sheer character overload the whole atmosphere is weighed down with a genuine sense of tragedy, so the downfall of the protagonist is inevitable. Despite his triumphs, the hero must fall!
Ivanušič is also an excellent actor, which is no longer news. His stage presence, combined with deeply felt delivery of the verses and brilliant piano playing, literally enchants and hypnotizes, that’s how convincing the performance is. The collaboration between Ivanušič and the NORDunk lineup already bore fruit ten years ago with a sensational debut joint project, »Bil sem ti blizu«. »Srce v Kovčku« is likewise prepared for the stage, as a theatrical music show. Just listening to this CD hits you hard as the emotions of pain, inner anguish and the unlived dreams of Jacques Brel play out (a golden contrast between the poet’s inner fragility and longing and the merciless thugs of reality – Zangra, Naslednji, Amsterdam), but to experience its full-blooded embodiment of the message, you absolutely have to catch the real theatrical music spectacle. A record this masterfully polished can’t help but give you the feeling that Ivanušič weighed every arrangement move and every adaptation of Brel’s poetry for a long time, thinking it through, and in doing so showed the giant of chanson a great deal of respect through his actions. We can say that in this sense he has built him a gorgeous Slovenian monument!
Line-up
Jure Ivanušič – vocals, piano (5,8,16)
Simon Šimat – guitar
Gregor Antauer – piano, Hammond
Tomaž Marčič – accordion
Bojan Logar – clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone
Andrej Antauer – bass guitar
Ciril Sem – drums, percussion
Production
Bojan Podlesnik & SImon Šimat
Tracklist
1. Hudič
2. Moramo gledati
3. Naslednji
4. Obupanci
5. Marieke
6. Matilda
7. Nežnost
8. Ne zapusti me
9. Amsterdam
10. Okna
11. Plašen človek
12. Obešenec
13. Zangra
14. Sam
15. Umirajoči
16. Pada dež
