Christiane Legrand (21 August 1930 – 1 November 2011) was a French soprano singer.

Biography

Legrand was born in Paris. Her father Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer renowned for hits such as ''Irma la douce'', and her mother was Marcelle Ter-Mikaëlian (sister of conductor

Jacques Hélian Jacques Mikaël Der Mikaëlian better known as Jacques Hélian (born in Paris, 7 June 1912 - died 29 June 1986), was a famous French orchestra conductor for French music-hall. Biography Born of an Armenian father (descendant of Armenian bourge ...

), who married Legrand in 1929. Her maternal grandfather was of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

descent and considered a member of the bourgeoisie.Biography of Michel Legrand
, Radio France Internationale, Retrieved 26 December 2009. Legrand studied piano and classical music from the time she was four. She was taught, amongst others, by the famous classical pianist, Genevieve Joy. Jazz critic and composer

André Hodeir André Hodeir (22 January 1921 – 1 November 2011) was a French violinist, composer, arranger and musicologist. Biography Hodeir was born in Paris and trained as a classical violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, w ...

discovered her in 1957, and she became the lead singer in the most notable French jazz vocal groups of the 1960s, including Les Double Six. Legrand was the original lead soprano of

The Swingle Singers The Swingles are an a cappella vocal group. The Swingle Singers were originally formed in 1962 in Paris under the leadership of Ward Swingle. In 1973, Swingle disbanded the French group, and formed an English group known initially as Swingle I ...

and was the vocalist who dubbed the part of Madame Emery in ''

Les parapluies de Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' () is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separa ...

'', the music for which was composed by her brother

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

. She also sang the part of Judith in his '' Les demoiselles de Rochefort''. Her commercial recordings of music for the concert hall included a recording of ''Laborinthus II'' of

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

. Legrand sang the lead role on the French Disney recording of the score to the film ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' (1964) and lent her talents to numerous other film projects. Legrand was the featured soprano on the track "Fires (Which Burn Brightly)" on the 1973

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...

album '' Grand Hotel''. Her niece

Victoria Legrand Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand (born May 28, 1981) is a French-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist of the dream pop band Beach House. Early life Legrand was born in Paris, France, the daughter of paint ...

is a member of the American indie pop group

Beach House Beach House is an American indie music, indie band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming). Their work is char ...

. Another niece, Eugénie Angot, is an equestrian.

Discography

*Elle et ils de Christiane Legrand (Phillips, 1962) * Jazz Sebastian Bach (Phillips, 1963) (with The Swingle Singers) *'' Communications '72'' (Verve, 1972) (with

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

) *Le Brésil de Christiane Legrand (AMI Records, 1972) *Of Smiles and Tears de Christiane Legrand (Phillips, 1972) *Nul ne sait de Christiane Legrand (NTI, 1989) *Chansons d'Amour de Christiane Legrand (Columbia Records, 1994)

References

External links

Biography on comufra.com
*
Les Swinger Singers J S Bach Partita No 2
1930 births 2011 deaths French people of Armenian descent Singers from Paris 20th-century French women singers Les Double Six members The Swingle Singers members {{France-singer-stub