Sharing the Leonard Cohen love affair
Monsieur Camembert has spent decades reimagining Leonard Cohen's music. Now, ten years after his death, they say the songs still have more to give.
For almost two decades, Monsieur Camembert has been finding new ways into the songs of Leonard Cohen. And every time they return to the work, another little door seems to open.
It started simply enough.
The Sydney-based ensemble, formed in 1998 as a high-energy klezmer group, began performing Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love at their live shows. It became their most requested song, and audiences would not let them leave the stage without playing it.
That single song sparked what Monsieur Camembert vocalist and guitarist Yaron Hallis has described as a musical love affair with one of history’s greatest lyricists, one that eventually grew into Cohen Noir, a full-length tribute show that has sold out venues including Sydney’s City Recital Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
Now, a decade after Cohen’s death, the love affair continues.
“What speaks to us about Leonard Cohen is the extraordinary depth and honesty of his work,” Hallis told The AJN. “His songs are never simply one thing. They can be beautiful and dark, sensual and spiritual, intimate and philosophical, often within the same few minutes.”
It is those contradictions sitting comfortably side by side that Hallis keeps returning to. Cohen never tried to tidy up the messiness of being human or offer easy answers, Hallis said. Instead, he gave the contradictions a voice.
“He seemed to understand that beauty can exist alongside pain, and that faith can coexist with doubt. His songs have this remarkable ability to meet people wherever they happen to be in their own lives.”
Over the years, Hallis said, the band has discovered a much broader and more playful Cohen than the melancholy figure of popular imagination.
“His reputation can sometimes make him seem almost exclusively dark, introspective and melancholy, but there is enormous wit, sensuality, humour and even joy in his work.”
One aspect of Cohen’s genius that Hallis believes is often overlooked is the strength of his melodies, which he described as beautiful, strong and an almost perfect blank canvas for musical interpretation. That canvas is part of what makes Cohen Noir work with such a large and varied ensemble. The musicians come from vastly different traditions, and those traditions actively shape how each song is reimagined.
“We have a Mongolian throat singer among the musicians, for example, alongside performers from very different musical worlds,” Hallis explained. “Three string players can suddenly become a string section, opening up a whole range of beautiful textures that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”
The result, he said, is not about making the songs bigger for the sake of it, but about discovering what each song is capable of becoming.
“There’s a sense of discovery in hearing familiar Cohen songs reimagined through such a richly diverse ensemble. It gives the music an enormous emotional, cultural and musical range.”
The show also traces Cohen’s spiritual life, exploring how his deep connection to his Jewish heritage coexisted with his exploration of Buddhism. Spoken material drawn from Cohen’s interviews and reflections gives audiences a window into the ideas that shaped his songwriting.
Hallis takes heart from Cohen’s own generosity toward artists who have reinterpreted his songs, noting that Cohen once described hearing a cover of his work as giving him a completely fresh take on the song.
“If Leonard were somehow sitting in the audience, we could only hope that he would feel the love and affection for both him and his work that has gone into every aspect of Cohen Noir.”
The Melbourne performance features a 13-piece ensemble including Berlin-based Jewish violin virtuoso and founding member Daniel Weltlinger, saxophonist and accordionist Edouard Bronson, Mongolian musician Bukhu, and guest vocalists Diana Rouvas, Timothy James Bowen (winner and finalist of The Voice Australia respectively), Lyn Bowtell, iOTA and Susie Bishop, alongside the 40-voice Glee West Choir.
When asked what he hopes audiences take away from the show in Melbourne, Hallis answer with a simple idea – curiosity.
“Curious to revisit Cohen’s music, to listen more closely, to seek out the songs they may not know, or perhaps to discover his writing, interviews and ideas beyond the music. If Cohen Noir can send someone home wanting to explore Cohen more deeply, then I think we’ve achieved something worthwhile,” he said.
“More than anything, I hope they leave feeling that they’ve spent an evening immersed in something beautiful, thoughtful and deeply human,” Hallis said.
Cohen Noir is at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Sunday September 26. For more information and to book tickets, visit cohen-noir.com