Aimé Duval

Aimé Duval (better known under the name Père Duval) (30 June 1918 – 30 April 1984) was a French priest of the Society of Jesus, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, who was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography Born in Le Val-d'Ajol in the Vosges department, Lucien Duval was baptized in Plombières. After a few years of primary school, he went to a Jesuit college in Brussels in 1930, already with the desire to become a priest. During this period he wrote a first chanson. In 1936, he joined the Jesuits and studied Catholic theology. On July 24, 1944, he received priest ordination in Enghien, Belgium. He was first employed as a French teacher in Reims until he was able to devote himself entirely to music.

A few years after his ordination, Duval began to write songs and to present them first in pubs and cafés. Soon he was invited to give concerts. His tours took him all over Europe: he gave 3000 concerts in 45 countries. His concert in (West-) Berlin had 30,000 visitors. The chancellor Konrad Adenauer gave him a guitar "as a thank you for the joy he had brought to young people". In 1965 Père Duval was the first priest to sing "behind the Iron Curtain": he gave a free concert in Warsaw. He also performed in America.

His first record was issued in 1956. In 1961 he had already sold more than one million records.

Singer Some songs:

La Nuit Rue des Longues Haies À Bilbao Par la main J'ai joué de la flûte Les Faces de carême (Ris ou pleure, fais quelque chose...) Il y avait beaucoup de monde Le Seigneur reviendra Seigneur, mon ami Pourquoi viens-tu si tard ? L'Espérance morte La P'tite Tête Comme un soldat Dans le ciel Le Vieux Jo Le ciel est rouge Marie-Thérèse

Bibliography, discography Lucien (a pseudonym: that was his second first name), L'Enfant qui jouait avec la lune, Mulhouse, 1983. Paul Tihon : Le Père Duval ou la chanson fraternelle, Brussels, 1960. Ignacio Echaniz : Passion and Glory (vol.4), Anand (India), Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 2000, pp. 236–243. Intégrale 1956-1961 : coffret 4 CD, Monthabor Music, 2014-2016