Emma Liébel (born Aimée Medebielle; 13 September 1873 – January 1928) was a French ''chanteuse''. She was one of the pioneers of the ''

chanson réaliste ''Chanson réaliste'' (, ''realist song'') refers to a style of music performed in France primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II.Sweeney, Regina M. (2001). ''Singing Our Way to Victory: French Cultural Politics and Music During the G ...

'' style.

Early years

Aimée Medebielle was born in

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (, ) is a Communes of France, commune overlooking the Pyrenees, and prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The city is located in the heart o ...

, France, on 13 September 1873. Her father, Pierre Medebielle, was a carpenter. She made her debut as a singer in the southwest of France, under the German-sounding stage name of Emma Liebel, a partial anagram of her real name. This name appears on a program from the ''Nouveautés'' of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

in 1900. After the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914-1918) she made the stage name more French by adding an acute accent to the first e, making it "Liébel" rather than "Liebel".

Chanteuse

Emma Liébel moved to Paris, and appeared at '' Bobino'' before 1909. She was one of the pioneers of the ''

'' style in her popular shows, along with

Félicia Mallet Félicia Mallet (1863–1928) was a French comedian, singer and pantomime artist. Career Félicia Mallet was born in Bordeaux in 1863. In 1887 she played the part of Giovanni Paisiello, the court composer, in the first staging of Victorien Sard ...

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the ''Belle Époque''. Biography Born in Paris into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert be ...

and

Eugénie Buffet Eugénie Buffet (1866–1934) was a French singer who rose to fame in France just prior to World War I. She has been called one of the first,Frith, Simon (2004). ''Chanteuse in the city: the realist singer in French film'', Routledge. pp. 219– ...

. Other venues where she sang included ''L'Artistic'', ''le Brunin'', ''le Casino Montparnasse'', ''le Casino Saint-Martin'', ''Concordia'', ''Éden 2'', ''Fantasio'', ''Fauvette'', ''Kursaal'', ''Libre Échange'', ''Pacra'', ''Petit Casino'', ''Renaissance'' and ''Temple''. She performed at ''Zénith'' in 1919. In 1920 she toured North Africa. During the 1920–26 period she was at the height of her career. She sang at ''l'Européen'' in 1922, at ''l'Eldorado'' in 1923, and again at ''l'Européen'' in 1925, where she was featured for three months. Emma Liébel was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1926. She retired that year to Boeil Bezing near

Nay, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Nay (; oc, Nai; from the ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. It lies in the Provinces of France, former province of Béarn. Geography The land of the commun ...

, where she opened a café cabaret. She died in January 1928. Different sources give the cause of death as sepsis from a bad scissor cut by her hairdresser or as pleurisy. She was soon forgotten, perhaps due to the rapid deterioration of her recordings. Although she had recorded over 33 two-sided discs for Pathé-Frères by 1926, the company's 1931 catalog listed just 11 of them.

Work

Emma Liébel was a highly original artist, celebrated for her work in the ''chanson réaliste'' genre, but her range extended from light popular songs to melodramatic works. She influenced later artists such as Fréhel, Damia and even

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

. Her 1911 song ''Bonsoir m'amour'' (Good evening, my love) was adapted into the anti-war '' La Chanson de Craonne'' by troops during World War I, and was banned by the General Staff. Emma Liébel made about 200 recordings, including: *''Bonsoir m'amour'' (1911) by Raoul Le Peltier and Adelmar Sablon *''Les goélands'' (1913) by Lucien Boyer *''La coco'' (1916) by Edmond Bouchaud and Gaston Ouvrard *''Du gris'' (1920) by Ernest Dumont and Ferdinand-Louis Bénech *''

La Violetera "La Violetera" is a 1914 cuplé song, with the rhythm of a Habanera (music), habanera, composed by José Padilla (composer), José Padilla and with lyrics by Eduardo Montesinos, originally performed by Carmen Flores and popularized by Raquel Mell ...

'' (1920) by Eduardo Montesinos and José Padilla *''Autour des usines'' (1922), words by Ernest Dumont, music by Ferdinand-Louis Bénech, *''Ma chanson'' (1923) by Roland Gaël, music by

René de Buxeuil René de Buxeuil (), pseudonym for Jean-Baptiste Chevrier (; 4 June 1881 – 29 July 1959), was a 20th-century French composer and chansonnier. Biography De Buxeuil's parents ran the bistro ''Les prévoyants de l'avenir'' in La Haye-Descartes ...

*''Pars'' (1924) by Jean Lenoir *''

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

'' (1926) by J.A. de la Prada (adapted by Lucien Boyer and Jacques-Charles), music by José Padilla *''Il m'a vue nue'' (1926) words by Rip, music by Fred Pearly and Pierre Chagnon *''Mon Paris'' (1925) by Lucien Boyer, Jean Boyer and Vincent Scotto

References

Citations Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebel, Emma 1873 births 1928 deaths People from Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques 19th-century French women singers