When Paul de Senneville’s second daughter, Adeline, was born in 1977, he did what you might expect a composer to do – he poured his love and affection into a ballad composed for his newborn child. He probably didn’t realize at the time that it would also become his signature hit. In just over 40 years, worldwide sales reached 22 million copies in 38 countries.
The success of the piano solo was in large part due to Richard Clayderman’s performance. Clayderman had been carefully selected by the composer and Olivier Toussaint, a French producer, to record the piece for distribution. Clayderman was chosen among several pianists who had auditioned for the part.
As composer de Senneville explained, “We liked [Clayderman] immediately. His very special and soft touch on the keyboards combined with his reserved personality and good looks very much impressed Olivier Toussaint and I. We made our decision very quickly”.
And producer Toussaint added, “When I signed him, I told him that if we sell 10,000 singles it will be marvelous, because it was disco at that time and we could not bet on such a ballad being a winner….. We could not imagine that it would be so big.” Indeed, many of us sentimentally recognize this piece as a relic of the ‘80s.
Let’s look at this piano composition analytically. It is akin to ternary musical structure (ABA). Flowing arpeggios create a fluid and gentle contour. The main chordal structure works with the familiar I-IV-V7-I framework of many pop songs.
“Ballade Pour Adeline” has been a popular piano solo for decades and continues to be a favorite among pianists. Delicate themes, flowing 16th and 32nd notes, and beautiful chord progressions have contributed to the continued success of Paul de Senneville’s ballad for his daughter.