Customer Reviews

The Singing Nun

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first heard "The Singing Nun" when I was fifteen years old and I heard her song, "Dominique" on the radio. Those were the days when radio played all kinds of music, not one genre only.
I then watched her perform her music thanks to Ed Sullivan and "The Ed Sullivan Show". He had his crew film her at her Dominican Convent in Belgium and aired it on his Sunday night show.
I don't speak much French . . . but I love to hear the language sung. . . and i truly enjoy hearing this voice singing it.
I love "Fleur de Cactus". But I treasure "Resurrestion". And the album couldn't have had a better choice for its final track than, "Among The Stars".
Sadly this nun, after leaving the convent and operating a nursery school, because of supposed tax/money problems committed suicide and left our world. But she hasn't left our lives and she remains in these songs which are captured on disc now forever. "Soeur Sourire" now herself is "Among The Stars".
I'm grateful to her for her songwriting and for her singing. And I thank her for recording these tracks way back in 1964. Here we are in 2003 and still get to enjoy her voice and her talent and her songs.

If you want to stump somebody with music trivia ask them who is the only Belgian born artist to hit #1 on the charts in the United States. The answer, of course, is the Singing Nun, "Soeur Sourire" ("Sister Smile"), who was born Jeanine Deckers in Belgium in 1933 and took the name Sister Luc-Gabrielle when she became a Dominican nun at the Fichermont Convent in Belgium. In the 1963 she became one of the unlikeliest pop stars in history when her song "Dominique" topped the charts. The singing nun was just trying to raise some money for her Dominican order and had paid a recording studio to record an album she could give out as a gift. But when "Dominique" became famous around the world her obscurity was at an end. Everybody liked the song even if they never bothered to find out what she was singing about. The chrous might surprise some people:

Dominique, oh Dominique
Over the land he plods along
Never looking for reward
He just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord

The song, which won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording, Musical, was obviously a tribute to the founder of her Dominican order and was originally a present for her Mother Superior. This same Mother Superior had to be convinced to let a tape of the Singing Nun singing her hit song be aired on "The Ed Sullivan Show." The Mother Superior was upset that the song treated the order's founder with "familiarity and a touch of impertinence." Within a few years the Singing Nun had changed her name to Luc Dominique and was writing a song praising God for inspiring the invention of the birth control pill. Her life ended tragically after she left the order to run a school for autistic children. The Belgian government went after her for back taxes on her royalties, which, of course, had been donated to the convent, and she killed herself as part of a suicide pact.

Hard to believe any of that when you listen to these delightful songs, especially if you have ever seen the movie "The Singing Nun," which made a syrupy confection out of this woman's real life. Obviously the fact that she was a nun played into her success, otherwise "Dominique" would never have kept "Louie, Louie" out of the top spot (how is that for an irony contrast?). But at the end of 1963 in the wake of JFK's assassination, folk music was the dominant genre on the charts, where Peter, Paul & Mary's first two albums were in the Top 10 along with albums by Washington Square and Trini Lopez.

"The Singing Nun" has 12 folk songs, with the only accompaniment being the guitar and some sparse backing vocals. The only percussion are some handclaps during "Soeur Adele" ("Sister Adele"). There is a simple children's songs "Mets ton Joli Jupon" ("Put on Your Pretty Skirt"), but most of what is here is in a religious vein (e.g., "Resurrection," "I Have Found the Lord"). However, you would never know that from listening to these songs, which boil down to pleasant folk tunes sung in French. I mean, the "Lament for Marie-Jacques" ("Complainte de Marie-Jacques") does not SOUND like a "lament." "Dominique" is far and away the best song on the album, which overall qualifies as a pleasant listening experience.

I bought the LP of this album in the 1960s when all we heard on the radio was Dominic! to my delite it contained even better songs which I found inspiring and uplifting and it even inspired me to take up the guitar. My LP is old, worn out, and I can no longer listen to it as my new stereo does not have a turn table. So you can imagine how great my thrill to find this cd on Amazon. I am ordering now, and can not wait to sing along with my favorites like Resurrection and Lament for Marie-Jacques. I learned every lyric phonetically and can mimic the french accent perfectly. Thank you, thank you, Amazon.

When I was very young, my parents bought this very LP. I used to listen to it all the time, trying in vain to follow the French lyrics as she sang. As an adult, I now speak French and can sing along with those songs that I love, paricularly "Je Voudrais" (I would like). What a surprise to find it now on CD. I still have the LP, along with those lyrics that I studied so intently as a child in the 60's. I miss Soeur Sourire and the music that inspired so many, but I am glad to finally own the CD.

I stumbled upon this album as a child of eight, and listened to the LP every chance I got. Those of you who own the LP know what I'm talking about. The fantastic graphic-pen artwork is simply magical, and it had the lyrics both in English and French. This album was my first introduction to the French language, and over time 'The Singing Nun' became my favorite foreign language album, even though I do speak French now, so its not exactly foreign anymore.

The title track was actually a Billboard No. 1 hit (yes, on the Hot 100 singles chart) way back in the 50s. It was called 'Dominique', a catchy little ditty. All of the songs are heavily soaked in Christian influences, but they come across as melodious and engaging and not especially puritanical. Gems such as 'Mets ton joli jupon' and 'Plume de Radis' are my personal favorites, though others such as 'Fleur de Cactus' and 'Je voudrais' have often been termed the more outstanding of the tracks here.

When CDs first became available, I transferred the LP onto CD through an expensive process, as I was so desperate to own this album on CD. It comes as a great surprise that Amazon has this album on CD. Parents of little children would do well to gift this item to their offspring as it will carry them through their lives. La Soeur Sourire is one of those magical recordings that have been proven timeless in their quality and effect.

Highly recommended also to French language teachers looking for a song album that glows with perfect diction. The Sisters' French accent and pronounciation here is impeccable. Certainly worth referring to for anyone desirous of learing proper French.

Every now and then I will read a derogatory remark about "The Singing Nun" and her music. I wonder if those folks ever actually listened to this music?? These are such beautiful, lucid songs. I play them whenever I want a spiritual lift! I am looking forward to the biography of her life that is apparently in the works. I understand that it was apparently a tragedy; after she left the religious life, the government hounded her for back taxes, even though she had given all the $$ to her religious order at the time. Whatever happened to her, however, nothing can take away the beauty of her gift of music.

Like another reviewer, I was a little kid when 'Dominique' first hit the radio, and like so many others I nagged my parents into buying the album for me (...). My sister and I played that one into dust, then bought another on cut-out, and another. The purity and beauty of the singing on this album is quite unique; I've never heard anything else quite like it. It is one of the few LP's I've kept over the years. I think every little girl who could, performed this at school recitals. (...)

Regardless of the tangents that Hollywood took us on, though, this album remains pure and whole. As another reviewer has noted, it is French at its most accessible and beautiful. I can easily date my love of French music to listening to this album as a child, and my sister loved it so much she got a degree in it! (...)

This album is timeless and unique, and will sound as beautiful in another forty years.

The Singing Nun is a joyous and uplifting CD filled with the inspiration and faith of Soeur Luc-Gabrielle, (Soeur Sourire). The CD is filled with light-hearted lyrics as well as lyrics deeply reflecting Soeur Sourire's journey of faith. The music calls to mind a simpler time and a place of serenity and peace. The melodies express joy and hope, transcending the limits of language. It was these very melodies that captured the heart of a young boy who fondly remembers searching music stores in New York City with his dear grandmother in an attempt to find the songs of Soeur Sourire. It was some time after Soeur Sourire's debut and so those searches, unfortunately, came up empty. That the moving melodies and the uplifting harmonies remained with this young boy into adulthood attest to the true wonder of this music. I happened upon this CD quite seredipitously and frankly it has filled a void. Music that has an appeal, even as we grow older, tells us that it conveys an unchanging message. The music of Soeur Sourire is quite expressive and will continue to delight those who hear it, children and adults alike.

I have the original vinyl, bought shortly after it was first released. It is a wonderful recording, and Soeur Sourire's voice is enchanting and clear. I am updating my CD library and am pleased to be able to replace the worn LP recording with a more durable CD. Soeur Sourire's enunciation, plus the additional written French and English lyrics, are an added bonus for those wanting to improve their French. In short, the recording is a classic gem.

I grew up with this album and am still brought to tears of joy to hear the voice of this angel on earth. You'll never get closer to the sound of heaven until you're there!