BRUSSELS 63JACQUES BREL
One of the most celebrated and cherished of all Belgians,
Jacques Brel (1929–78) rose to stardom in the 1950s, when
his evocative, touching and witty songs first came to the
attention of the public in Paris. Brel wrote and performed
countless songs – about love, ageing, drinking, the risible
bourgeoisie, hopeless dreams, Belgium – many of which
are still adored and much played today. These include
“Ne Me Quitte Pas” and “Le Plats Pays”, also known as
“Mijn Vlakke Land”. Brel performed with total commitment,
singing in both French and
Dutch. Although his passion
is clear in recordings, fans
claim that he was even
better in live shows, at the
end of which he would
be famously awash in
pers piration. In 1966, Brel
announced that he would
be giving up perform ing at
concerts and had decided to
devote him self to films and
to compos ing music for the
stage. This promising future
was cut short by lung cancer
and Brel was buried in
French Polynesia, where he
had spent his final years.Jacques Brel, Belgium’s well-loved
singer-songwriter, in 1965Cathédrale Sts-
Michel-et-Gudule r
Parvis Ste-Gudule, 1000 BRU. City
Map 2 E2. Tel (02) 2178345. @ 27,
29, 38, 63, 65, 66. q Gare Centrale,
Parc. v 92, 94. # 7am–6pm Mon–
Fri, 8:30am–6pm Sat and Sun. & to
crypt. 5 ser vices throughout the
day. 7 on request.
http://www.cathedralestmichel.be
Although it is the national
church of Belgium, Cathédrale
Sts-Michel-et-Gudule was
granted cathedral status only
in 1962. It was built with a
sandy limestone brought from
local quarries and is one of
the finest surviving examples
of Brabant Gothic architecture.
There has been a church on
the site of the cathedral since
at least the 11th century. Work
began on the Gothic cathedral
in 1226 under Henry I, Duke
of Brabant, and continued
over a period of 300 years.
The cathedral was finally
com pleted at the beginning of
the 16th century, under the
reign of Charles V. It was
dedicated to the city’s patron
saints, archangel Michael and
a local 8th-century pious
woman, St Gudule.
Owing to ransackings by
Protestant iconoclasts in
1579 and thefts by French Rev-
olutionists in 1793, the interior
of the cathedral is far less rich
than it was in medieval times.
It nonetheless contains some
fine stained glass, such as the
Last Judgement Window,
The exquisitely proportioned Cathédrale-Sts-Michel-et-Gudule
Éditions
Jacques Brel tPlace de la Vieille Halle aux Blés 11,
1000 BRU. City Map 1 C3. Tel (02)- @ 29, 38, 48, 60, 63, 65,
66, 71, 95, 96. Q Gare Centrale.10am–6pm Tue–Fri, noon–6pm
Sat & Sun; perfor mances on the hour.
& 7 = http://www.jacquesbrel.be
Established in 1980 by Jacques
Brel’s daughter, France Brel,
the Éditions Jacques Brel aims
to give visitors a sense of the
world inhabited by this great
singer-songwriter. It achieves
this through a changing series
of film presentations, which
includes footage from his
mesmerizing farewell concert
at Olympia, Paris, in 1966.
Other installations evoke the
conditions of his life over
the course of nearly 50 years.
The foundation also serves
as an archive and research
centre. It maintains an impres-
sive collec tion of articles,
manuscripts, slides, play bills
and other artifacts associated
with Brel’s life and work. In
addition, it con tains several
hours of audio and video
documen tation from some of
Brel’s public performances.dating from 1528, on the west
front of the cathedral, facing
the altar. The transept win-
dows, designed by Bernard
van Orley (c.1490–1541),
date from 1538 and repre sent
the region’s rulers.
The flamboyantly carved
Baroque Pulpit in the central
aisle shows St Michael killing
a dragon. This pulpit is by the
Antwerp-born sculptor
Hendrik Verbruggen and was
begun in 1699, although it
was not installed till 1776.