Léon Xanrof

Léon Xanrof

Léon Alfred Fourneau (9 December 1867, in Paris – 17 May 1953, in Paris) was a French humourist, music-hall artist, playwright and songwriter. Originally trained as a lawyer he invented the stage- and penname Xanrof by inversion of the Latin fornax of his French surname fourneau ("furnace"), before finally legally changing his name to Léon Xanrof.^[1][2] Yvette Guilbert experienced early success singing Xanrof's songs at Rodolphe Salis' cabaret Le Chat Noir.^[3][4][5][6]

Works

Plays

• The Prince Consort, which was used to create the 1929 film Parade d'amour (The Love Parade).

Songs

• Anarchiste (l'), paroles et musique de Léon Xanrof. - Paris: P. Dupont, (1892).
• A présent qu'on n'est plus ensemble, chansonnette, paroles de Léon Xanrof, musique d'E. Jaquinot.

References

1. Jean Lec -Léon Xanrof 1945
2. Peter Leslie, A hard act to follow: a music hall review 1978 "Xanrof had gained his experience in the wineshops of the faubourgs along the outer boulevards, working-class taverns where anarchists and other revolutionaries had been singing, writing and reciting anti-establishment tirades since the .. "
3. The Oxford Handbook of the New Cultural History of Music Jane Fulcher - 2011 "Three decisive events shaped the fame of the divette fin de siècle: The discovery of Léon Xanrof's songs, her first performance at Rodolphe de Salis's cabaret, Le Chat Noir (in 1892), and her short tenure at the Éden Concert in December ..."
4. Carlton M. Hughes - 2002 Moments for Music: 175 Short Stories About Music p55 "Léon Xanrof [ aka Léon Fourneau] (1867-1953) worked "
5. Adrian Room -Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins p516 2010 -"Xanrof: Léon-Alfred Fourneau (1867–1953), Fr. composer, songwriter, by profession a lawyer."
6. Derek B. Scott - Sounds of the Metropolis 2008 p69 "In Paris, Yvette Guilbert represented bourgeois vices humorously in chansons like “Le Fiacre” (words and music by Léon Xanrof) and “Je suis pocharde!” (words by Léon Laroche, music by Louis Byrec)."