September 3, 2024 at 11:18 a.m.
By Simon Cordeau (local journalism initiative)
The singer Francesca Gagnon will be at The Patriot Theater from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on September 6 to present The voice of AlegriaAccompanied on the piano by René Dupéré and jazz musicians, she will retrace her musical journey of more than 50 years in a two-hour show.
“Last year I did a show with a quartet for the album release Music to the stars. But we realized that it was very concert-like. And I think people want to hear music that’s a little more festive. So I decided to completely change the show,” explains the Wentworth-Nord resident in an interview.
In the dance halls
Originally from Jonquière, Francesca Gagnon started singing at age 15. “It was in dance halls. There were a lot of them. We went to them often because my mother did Latin dance. We also had a dance teacher. At home, we heard a lot of Latin music, tango, foxtrot and all those dances,” she says.
One day, her mother heard on the radio that an orchestra was looking for a singer, and decided to call. “I don’t know how bold she was! And she took me to audition that very evening. I knew all the songs on the radio. And I played them on the piano.” The musicians fell under her spell and decided to take her on. “That was my debut.”
Over time, the young singer managed to make herself known. “I had successes that Magical night with youwhich was #1. It’s an album I made in 1986. And before that, I made another song that I’m going to keep as a surprise. I’m going to ask people if they recognize it. But it was a monumental hit for a year on the charts.”
The success ofHappiness
In 1987, Ms. Gagnon went to live in France, where she remained until her father’s death in 1993. “I came back to Quebec. Otherwise, I would never have come back. I was established there.” Upon her return, she became “the voice ofHappiness “, the Cirque du Soleil show whose music was played a lot on the radio. “But people had forgotten me. They didn’t make the connection between the singer of the time and the one ofHappiness ” she says.
Happiness becomes a worldwide success. “I had asked for real lyrics. So I sing in Spanish, Italian and a little bit in French. It made the songs more commercial. […] To wantwhich is on the album, was #1 in Argentina, for tango dancers,” the singer remembers.
She will also sing for Prince Charles. She remembers the strict protocol surrounding this royal meeting. “He said to me, with all the elegance we know him for: “A very big voice for such a small lady!” [Rires] »
Go around the world
In 1999, Francesca Gagnon made the album Beyond Colorswhich is still successful today, she assures. Recently, she published on YouTube the video clip of I would like towhich appears on the album. In just three months, it has already accumulated more than 115,000 views, which surprised the singer. “I’m going to do that song again on stage.”
The singer will also work in Chile, with the group Inti-Illimani. “They have made about fifty albums and tours in Europe and everywhere. So I toured with them for two years, in 2009 and 2010. I also made an album with them. [Meridiano]. »
Suffering and hope
The artist confides that she has experienced several trials in her life, such as a difficult childhood, but also a big fire in which she lost everything. “But I get back up. I tell myself that this is life. And it makes me strong. […] I’ve been writing my songs for several years. And for me, there has to be hope, light. It’s very important to talk about positive things, and I feed off that.”
In fact, she sees her art as something therapeutic. “Personally, it saved my life. It’s the best thing I could have done: sing. At that time, when I was 15, my parents separated and it was very difficult.”
By singing about her sorrows, Ms. Gagnon also made people cry. At first, it made her “uncomfortable,” she admits. Then she understood that she allowed them to express their emotions. For example, in her album Hybridreleased in 2005, features songs sung in an invented language. “The voice is a musical instrument. It doesn’t matter if you understand the words or not, if the person conveys emotion, you’re going to feel it,” she illustrates.
But Francesca Gagnon’s music also has a festive and Latin side, even “tribal,” she adds. “When I worked with the Chileans, it was always very rhythmic. But through the rhythm, you have very haunting melodies. So it comes across better. You can convey something painful, but you still have a rhythm that invites you to dance.”
Find Dupéré
For his latest album, Music to the starsMs. Gagnon has collaborated with René Dupéré, composer for the Cirque du Soleil, among others. During the show, he will accompany her on the piano. “We made the album Happiness in 1994, but after that, we didn’t see each other again. In 2012, we met again. He was in Sainte-Agathe, and he had called me for a benefit show. It was like a reunion. We had put together a few songs, and people had loved it so much.” Together, they reinterpreted the great French songs and released the album Sing me a story in 2015.
During the show, the singer also promises several little surprises. “I have a guest who is my sister, Joyce. We’re doing a Quebec medley, with songs by Jean-Pierre Ferland in it.” She also mentions the influence that Janis Joplin had on her music, and she will also do a medley of her. She also speaks with love of rhythm and blues and Aretha Franklin.
Taking inspiration from the North
After HappinessMs. Gagnon was planning to return to France. “But I fell in love. He was a Quebecer who came from the Gaspé. We’ve been together for 28 years and we’re still just as in love: our eyes sparkling all the time.”
After the fire, she also hesitated to return to France, but she finally decided to stay here. “We really live in one of the most beautiful countries, and Quebec in particular. It’s both in terms of creation and space. We need all of that.”
It was while working with Mr. Dupéré in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts that she discovered the Laurentians and decided to settle there. “It was fall and I saw the colors. […] These are small villages and we are lucky. We found a small cottage in Wentworth-Nord. It is growing. I wanted a small glass roof, then a larger one. [Rires] »
She also speaks with fascination of the snow-covered trees in winter, which line the little paths leading to her house. “That’s what nourishes me and helps me write.”
