BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

Autograph letter signed « Barbara » to Jean [Poissonnier]
N.p.n.d [Amsterdam, c. 1965], 1 p. 1/2 in-8°, Apollo Hotel letterhead
Small tear on central fold

Very rare letter from the singer to her childhood sweetheart

« Cher Jean
C’est d’ombres et de lumières, c’est loin, très loin, si loin que [j’]ai pensé n’en pas revenir jamais.
Je me souviens de vous deux, à l’instant et de la chaleur de vos présences.
Je vous embrase très affectueusement et vous remercie de la force que vous me donnez
Barbara »

Jean Poissonnier, a songwriter, was Barbara’s childhood sweetheart when the two stayed at the Château de Boisrenault in the Indre in 1957. They remained close friends, as evidenced by this intimate letter from the singer, evidently in the midst of a difficult episode in her life.
Recognized as one of the greatest French voices with a mannered and dramatic singing style, but also as an extraordinary songwriter, Barbara’s health was fragile. She died at only 67 years old, and ended her career very weakened by an unbalanced diet, worn out by stimulants and drugs taken in massive doses to calm her chronic anxieties. His mythical songs such as Dis, quand revenirs-tu?, Nantes, Göttingen, L’Aigle noir or Ma plus belle histoire d’amour are now in the Pantheon of French song.