Léo Ferré: Modernism,Postmodernism and the Avant-Garde in Popular Chanson

This article discusses the relationship of the prolific French singersongwriter, poet and composer Léo Ferré with the broader movements of culture in France in the latter half of the twentieth century. The paradox of his ambition to be taken seriously as a writer and musician, seen against his considerable success as a popular singer, centres on his relationship with the Surrealist movement and the performed text ‘Préface’, from his album Il n’y a plus rien of 1973. The implications of his use of a wide range of musical styles are suggested, concluding that his musical and textual production bridges the concepts of modernism, postmodernism and the avant-garde. Quotations from Ferré’s songs are reproduced by kind permission of La mémoire et la mer.