Michel Maurice Armand Warlop (23 January 1911 – 6 March 1947) was a French classical and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
violinist professionally active from 1929 to 1947.
Early life and education
Michel Warlop (Michou to his friends) was a child prodigy who began musical studies with his mother, a music professor, and entered the Conservatory of
Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...
, the second oldest in France, aged six.
There he was a student of Victor Gallois who had won the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
for composition in 1905. Aged seven, he performed his first public concert accompanied by his mother on piano in Douai. Aged eight in 1919 he played his first concert in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, to benefit victims 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 ...
. He transferred to the
Conservatory of Lille around the age of 10 and started his studies at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
(university level) aged 13.
Work with the Raymond Legrand Orchestra
In mid-1939, Warlop started working as a permanent member of the
Raymond Legrand
Raymond Paul Legrand (May 23, 1908 in Paris – November 25, 1974 in Montreal) was a French composer and conductor.
Career
Legrand studied harmony and orchestration as a pupil of Gabriel Faure. In the realms of jazz and light music, he made arra ...
Orchestra, the most popular big band in France during the early to mid-1940s. Warlop was called up for military service in September 1939 and left Paris. Soon after hostilities started between
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and France he became a German
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
. He was later released because of his
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, i ...
and returned to France late in February 1941.
After a visit home he went to Paris and took up his old chair in Legrand's orchestra. He also recorded with the Jazz Dixit and his own Septuor à Cordes (string septet) from time to time. Both of these units were made up of other musicians in the Legrand organization. The septet was very unusual in having four violins (including Warlop), two guitars and a string bass as its basic makeup. From time to time there was also a piano, drums and even a harp but not all appeared on each recording.
Warlop wrote and arranged almost all of the Septuor's music which was in a style that blended a classical string setting with Warlop's jazz abilities. In 1942, he recorded his own Swing Concerto, which was made with a large concert orchestra. It took up both sides of a 30 cm/ 12 inch 78 RPM disc that ran for seven and a half minutes. Disques Swing did not issue it and it sat in the vaults until it was finally released on a CD in 1989. The work showed off Warlop's skills in both the classical and jazz realms but Swing feared that the mix of classical and jazz styles would not be well received.
Another violinist, Pierre Darrieux, recorded the same work with the same orchestra on the Columbia label about a year later. It was released to the public but did not sell in the hoped for numbers. The same session that produced Warlop's performance of Swing Concerto also produced Le Noël du Prisonnier (A Prisoner's Christmas), another longer work that was released on both sides of a Columbia 12 inch/ 30 cm record rather than on Disques Swing. Both Noël du Prisonnier and Darrieux's rendition of Swing Concerto only sold a few hundred copies each and both discs are highly sought after by collectors today as they have never been re-issued.
Legrand's orchestra was extremely busy during the war years with recordings, broadcasts and touring around France for personal appearances. During 1941, Legrand's orchestra made a movie called
Mademoiselle Swing
''Mademoiselle Swing'' is a 1942 French musical film directed by Richard Pottier and starring Irène de Trebert, Jean Murat and Raymond Legrand.Zwerin p.149 It was shot at the It was shot at the Photosonor Studios in Paris. The film's sets were d ...
, released in 1942 with singer
Irène de Trebert
Irène de Trebert (1921–1996) was a French singer, dancer and actress.Larry Portis p.104 A singer of Swing music, she enjoyed great popularity during the years of the German occupation of France despite Nazi disapproval of her style of music. I ...
. Warlop was the middle of the three violin players in the band for the film and can be heard on short solos in several instances. The film is available on DVD in France and only in French. In July and August 1942, Legrand's orchestra visited Germany and played for French war prisoners and laborers that were working there. They did not play for the German public or military during this tour or on German radio. Late in 1943, Warlop made his last recordings as a leader but stayed active in music, continuing on with Raymond Legrand.
Post-war period
After the war many French musicians, singers and film stars were accused of supporting the enemy for appearing on German-controlled radio, playing for German troops or touring in Germany. Many were banned from working for a time. Warlop had to sit out for two months and Legrand for one year. He never played again in Paris or recorded after 1945.
Despite of his abilities in classical music which would have gained him a good position in any classical orchestra in France, Warlop preferred to tour as a jazz soloist and in small groups in the south of France. His last engagement was with Jimmy Réna's small group at the Grand Hotel Superbagnières above
Luchon, France in the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
near the border with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. His tuberculosis finally caught up with him, along with his heavy consumption of
alcohol and
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
. He died at the age of 36 in 1947.
Family
Warlop was married to and later divorced from Fernande ('Nandette') Richard; the couple did not have any children. He also had no brothers or sisters. A few of his distant cousins are alive today, living in or near Douai, France. He is buried in the left (when coming from the center of Luchon) of the three cemeteries (all are next to each other) on the outskirts of Luchon, France.
References
Michel Warlop Discography by Jean-Claude Alexandre, Pierre Carlu, and several others. It is unpublished as a book but available online*Daniel Nevers on the liner notes of various LP's and CD's issued on Pathé, EMI and Frémeaux & Associés from about 1983 to the present.
*Jazz Hot, number 13 (new series), April 1947.
*Jazz Magazine (France), number 25, March 1957.
*Michel Ruppli, AFAS Discographies Volume 1: Disques Swing, AFAS, 1989; .
*Amis de Douai, revue de l'Office de Tourisme, Tome XII-No. 7, June–July–August 1997.
*Gérard Régnier: Jazz et société sous l'Occupation. Editions L'Harmattan, 2009, .
*Pierre Guingamp: Michel Warlop (1911-1947) – Génie du violon swing. Editions L'Harmattan, 2011; .
*Record Memory Club Magazine Number 95, December 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warlop, Michel
1911 births
1947 deaths
French jazz violinists
20th-century French male violinists
French male jazz musicians
French Army personnel of World War II
French prisoners of war in World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in France
Drug-related deaths in France
Alcohol-related deaths in France