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This video is dedicated to the memory of the Belgian (Flemish) singer La Esterella who died aged 91. Starting her career in the dark days of the Second World War, she quickly became a household name. La Esterella born Esther Lambrechts in 1919, was discovered during a singing contest at the "Oud België" music hall in Antwerp in 1942.. She won second prize and her remarkable deep voice brought her to the attention of Charly Schleimovitz, her future husband and manager.... A few weeks later she won the finale of the singing contest with the beautiful French song "Dans mon coeur" (recorded by Danielle Darrieux and Lucienne Delyle). The similarity in voice to the very popular Swedish singer Zarah Leander was not lost on audiences and she was often introduced as the " Flemish Zarah Leander". She made her first recordings at Decca and Olympia. Her first recording was a Flemish language version of "Du darfst mir nie mehr rote Rosen schenken" a Zarah Leander song. She recorded in Flemish (Dutch) and French as well as some German songs . "...und wieder geht ein schöner Tag zu Ende", "Es geht alles vorüber" and "Ich liebe die Sonne, den Mond und die Sterne" which was heard at the start and end in the 2001 documentary of her life.

After the War she performed throughout Europe usually singing romantic or light classical songs. She was in Paris at the ABC with Chevalier and Piaf in 1946... According to Esterella Piaf said "Elle ne sera jamais une étoile de la chanson française" (She will never be a star of French chanson). To which Esterella replied "Je m'en fous. Alors je deviendrai une étoile internationale" (I couldn't care less. I will be an international star then). In 1948 she was the first Flemish artist ever to perform on BBC television. In 1953 she signed with the Philips record company which pushed her towards Dutch language songs. Her biggest hit was "O Lieve Vrouwe Toren" - in which she serenaded Antwerp's famous cathedral. It is for this song that she is still remembered today.

In 1960 she retired from the spotlights to care for her sick huisband who died soon after. She then worked as a secretary for an English maritime company. After the death of her second husband she returned to the stage in the early 1980s and found the audience had not forgotten her. She recorded a few more songs and performed regularly on the stage and tv. She looked back on her career with fond memories and had a good sense of humour. She became known to much younger audiences due to a commercial she made for the Belgian telecom company Belgacom in which she sang "Pump up the jam". She was also frequently parodied (in a gentle manner) by Chris Van Den Durpel, a well known Flemish tv comedian... Her 90th birthday was a media event and Esterella returned to the spotlights one final time... She had been living in nursing home since 2008 and passed away in a hospital in Antwerp...

This video features a very rare recording by La Esterella : her version of the classic German chanson "...und wieder geht ein schöner Tag zu Ende", recorded for the Olympia record label in late 1942 or early 1943. The song was made popular initially by Lale Andersen and the Swedish singer Sven-Olof Sandberg.
The flip side of Esterella's recording features another Andersen song : "Es geht alles vorüber, es geht alles vorbei". She is accompanied by V.O. Ursmar & his orchestra. Ursmar's real name was Ursmar van Oosterwyck and he was composer as well as conductor. Those who know La Esterella from the 1950s or past 2 decades might be surprised to hear her sing in another language than Flemish and (re)discover the voice of the young La Esterella...

* The lyricist is not Bruno Balz but Bruno Elsner... The label is in such a bad condition the name had become unreadable...

The record is in extremely bad condition but I chose to present it anyway due to its rarity and as a tribute to La Esterella.

The video features a biography of La Esterella as well as pictures found on the internet.

About the record :

Olympia
C.2084/ mx. 16427

Brussels (?),
1942/43

Record in extremely bad condition,

This record was recorded with an Ortofon Om78cartridge and stylus as well as 78rpm phono preamp. The restoration was done as truthfully as possible.

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