GET in the mood for Valentine’s Day with vocalist Magdalena Atkinson as she brings the romance of French chansons and much-loved songs from the greats, including Edith Piaf.

Enjoy French Chansons performed by Magdalena Atkinson and Philip Clouts on Friday, February 10 at Bridport Arts Centre Jazz Café.

Most familiar will be the classic music of Piaf, France’s most beloved entertainer, national icon and musical legend.

Magdalena’s singing is not an impersonation, but an interpretation – always heartfelt, sometimes humorous. Highlights are plentiful, from Milord to La Vie en Rose, Mon Dieu to the inevitable Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

Magdalena’s journey with chansons started in her childhood, when her family spent three years in French-speaking Algeria.

She was immersed in the language and was deeply touched by the songs she heard on the radio. Later on, she studied music to masters level at university and was inspired by classes with the renowned soprano Evelyn Tubb and countertenor Kai Wessel.

Combining her singing with her lifelong study of French language and culture, chansons have become the ideal way for her to communicate her love of both.

Philip Clouts is the perfect accompanist for this project, being a composer and pianist both in his own quartet and also in Zubop, described in the Observer as ‘that spirited, hugely enjoyable jazz outfit, which takes the whole world of music as its home territory’.

Edith Piaf was one of the most popular performers in France during the Second World War. Her nervous energy and small stature inspired the nickname that stayed with her all her life: La Môme Piaf (the little sparrow).

She commissioned songs that romanticised her life on the streets, emphasising her passion and inner strength. Her music was often autobiographical with her singing reflecting her life, particularly in songs of of love, loss and sorrow.

After the war, she rose to international stardom as a symbol of French passion and tenacity, and she toured the world. Her personal life was characteristically dramatic: she was involved in three serious car crashes, and had high-profile romances with many of her male associates and some of the biggest celebrities in France.

Piaf died in 1963; her last words were “Every damn fool thing you do in this life, you pay for.”

Of Piaf’s many ballads, “La Vie en Rose” is remembered as her signature song.

*French Chansons performed by Magdalena Atkinson and Philip Clouts on Friday, February 10 at Bridport Arts Centre Jazz Café at 8pm.