ABSTRACT
Charles Trenet's music is somewhere between the quite sophisticated jazz form with its complex harmonic development and the more popular, accessible refrain typical of the French music-hall song. A kind of charm operates, which is central to the effective interaction of Trenet's persona and his songs. The persona is also that of a poet: something of an old-fashioned, minor poet, perhaps, rather than an abrasive modernist visionary. Several new generations of listeners have discovered the charm of Trenet's songs, which makes them prime candidates for classic status in the history of the Cinderella art form he adopted. Trenet's music begins with a sequence of very familiar harmonies, but as with the texts, they usually develop in an unexpected way. In addition, Trenet possesses an asset which is probably the decisive element in the recipe: his voice and the way he uses it.
