La Esterella
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La Esterella, born Ester Lambrechts (7 May 1919 – 11 April 2011) was a Belgian singer. She was best known for her classic "Oh Lieve Vrouwetoren". She had a typical deep voice, causing her to be called sometimes the Belgian
Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...
. La Esterella was the first Flemish artist who achieved international success. She was born and died in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,


Biography

Lambrechts began working as a seamstress before becoming a professional singer. She occasionally sang at parties and was thus noticed by the conductor Jacques Kluger. But, when asked, she refused to sing in his band because she didn't have parental permission. In 1940 she began participating in song contests in the music hall ''Oud-België'' in Antwerp. There she was discovered by her future husband and manager Charly Schleimovitz. She began her career as a singer of popular light classical and romantic songs in several languages. Her voice could span three and a half
octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
s. She had an immediate success with the public. Her husband didn't just arrange the business agreements but also taught her how to become a professional singer, turning her into a perfectionist. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, she was forced to perform in Germany where she was called "die Kanone". After the war, she became a success with the general public and performed every year during six months from 1948–54 in British seaside resorts. In 1948, she sang on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
. In 1948 she sang in other European countries such as
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,
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and
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, where she always sung at least one song in the local language. In 1953 she was offered a recording contract with
Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...
. From then on, the record company advised her to sing in her native Dutch language. In that year, her song "Oh Lieve Vrouwetoren" became an immediate hit. She continued to score hits, until 1959. In that year her husband became gravely ill and she decided to perform to a lesser degree. When her husband died in 1962, she stopped performing completely. She accepted a job as secretary and remarried in 1970. Her second husband Victor Van Buel died in 1980. After her retirement in 1982, she agreed somewhat surprisingly to the radio presenter Jos Baudewijn to act in his show "Vragen staat vrij." (Open questions). There she sang
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
's song
Ol' Man River "Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississipp ...
. She got such good responses that she decided to resume her career. She rose in this second career to become a celebrated singer, cherished by the public at large. In 1988, she recorded her last album "Liedjes die ik graag zing" ("My favourite songs"). In later years she sporadically recorded some songs, including in 1995 with Coco Jr. In 2000 she finally recorded the soundtrack of the film Shades with Alex Callier of Hooverphonic and Regi Penxten of Milk Inc. In 2001 she received the achievement award of Radio 2: ''Voor een Leven Vol Muziek'' (''For a Life filled with Music'') and was admitted to the Hall of Fame of the Flemish Song. She was also appointed to the rank of Officer in the Order of Leopold II. In 2004 she presented together with the first Antwerp City poet (
Tom Lanoye Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
), the poem "De kathedraal antwoordt" (The cathedral replies). Although she began to have problems walking at her old age, she continued performing. Occasionally she was back on major stages and did some TV appearances. On 5 January 2007 she sang a duet with Paul Michiels in the TV show "Gala Gaston 80", honouring the Flemish comedian
Gaston Berghmans Gaston Petrus Bernardina Berghmans (11 March 1926 – 21 May 2016) was a Belgian actor and comedian. Between 1972 and 1993 he and Leo Martin formed a comic duo called Gaston and Leo. Youth Gaston Berghmans was the eldest son in a family with tw ...
at his 80th birthday. In 2008, she continued to struggle with health problems and had to spend three months in a hospital. She had then to retire to a nursing home, where the aged Flemish actress
Yvonne Verbeeck Yvonne Verbeeck (7 December 1913 – 26 February 2012) was a Belgian Flemish actress known for roles in theater and television. She appeared in several Belgian films as well. Her last role was in the 2008 television series, ''Zone Stad''. A bronze ...
also stayed.


Death

On 11 April 2011, La Esterella died in a hospital in Antwerp, aged 91. On 16 April, her funeral was attended by a large crowd. On 18 April, she was interred in Schoonselhof cemetery in Antwerp.


Discography


Singles (incomplete)

* Und wieder geht ein schöner Tag zu Ende (1942/43) * Alleen door jou (1952) * Oh! Lieve Vrouwe toren (1953) * Voor een kusje van jou (1953) * Het lied van mijn hart (1953) * Eeuwig (1953) * Dank (1953) * Alle moeders (1954) * In je hart (1954) * Kom bij mij (1954) * 't Is zo goed (1954) * Ave Maria (1955) * Goedenacht... tot morgen (1955) * Zachtjes, zachtjes (1955) * Mandolino (1955) * Heden en verleden (1955) * Weldra komt de dag (1955) * Zonneschijn voor iedereen (1955) * Arrivederci Roma (1956) * La luna (1956) * Refrein (1956) * Ga hand in hand (1956) * Bij het open vuur (1956) * Het lied van Lima (1957) * Klimrozen bloeiden (1957) * Verliefde ogen (1957) * Steeds denk ik aan jou (1958) * Maria's kind (1958) * Rozen vallen uit de hemel (1959) * Liefdesvreugd, liefdesleed (1959) * Het liedje zonder woorden (1959) * De dag dat ons kindje komt (1959) * Mexicaans liefdeslied (1959) * Zeg de waarheid (1960) * Vieni, vieni, qui (1960) * Carnaval in Madrid (1962) * Heimwee (1984) * Do you know what it means (1999)


Albums

* De gouden stem van La Esterella (1, 2 en 3) (1969, 1970 en 1971) * Het beste van La Esterella (1974) * Liedjes die ik steeds graag zong (1988) * De levende legende (1989) * Het beste van La Esterella (1997) * Oh Lieve Vrouwe toren (2002)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Esterella 1919 births Belgian women singers 2011 deaths Musicians from Antwerp