Why a Concert in French?

Oriana Choir
Jun 27
3 min read

In four weeks’ time, Oriana Choir will present The French Connection, a concert made up entirely of music by French composers ancient and modern, and performed entirely in French and Latin, with not one word of English to be heard.

You may well ask, “Why put on a concert, half of which is in a language spoken by relatively few Australians, while the other half is in what is considered to be, for all practical purposes, a ‘dead’ language?"

A fair question. And one which surely deserves a fair and considered answer. A little history and humour may help, if you’ll bear with me for a moment or two.

These days, English is generally accepted to be the universal lingua franca for a large part of the world’s business, political, scientific and cultural activity. But this wasn’t always the case. In the centuries following the Norman invasion in 1066, French became the language of the English court, government, and aristocracy. While English continued to be spoken by the majority of the population, French, specifically Norman French, became the language of the ruling class. This influence persisted for several centuries, significantly impacting the English language.

To this day, the enduring influence of the French language on English is plain to see in much of our everyday speech. There are countless French words and expressions that we use nearly every day. Consider these, for example – ‘c’est la vie’; ‘déjà vu’; ‘bon appetit’; ‘rendezvous’; ‘omelette'; ‘café’; ‘croissant’; ‘cordon bleu’ – the list is endless.

You may recall, some years ago, Australian song-writer Greg Champion gave us “The French Song”, a cleverly compiled catalogue of French words and phrases set to the tune of “La Vie en Rose”. Here are the first few lines:

“Pate, escargots, soup de jour,

Cordon bleu, chic coiffure,

Fait accompli, maison

Creme de menthe, Marcel Marceau

Meringue, blancmange, Bardot

Gauche, gay Paris, garcon ….”

Try singing it to the beautiful melody of “La Vie en Rose”, and you’re sure to realize how much fun it is. And that is part of the answer to the question. Singing in French, apart from anything else, is enjoyable, pleasurable – it’s Fun!

Just as French has had a huge influence on the English language, the music of France has made an enormous contribution to the world’s cultural heritage. Just think of some of France’s great composers - Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, Georges Bizet, to name just a few. Then consider some of France’s wonderful singers, just from the modern era - Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Jaques Brel, Charles Trenet, Serge Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy, Juliette Greco.

What we’ve tried to do with The French Connection is to recognise that France has given the world a veritable treasure house of wonderful music, across the whole spectrum of sacred, popular, classical, ancient and modern. And we want to celebrate and honour that treasury with a sample of the beautiful music contained there-in. Some of it you’ll recognize instantly, some will be new to you. But it’s alI beautiful music, from the playfulness of Edith Piaf’s “Padam Padam” (not the Kylie Minogue song), to the flamboyance of Bizet’s “Habanera”, to the sublime beauty of Gabrielle Faure’s Requiem.

You don’t need to speak the language of France to be able to enjoy the music of France. It speaks for itself. Come and be delighted by la musique francaise. C'est une excellente idée!

Ian Rix

June 27, 2025

The French Connection

Saturday, 26 July 2025, 2:00pm – St Patrick's Catholic Church, Gympie

Sunday, 27 July 2025, 2:00pm - Stella Maris Performance Centre, Maroochydore