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• In Love with the Music

                                                                       Material kindly provided by   José Peñaloza

Translation:

PAUL MAURIAT: IN LOVE WITH THE MUSIC

   "I am restless and free as a bird, I go in search of new horizons, I live in love of her, when I like a melody or touches me, I love her and I made her mine..."

   Paul Mauriat said it behind the sky of Lima before proceeding his tour through America [Latin America]. The exceptional French artist, pianist, composer, conductor, arranger and star of the record, is in spite of the new trends of "noisy protest", the classical of the romantics and who puts in relevance any song he performs.

   Dressed as a "Welsh" man, blonde, thin, mature, of blue look and stylish moustache, the Marseille man most popular from France has been two days with us in order to edit a special recorded in Tokyo with his Grand Orchestra, the past December.

   He reminds with a smile the "love at first sight" of "Love is Blue", a disqualified song from Eurovision Festival of 1965, which he transformed with his arrangements into the hymn of millions of lovers.

   Until then he was only a sensational arranger of the stars of the moment in Paris, but "Love is Blue" made him well-known in less than six weeks with six millions of records from all over the world.

   Essentially a creative person, Mauriat at 56 years, at the top of his career, defined the orchestral style as the consistent combination of strings and percussion, a touch of the harpsichord and a certain baroque air.

   All of this upon the base of songs from different regions and continents, and keeping its essence and flavor such as the Brazilian, Japanese or Latin American music.

   He recently won the Great Prize of Record in France and has eight Golden Records, and several Platinum ones. He has recorded the most part of his LPs at Dames Studios in Paris and occasionally in London. He has spent 4,200 hours of his life recording, conducting, and rehearsing in the studios.

   "Perfection can only be achieved with a great dose of effort and perseverance, I personally take advantage of all technical instrumental and electronic resources in order to get a good recording, I don't mind the time, and I don't approve it unless it is impeccably audible", said with enthusiasm.

   Paul talked in Lima about his hometown, Marseille, of the charm of the old town, the bohemian picturesque town, and even the Montecristo Island.

   "I was four years old when I saw the keyboard of a piano: the sound surprised me and later on, I liked it, when I discovered that I could played whatever I liked it. My father, a music lover, registered me to the Conservatory, and when I was 14 years old, I graduated with the First Prize."

   "I was aiming to be a concert pianist, but the shock that caused me the jazz music, when I heard it, changed my goals. I created an ensemble when I was 19 years old, and to travel all over France. The contact with the audience taught me to sense the preferences of the listeners and to capture exactly what really touches them."

   "I travelled a lot, and years later visiting Perpignan, I met Irene. It was love at first sight that has ended until now."

   Along with Irene, his wife, with whom he is with 29 years and not separated once from him, Mauriat recalled those years in which he wasn't yet popular. "I finally decided to go to Paris, and with such luck, because very soon they called me to write the arrangements of famous singers."

   Maurice Chevalier, Dalida, Mireille Mathieu, Charles Aznavour, counted with his orchestral support. "I made 120 arrangements for Aznavour and I wrote songs for Mireille, to whom I helped and conducted for a very long time." Today, Mauriat is a force in France but his fame is greater outside his country.

   A friend of Franck Pourcel and Ray Conniff, he never thought in rivalries, "the world is large and there is room for everyone". He defines himself as a sincere, authentic in what he does, without any complications*, according to his wife Irene: "Paul is capable of even help you with the housework with joy."

   The couple has travelled together near 800 thousand kilometers in their tours. They enjoy the theater, eating under candle lights and listening to Bach.

   "We are very close couple not only by love, each one is free and without any attachments; if we are together is because we love it so," - says Irene. "I am not jealous, I trust him and if he is by my side is because everything is ok."

   "Paul is restless, nervous. I am his equilibrium, the calm that he needs. We don't have children, but it is enough to live together."

   In the two days of is first visit to Lima, Paul admired the Creole pubs (peña), he discovered the Creole food - he is a "gourmet" - and he was vividly interested for the folklore of Puno and the negro rhythms. Previously he recorded Nube Gris (Gray Cloud) with a singular style and he hopes to include in the next LP other songs. As he farewell goodbye, he promised to return the next years, with 45 musicians of his orchestra, to give "a masterly concert with the hundred most beautiful melodies of love in the world."

A.R.

Note on the side: "When I like a melody or touches me, I love her and I made her mine..."

Caption under the photo: The great Paul Mauriat sightseeing the streets of Lima.