''Les Fleurs du mal'' (English: "''The Flowers of Evil''") is an album by Léo Ferré, released in 1957 by

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

. It is his first LP dedicated to a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and this is the first time in popular music history a whole album is dedicated to a dead poet. Léo Ferré has set Baudelaire into music two more times : in 1967 with double album ''

Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire ''Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire'' (English: "''Léo Ferré sings Baudelaire''") is an album by Léo Ferré, released in 1967 by Barclay Records. It is his fourth LP dedicated to a poet, after a first Baudelaire effort in 1957 (''Les Fleurs du m ...

'', and with unfinished project ''

Les Fleurs du mal (suite et fin) ''Les Fleurs du mal (suite et fin)'' (English: "''The Flowers of Evil (last and final)''") is an album by Léo Ferré, posthumously released in 2008 by La Mémoire et la Mer. It is his third musical effort dedicated to Charles Baudelaire's poet ...

'', recorded in 1977 but posthumously released in 2008.

History

Track listing

Texts by Charles Baudelaire. Music composed by Léo Ferré. ;Original LP

Personnel

* Léo Ferré - voice, piano *

Jean-Michel Defaye Jean-Michel Defaye (born 18 September 1932) is a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. He was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne near Paris, on 18 Septemb ...

- piano * Jean Cardon - accordion * Barthélémy Rosso - guitar * Pierre Gossez - tenor saxophone * Janine de Waleyne -

ondes Martenot The ondes Martenot ( ; , "Martenot waves") or ondes musicales ("musical waves") is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a keyboard or by moving a ring along a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. A player ...

* Fred Ermelin - double bass

External links

Album listening & presentation
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleurs du mal Léo Ferré albums Les Fleurs du mal in popular culture French-language albums 1957 albums Musical settings of poems by Charles Baudelaire