Michèle Bernard

Singer and accordionist Michèle Bernard revives a part of French realist and committed chanson, alongside a repertoire for young people. Born in Lyon on October 26, 1947, she began singing in the aftermath of the events of May 1968. Trained as a pianist, she preferred the accordion, which enabled her to perform in the streets, while taking classes at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique. After her theatrical debut with the Compagnie de la Satire, which recounts the history of France in song, Michèle Bernard teamed up with Michel Grange and Paul Castanier for her first album, Le Temps des Crises (1973). She forged her own repertoire, which she performed at the Printemps de Bourges festival and on the album Le Kiosque (1978), which won the Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros. Between two other albums, she wrote the music for Claude Weisz's film La Chanson du mal-aimé (1980), and returned in 1987 with the collection Pleurez Pas, followed by a tour that gave rise to her first live recording, Michèle Bernard en Public (1988), again awarded by the Académie Charles-Cros, as did Une Fois Qu'On S'Est Tout Dit in 2002. Meanwhile, Des Nuits Noires de Monde (1992) and Quand Vous Me Rendrez Visite (1997), her first album for the EPM label, were released, followed by Voler... (1999) and a first step into children's songwriting with Marc Robine and Jean-Philippe Derenne for Toc Toc Es-Tu Là? (2002). Following a tribute to Louise Michel on stage in 2001 and on record in 2005, and the album Le Nez en l'Air (2006), the singer produced Piano Voix with Jean-Luc Michel (2008) and joined forces with the polyphonic group Évasion for Des Nuits Noires de Monde in concert version (2010). Alongside creative workshops and children's shows and recordings such as Sens Dessus Dessous (2012), which won the Prix Jeune Public de l'Adami, are Tout' Manières... (2016), Tout' Manières (Scène et Canapé) (live, 2017), Un P'tit Rêve Très Court (with Monique Brun, 2018), Carnet de Poèmes (2020) and Le Dejazet, la Croix Rousse et le Poirier (live, 2020). A 14-CD Complete Edition follows in 2020.