French song & variety
Jean Villard-Gilles
A Vaudois poet and songwriter born in Montreux in 1895, Jean Villard, known as Gilles (1895-1982), was one of the fathers of French-Swiss song. A cabaret pioneer with his duos Gilles et Julien and then Gilles et Urfer, he wrote “Les Trois Cloches”, immortalised by Édith Piaf, and “La Venoge”, which became a Vaudois emblem. A plaque marks his birthplace on the Avenue des Alpes.
Jean Villard-Gilles: from Montreux to Piaf, and a cabaret against Nazism
Born on the Avenue des Alpes, 2 June 1895
Jean Villard was born in Montreux on 2 June 1895. A plaque marks his birthplace today, on the Avenue des Alpes. He would take the stage name Gilles, under which he became one of the fathers of French-Swiss song.
His training was not that of a chansonnier but of a man of the theatre: he worked in the companies directed by Jacques Copeau, one of the major figures of the early twentieth-century French stage. It was then with Aman Maistre Julien that he formed the duo “Gilles et Julien”, which made his name in Paris.
A cabaret opened against Nazism
In 1940, as Europe was collapsing, Gilles founded the cabaret “Coup de Soleil” in Lausanne with Edith Burger. The place was no mere theatre of entertainment: it became an anti-Nazi gathering point, in a neutral country where caution was the rule.
That choice commits an artist known above all for his songs of the land. It is a reminder that French-Swiss song, at that moment, was not only a matter of landscapes.
The man who hired Jacques Brel
In 1947, Gilles opened his own cabaret in Paris, “Chez Gilles”. It was there that he heard an unknown young Belgian and hired him on the spot: Jacques Brel.
The same man kept a lasting friendship with Édith Piaf, who performed and popularised several of his compositions, beginning with “Les Trois Cloches”. His circle also included Ernest Ansermet, Jean Poiret and Michel Serrault; he crossed paths with Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz.
“La Venoge”, and what remains
“La Venoge”, a poem devoted to the small Vaud river, has become a cantonal emblem; its autograph manuscripts were acquired by the cantonal archives. Outside Switzerland, his best-known song remains “Les Trois Cloches”, carried by Édith Piaf.
A plaque marks his birthplace on the Avenue des Alpes in Montreux, and a park bears his name in Clarens. He died in Vevey on 26 March 1982, a few kilometres from the house where he was born.
Related places
▸Parc Jean Villard-GillesPublic parkOpen the place →
A park in Clarens dedicated to the songwriter born in Montreux in 1895, author of “Les Trois Cloches” sung by Piaf.
▸Maison natale de Jean Villard-GillesBirthplaceOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux The building where Jean Villard, known as Gilles, Vaudois poet and songwriter, was born on 2 June 1895.
