Danielle Licari

Danielle Licari (born Danielle Cuvillier on 30 November 1936, in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French singer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. She is now remembered primarily as the vocalist of the song "Concerto pour une Voix".

Career In 1964, she dubbed the singing in the movie The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the role of Geneviève Émery, played by Catherine Deneuve.

From 1965 to 1967 she sang in the vocal trio Les Fizz with Jackie Castan and Nadine Doukhan, two other ex-Djinns Singers. Backed by Jacques Denjean's orchestra, the band released three EPs.

In 1968, she recorded "Treize jours en France", composed by Francis Lai; she also recorded a second version of "Love Story" dedicated to her by the same composer.

In 1969, she recorded her greatest hit, "Concerto pour une Voix". The album has sold over 15 million copies.

In 1972, she submitted her song "Au cœur d'une chanson" to compete in the Eurovision contest representing France. The French committee selected Betty Mars and her song "Come-Comedie" instead.

In 1972, she represented France in the "World Popular Song Festival" held in Tokyo, Japan. Her song "Une Vie" was a finalist.

In 1973, she participated as a vocalist to an album considered as a masterpiece of French chanson: the symphonic, dark and epic Il n'y a plus rien (There is nothing anymore) by singer-songwriter Léo Ferré.

In July 1978, she sang with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and the choir of St-Dominique Church. The piece chosen was a musical drama called Concerto pour Helene, in honour of Helene Boule, the wife of the founder of Quebec City, as part of the city's 370th anniversary celebrations. The work was composed by Claude Léveillée.

In 1982, she voiced Princess Aurora in the French dub of Sleeping Beauty.

Wyclef Jean sampled "Concerto Pour Une Voix" in his 1997 song "Apocalypse."

She has sold over 20 million copies of her albums during her career. Her songs are found in easy listening CD compilations worldwide.

Singing style Her characteristic singing style lacked lyrics, communicating emotions through sounds, the way a violin would. This may have fueled her popularity in non-French speaking countries like Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and Korea. She used her voice like a musical instrument giving a soft, unique dream-like tone. She has been called la voz de la sirena ("the voice of a Siren"). Most of her recordings are arrangements of classical themes composed originally for instruments rather than voice, while the arrangements consist generally of large orchestral ensembles mixed with a pop-rock band instrumentation. She incorporated pop-rock elements that made her music appealing. Her singing style influenced Japanese Anime soundtracks of the 1980s such as Seiji Yokoyama (Saint Seiya).

Discography

Studio albums Year Title Label Release country 1965 La Geographie en Chansons Barclay France & Canada 1965 Lecon de Choses en Chansons Barclay France & Canada 1966 Vivre la Nuit Phillips France and Japan 1967 Jesus: La Vie de Jesus en 12 Chansonswith the Francois Rauber Orchestra Phillips France 1969 Sanctus: Musique Sacree Pour Piano, Orgue et Voix Phillips France, Canada, Mexico 1969 Concerto Pour Une Voix Barclay Worldwide release 1970 On Est Bien La-La Barclay France 1973 Screen Themes Golden Prize Barclay France, Canada and Japan 1974 Danielle Licari Live in Japan (with Obi) Barclay Japan 1974–75 Danielle Licari Barclay France, Canada, Japan, Mexico 1975 Le Marche Persan Barclay France, Canada, Japan, Mexico 1976 Rhapsodie Pour Deux Voix Barclay France, Canada, Japan, Mexico 1977 Saggitarius Barclay France, Canada, Mexico 1978 Rappel Barclay France, Canada, Mexico 1979 Concerto Pour Elle Heloise France and Canada 1980 Elisabeth Serenade Amo Records France, Japan 1980Danielle Licari Chante Ennio Morricone:Mal de Toi Le Petit Menestral France 1981 Heidi Ades France 1982 Concerto Pour Deux Voix Victor Brazil, France, Canada 1984 Lonely Shepherd Disques Star France and Canada 1984 Romance Star France and Canada 1993 Sanctus: Musique Sacree Pour Piano,Orgue et Voix (re-release) PolyGram Projects France and Canada 1995 Danielle Licari chante les plus grands Disques Quality Canada Pinocchio, Joli Pantin Ades

Backing vocals Danièle Licari also sang for other artists, such as French singer-songwriter Léo Ferré.

Year Title Artist Label Release country 1970 Amour Anarchie Léo Ferré Barclay France, Canada 1971 L'Albatros (excerpts from Jean-Pierre Mocky's movie soundtrack) Léo Ferré Barclay France 1973 Il n'y a plus rien Léo Ferré Barclay France, Canada

Singles Year Title Label Release country 1969 "Concerto pour une voix" Barclay Worldwide 1970 "Adagio Romantique" Barclay France, Japan, Mexico 1971 "Prelude Pour Un Amour: Melodie Pour un Autoumne" Barclay France 1972 "Une Vie" Barclay France, Japan 1975 "Histoire D'O (Geschichte der O)" Barclay Canada, France and Germany 1975 La Canzone di Orlando Barclay Italy, Canada, France "Concerto Pour Une Voix" Multiple labels Japan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Israel "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" Multiple labels France, Canada, Japan "Rhapsodie Pour Deux Voix" Barclay France 1977"Adagio de Albinoni / Concerto No 1En Si Bemol De Tchaikowski" Barclay France and Canada 1979 "Concerto pour Elle" (Re-release) Barclay France 1981 "Les Chansons de Pierrot" France 1981 "Prelude Pour Un Amour: Melodie Pour un Autoumne" (Re-release) Barclay Canada 1983 "Le Chant des étoiles" Barclay France

Collections

The Greatest Hits (Universal). Distributed in Latin America, Spain, France, Canada, the United States, Japan, Korea and many more The Best Collection of World Popular Music: Pops and Vocals, Volume 5. (PolyGram Records) 1981: Double compilation – Concerto pour une voix (Pro-Culture, Canada only) 1993: Master Série (PolyGram) 1994: Best of Best (RCA Victor, Japan only) 1999: Concerto pour une Voix – compilation CD (RCA Victor, Japan only)

Soundtracks 1964 – The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (While parts of the melody are used throughout the movie, the full song "Devant le Garage" is sung by the character Geneviève Emery, played by Catherine Deneuve and dubbed by Danielle Licari) 1971 – The Deadly Trap (singing voice) 1981 – J'en ai rêvé ("Once Upon a Dream") in Disney's second French version of Sleeping Beauty (first was released by Huguette Boulangeot) 1985 – Asterix et la surprise de Cesar