He was born well before the Fête de la Musique, on June 21 in 1935. And it was on September 12 that he breathed his last, at the Bégin hospital, in Saint-Mandé (Val- de-Marne), after a lifetime dedicated to the accordion of which he was one of the virtuosos.
Louis Corchia died at age 85 from Covid-19.
The funeral ceremony took place this Monday morning, in the pretty Notre-Dame church, in Vincennes, one of his favorite cities.
Louis Corchia was accompanied by around thirty people made up of his family and friends.
"We cannot compare Louis Corchia to André Verchuren, Aimable or Yvette Horner who were born ten years before him", assures Isabelle Durand, accordion teacher and at the microphone of a Sunday show on Radio Aligre dedicated to the 'accordion.
“Louis, he was more in the tradition of Gus Viseur
(Editor's note: pioneer of the swing accordion)
or Tony Murena, virtuosos and jazzy and swing composers.
"
Born in a dance hall
A pillar of the accordion, the bandoneon and French music, a talented composer and arranger, known widely beyond the borders of France, Louis Corchia was born in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, has traveled the whole world and is spent his last days between his homes in Vincennes and Orleans, on the banks of the Loiret where he liked to fish.
Louis Corchia died on September 12, 2020, at the age of 85.
He lived between Vincennes and Orléans. DR
During a radio program where he was invited, on France Musique, Louis Corchia said: “I was born in a dance hall, the one my mother kept in Fontenay-sous-Bois, in which my father had all the names of the accordion and I was at the foot of the stage, I never missed one.
"
Son of Primo Corchia, another great of the accordion, Loulou, as his friends call him, started the accordion at the age of 10 after starting the piano at 5.
“At 15, thanks to intensive learning and renowned teachers, he won the World Accordion Cup
(Editor's note: playing the Toccata by Jean-Sébastien Bach)
, which opened the doors to the biggest breweries for him. Parisiennes, recalls his stepson Arnaud, the son of Louis' second wife.
From then on, he could live off his passion: making people dance and recording albums.
"
From classical piano to musette, swing and jazz
Rich in a 70-year career, Louis Corchia has therefore traveled the whole world, France, the United States, Japan, Russia, with his orchestra, then, solo in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the 'orchestra.
"I was a saxophonist in the orchestra, but also singer and host," explains Dany Lallemand, present this Monday in Vincennes.
I was a bit of his foil because at the time, he did not have great fluency.
On the other hand, on the accordion, he was an incomparable virtuoso and of great musicality.
He took it all in to get there.
His father was tough on him in learning, but Louis always thanked him for it.
"
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On social networks, tributes are numerous.
Coming from those whom Louis Corchia made dance, twirl, in the taverns on the banks of the Marne, including the ex-Petit Robinson in Joinville, in the Parisian brasseries, the Zénith de France, the television programs including "La chance to the songs ”of the famous Pascal Sevran.
But his notes also resonated across the Atlantic.
Piaf appealed to him and the Britons of New York adore him
"I still meet Bretons in New York who tell me about him," says Pascal, Louis's son, the fruit of a first marriage, living in the United States.
“Each year he participated in the Bal des Bretons which was held at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel,” he continues.
"He was my idol", admits this son, very moved, who still seems hurt by the absence of this father whom he only knew until the age of 12 when the family then lived in Champigny. .
“He was one of the best musicians in the world,” he concludes.
Because the interpreter Louis Corchia was also known as a composer of popular music and arranger on classical themes.
“I love jazz, my style is more like that, but as I wanted to please everyone, I mixed jazz and musette”, he confided to the radio.
Everywhere, we recognize him an extraordinary skill, in particular on his favorite tune, "The dance of the saber" of Aram Khatchaturian.
He who, at 16, had performed on stage, in a duet with the great Marcel Azzola, was also an accordionist for Edith Piaf.
Games of cards and boules in the Bois de Vincennes
In recent years, suffering from health problems, Louis Corchia has gradually moved away from the frenzy of stages and sets, by taking refuge in his two more peaceful places of residence.
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“We had been close neighbors for 30 years,” explains Jean-Pierre Marie, one of his great friends from Vincennes.
I often had Louis at home for lunch.
And we played long games of cards and boules in the Bois de Vincennes.
He was an outstanding musician who sold 40 million records made solo and with his orchestra, one of the most beautiful of the time.
Certainly Louis was one of the last giants of the French accordion.
A must in music and in friendship.
"
There is no doubt that this friend will continue to bring Loulou Corchia to life on his blog dedicated to the accordion and its music makers.
After a final accordion piece - "The Piece in the Old Style", by André Astier - performed by Isabelle Durand, the Vincennes ceremony ended.
Louis Corchia's coffin, accompanied by his black and silver accordion, was taken to the Père-Lachaise crematorium in Paris.
The accordion will remain in the family.
