Philippe Tatartcheff

Philippe Tatartcheff (born in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Canadian poet and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist who wrote French language songs recorded by folk duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle.[1]: 229–238 

Philippe Tatartcheff
BornGeneva, Switzerland
OriginOntario, Canada
Occupation(s)Poet, songwriter

Origins and early life

Tatartcheff's family was originally from the Swiss Cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchatel and Fribourg. After moving to Montreal in the early 1950s, they eventually settled in Timmins, Ontario, where his father, Dr. Michael Tatartcheff, was a physician and surgeon, and the town doctor.[1]: 229  His grandfather, Dr. Assen Tatartcheff, was a member of the Macedonian Liberation Front IMRE.

Tatartcheff attended a French collège classique in Timmins, then McGill University before leaving for Paris in early 1969, to study for a master's in French literature[1]: 229–230  at the Sorbonne, where he presented a thesis on the subject of Jules Vallès.[2] While at McGill, he met Anna McGarrigle, who was studying at Beaux-Arts at the time (1964-1968).[1]: 212, 229–230 

Career

In 1974, after Tatartcheff's return to Montreal, Anna McGarrigle asked him to help her write a song, which became "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine", featured on the sisters' debut album, Kate & Anna McGarrigle[1]: 233–234  As McGarrigle recalled many years later:

In late spring of 1973, [...] I wrote a song in French on the accordion about Henri Richard, the Montreal Canadiens's beloved captain, with Richard Baker, a young musician from BC. [...] The idea was to release it in time for the 1974 hockey playoffs, but we needed another French song for the B-side and I asked Philippe, now back in Montreal, to help me write something. The song we banged out was "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine." It took us all of twenty minutes. [...] Most people who heard "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine" liked it, and when Kate and I were signed to Warner Brothers a while later, our producer, Joe Boyd, wanted us to re-record it.

—Anna McGarrigle, Mountain City Girls by Anna & Jane McGarrigle.[1]: 233–234 

Tatartcheff would go on to contribute a total of twenty-four songs recorded by the McGarrigle sisters, most of them in French.

At some stage, he also became a farmer in Dunham, Quebec, according to the sleeve notes of the album The McGarrigle Hour.[2]

List of songs
with Anna McGarrigle
  • "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine"[3][4]
  • "Naufragée du Tendre"[5]
  • "Mais quand tu danses"[6]
  • "Excursion à Venise"[6]
  • "Avant la guerre"[6]
  • "À boire"[6]
  • "Rainbow Ride"[7]
  • "Arbre"[8]
  • "Forever and the Same"[9]
with Kate McGarrigle
  • "Side of Fries"[10]
  • "Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse"[6]
  • "Cheminant à la ville"[6]
with both Kate and Anna McGarrigle
  • "Prends ton manteau" (a.k.a. "Pronto Monto")[10]
  • "La valse du maître draveur", performed by the Mountain City Four (Written by Wade Hemsworth & translated into French by Philippe Tatartcheff)[11]
  • "Hang Out Your Heart"[8]
  • "Petite annonce amoureuse"[12]
  • "Ah tournesol"[12]
  • "Hurle le vent"[12]
  • "La Vache qui pleure"[12]
  • "Rose blanche"[12]
  • "Tant le monde"[12]
  • "Ce matin"[12]
  • "Dans le silence"[12]
solo (recorded by Kate and Anna McGarrigle)
  • "DJ Serenade"[7]
solo
  • "Country Bar, Northern Star"[1]: 229 
  • "Sans coeur et sans béquille"[1]: 237 

Videos

Tatartcheff has also uploaded some videos:[13]

  • "Approaching Montreal" (2011)[14]
  • "Cows in Snow" (2008)[15]
  • "Dogs in Snow" (2008)[16]
  • "Frelighsburg morning" (2008)[17]

Bibliography

Lanken, Dane (2007). Kate and Anna McGarrigle Songs and Stories. Canada: Penumbra Press. ISBN 18-9732-304-2.

Lanken, Dane (2007). Thirty-three Kate and Anna McGarrigle Songs. Canada: Penumbra Press. ISBN 18-9732-305-0.

McGarrigle, Anna & Jane (2015). Mountain City Girls. Canada: Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-81402-9.

References
  1. McGarrigle, Anna & Jane (2015). Mountain City Girls. Canada: Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-81402-9.
  2. "Forever And The Same". The McGarrigle Hour (at albumlinernotes.com). August 1998. Retrieved 4 February 2016. A longtime collaborator, Philippe contributed many lyrics in French and English to various Kate and Anna projects. Still, it's a long way from Jules Vallès, the subject of his U. of Paris Master's thesis, to keeping those cows milked in Dunham, Quebec.
  3. (in French) Complainte pour Ste-Catherine, full text: (in French) Texte des paroles de la Complainte pour Ste-Catherine, de Philippe Tatartcheff — tel que paru sur l'album Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse – The French Record (1981).
  4. Sleeve notes from Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Warner Brothers K 56218, 1976.
  5. Sleeve notes from Dancer with Bruised Knees, Warner Brothers K 56356, 1977.
  6. Sleeve notes from french record, Hannibal Records HNBL 1302, 1980.
  7. Sleeve notes from Heartbeats Accelerating, Private Music 261 142, 1990.
  8. Sleeve notes from Matapedia, Hannibal Records HNCD 1394, 1996.
  9. Sleeve notes from The McGarrigle Hour, Hannibal Records HNCD 1417, 1998.
  10. Sleeve notes from Pronto Monto, Warner Brothers K 56561, 1978.
  11. Canada vignettes (1978). "La valse du maître draveur". Channel ONF @ youtube.com. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  12. Sleeve notes from La vache qui pleure, Munich Records MRCD 260, 2003.
  13. "Philippe Tatartcheff on Vimeo". vimeo.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  14. "Approaching Montreal". vimeo.com. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. "Cows in Snow". vimeo.com. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  16. "Dogs in Snow". vimeo.com. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  17. "Frelighsburg morning". vimeo.com. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
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