#Philippe Parès

[byneddiedingo]

René Lefèvre and Annabella in Le Million (René Clair, 1931)

Cast: Annabella, René Lefèvre, Jean-Louis Allibert, Paul Ollivier, Constantin Siroesco, Vanda Gréville, Odette Talazac, Pedro Elviro, Jane Pierson, André Michaud, Eugène Stuber, Pierre Alcover, Armand Bernard. Screenplay: René Clair, based on a play by Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemaud. Cinematography: Georges Périnal. Art direction: Lazare Meerson. Music: Armand Bernard, Philippe Parès, Georges Van Parys. 

The French do wonderful things with air. They invented the soufflé and Champagne, and the Montgolfier brothers mastered the art of ballooning. And no French director had a greater gift for buoyancy than René Clair, whose mastery of pacing keeps even the most cockamamie of stories from collapsing, going flat, or crashing to Earth. Le Million is the quintessential Clair film, a musical farce that inspired countless movies, some of which don't always stay aloft. You can see the lineaments of the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 1935) in it as well as Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). The story is much ado about a lottery ticket left in an old jacket owned by a young artist (René Lefèvre) with a mountain of debts, and it carries us from his studio to the jail to backstage at the opera and back again, sometimes journeying over the rooftops of Paris, all of which are embodied not by the real things but by Lazare Meerson's evocative sets. The music is pretty but forgettable, which is really all you need it to be. 

[rapturerecords]

Song: Cafard (aka Blues for You)

Composer: Philippe Parès (aka Gabriel Parès)

Record Label: A Sam Fox Production SF1012

Released: 1966

Location: Gomorrah casino, Mysterious broadcast

Once again Mr. Sam Fox (or Synchro Fox) brings us another mystery, the same label that brought you “Stars and Teardrops” aka “Joe Cool”.

Also as a side note though “Cafard” literally translates to “cockroach”, it’s likely that the title is referring to the French idiomatic expression “avoir le cafard” or “to have the blues” which dovetails neatly into the alternate title, “Blues for You”. 

Although this instrumental is not broadcast on the main three radio stations in New Vegas, it is heard in the Gomorrah casino as the lobby music. Later, it can be heard on the Mysterious Broadcast inviting you to the Big MT.

Unfortunately, unlike Fallout 3′s end credits, Fallout: New Vegas’ end credits feature the licensed music from the standard record labels, but omits all of the radio tunes from APM including the instrumentals save for a brief mention of  “Additional Music Courtesy of APM Music”.

As is the case with library music, finding artist and recording information is extremely difficult as these songs were never meant to be sold to the public, instead being exclusively used for the film and TV industry. What follows is an attempt to extricate this information.

Note: Library music is typically identified by composer or emotion. Very little can be confirmed about the musicians who performed on the recording.

So let us focus on what is known, starting with the full track list:

Side A

1. Global Hop (G. Wright Briggs) 2. Ephesus - Theme (Robert R. Way) 3. Ephesus - Bridge #1 (Robert R. Way) 4. Ephesus - Bridge #2 (Robert R. Way) 5. Ephesus - Bridge #3 (Robert R. Way) 6. Ephesus - Bridge #4 (Robert R. Way) 7. Ephesus - Bridge #5 (Robert R. Way) 8. Ephesus - Curtain (Robert R. Way) 9. Caudia - Theme (Robert R. Way) 10. Pegasus - Theme (long) (Robert R. Way) 11. Pegasus - Theme (short) (Robert R. Way) 12. Pegasus - Bridge #1 (Robert R. Way) 13. Pegasus - Bridge #2 (Robert R. Way) 14. Balua (Roger Roger) 15. Song of the Trade Winds (Roger Roger) 16. Bits and Pieces (Openings, Bridges, Endings) (Roger Roger) 17. Love Me (Roger Roger) 18. Memories of Barbara (Roger Roger) 19. Tropics (Roger Roger)

Side B

1. Tour for Swingers (Loren Wilfong) 2. Whooping and Hollering (Loren Wilfong) 3. Slim (Cecil Leuter) 4. Reveil (Nino Nardini) 5. Cafard (Ph. Pares) 6. Lunatic (Soulful) Trumpet (Jim Wakerfield) 7. Polly (J.S.  Zamecnik) 8. Heart Beats (Walter E. Miles)     Winter Tales (Czibulka - Lamont)     The Man on the Flying Trapeze (Honky Tonk Piano Medley) (arr. Victor Lamont) 9. Monte Carlo Polka (Ph. Pares) 10. Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Der-Ei (March 1900) (Ph. Pares)

About the composer

Left: Gabriel Parès (père) - postcard and record label, ca. 1910s Right: Philippe Parès (fils) - EP album covers, ca. 1950s

As expected with library music, this track has been miscredited. The CD reissue lists the composer as Gabriel Parès while the record credits Philippe Parès. To confuse the issue further, they are father and son. 

Gabriel Parès lived from 1860-1934, slightly before when this track was pressed in 1966. Gabriel was primarily known for his marching band music as captain of the Garde Républicaine. His son, Philippe Parès was known for his work with collaborator George Van Parys in musical theater and jazz which better aligns with the 1966 date of this track. 

Both father and son were dedicated to music theory ranging from the Parès scales to the books Qui est l'auteur de la Marseillaise? and Histoire du droit de reproduction mécanique.

The 1978 book 33 tours en arrière et notes en vrac (Before 33 RPM and Loose Notes), serves as Philippe’s memoir regarding the music of his father, pre-war,  Occupation, and post-war music from 1923-1962. Philippe would also pass the following year in 1979.

About the recording

As noted above, the original title “Cafard” is likely linked to the French idiom “avoir le cafard” which ties into the CD reissue’s title of “Blues for You”. 

As for the miscredited composer, aside from the father/son confusion, Philippe’s full name is “Philippe Gabriel Hippolyte Emmanuel Parès”. The middle name of “Gabriel” probably didn’t help identification matters much. 

Similar to Stars and Teardrops/Joe Cool, “Cafard” aka “Blues for You” was reissued on the same Carlin Archives CD Jazzy Vibes, CAS 019, previously under APM, now under Warner/Chappell.

Along with the miscrediting of Philippe Parès as Gabriel Parès, track number 20 picked up the two similar descriptions between the Carlin Archives Series and the CPM issues. 

“Slow relaxed blues features saxophone electric guitar”

“Slow relaxed blues features electric guitar vibes saxophone trumpet”

There aren’t any entries in BMI, but ASCAP has the song registered under “Cafard” composed by Philippe Parès, not under “Blues for You”. 

As for dating the track, again the process is similar to “Stars and Teardrops”. 

The small R in the dead wax stands for the RCA Pressing plant in Rockaway, New Jersey which ceased operations in 1973.

The etched matrix number is TR4M. However, RCA adopted a custom of switching the 2nd and 3rd characters of the matrix numbers every 10,000 numbers every year. So the matrix number should actually read “T4RM”.

In short the matrix numbers stand for:

T = 1966

4 = Re-recorded from client’s furnished tapes

R = 12" - 33⅓ RPM

M = Mono (Fine)

Alas, the record label still provides no clues for the performers on the tracks. What remains are the composers’ credits.

Listen to “Stars and Teardrops” aka “Joe Cool” also on Sam Fox here.

Find more library music tracks used in Fallout here.

[junkielee]

[Last Film I Watched] Le Million (1931)

[Last Film I Watched] Le Million (1931)

Title: Le Million Year: 1931 Country: France Language: French Genre: Musical, Comedy Director/Writer: René Clair based on the play of Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemaud Music: Armand Bernard Philippe Parès Georges Van Parys Cinematography: Georges Périnal Georges Raulet Cast: René Lefèvre Annabella Jean-Louis Allibert Paul Ollivier Constantin Siroesco Vanda Gréville Raymond Cordy Odette Talazac R…