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 ...

'' style.

Early years

Aimée Medebielle was born in

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune overlooking the Pyrenees, the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region of Southwestern France. The city is locat ...

, 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 (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in 1900. After the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(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 Sardo ...

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 Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...

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), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1926. She retired that year to Boeil Bezing near

Nay, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Nay (; ; 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 commune are cr ...

, 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 Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

. 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 Fréhel (; born Marguerite Boulc'h (); 13 July 1891 – 3 February 1951) was a French singer and actress. Biography Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the s ...

, Damia and even

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

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

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

'' (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