Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959
| Eurovision Song Contest 1959 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) | |||
| Country |  Switzerland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 22 February 1959 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Christa Williams | |||
| Selected song | "Irgendwoher" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Lothar Löffler | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 4th, 14 points | |||
| Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Switzerland was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Irgendwoher", written by Lothar Löffler, and performed by Christa Williams. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry through a national final after having used one previously in 1956 and 1957, but choosing to internally select in 1958.
Before Eurovision
[edit]Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959
[edit]Format
[edit]Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 consisted of two semi-finals, each consisting of eight songs, and a final with nine songs. Each semi-final was voted on by a 40-member jury in Basel, Geneva, Lugano, and Zurich, which were a combination of representatives of the public and representatives from the music industry. In the final, four groups of fifteen-member juries from Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, and Zurich voted on the nine songs. The composers of the songs were kept anonymous until after the results of the final were announced.[1]
Competing Entries
[edit]The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) received 262 submissions. On 14 and 15 November 1958, a jury appointed by SRG SSR chose sixteen to compete in Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959.[2] Eight entries were sung in French, seven in German, and one in Italian.[1][3]
| Language | Semi-Final Artist | Final Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | Unknown | |
| Unknown | – | "Berceuse" | ||
| "C'est fou c'que tu ressembles à ta Mère" | ||||
| Lucie Dolène | Mathé Altéry | "Fallait pas faire ça" | ||
| Unknown | – | "Les jours sont bien trop courts pour moi" | ||
| Lucie Dolène | Mathé Altéry | "Marie-toi, Marie, marie-toi" | ||
| Unknown | – | "Romance pour un Chien" | ||
| Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | |||
| German | Unknown | – | "Dein Lächeln" | |
| Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Die Spieldose" | |||
| Jo Roland | "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | |||
| Christa Williams | "Irgendwoher" | Lothar Löffler | ||
| – | "Kleines Sommerhaus in Ascona" | Unknown | ||
| Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Mein kleines Lied" | |||
| Christa Williams | "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | |||
| Italian | – | "Temporale d'estate" | ||
First Semi-Final
[edit]The first semi-final of Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 was held on 15 December 1958 in Geneva, and hosted by Colette Jean, and Pierre Billon. All eight French songs were performed in this semi-final. The songs that failed to qualify are "Berceuse", "C'est fou c'que tu ressembles à ta Mère", "Les jours sont bien trop courts pour moi", and "Romance pour un Chien", but it's unknown who performed them.[1][3][2][4]
| Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | Advanced |
| Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | Advanced |
| Lucie Dolène | "Fallait pas faire ça" | Advanced |
| Lucie Dolène | "Marie-toi, Marie, marie-toi" | Advanced |
| Claude Evelyne | Unknown | Eliminated |
| Claude Evelyne | Eliminated | |
| Dominique Rolland | Eliminated | |
| Pierre Cavalli | Eliminated |
Second Semi-Final
[edit]The second semi-final of Grand Prix Suisse de la Chanson Eurovision 1959 was held on 12 January 1959 in the Bâsel Studios, in Basel, and hosted by Trudi Roth and Albert Werner. The seven German songs and one Italian song were performed in this semi-final. Christa Williams, Anita Traversi, and Jo Roland performed all the songs in this semi-final, however it's unknown which songs they sang.[1][2]
| Song | Result |
|---|---|
| "Dein Lächeln" | Eliminated |
| "Die Spieldose" | Advanced |
| "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | Advanced |
| "Irgendwoher" | Advanced |
| "Kleines Sommerhaus in Ascona" | Eliminated |
| "Mein kleines Lied" | Advanced |
| "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | Advanced |
| "Temporale d'estate" | Eliminated |
Final
[edit]The final was held on 22 February 1959 in the Théâtre de Beaulieu in Lausanne and was presented by Claude Evelyne and Joël Curchod.[5][6] The voting consisted of regional jurors from Basel, Zürich, Lugano, and Lausanne.[7] Among the participants was Mathé Altéry who previously represented France in the 1956 contest. Christa Williams emerged as the winner with the song "Irgendwoher" after gaining 9 points from Lugano and 5 from Zürich.[7]
| R/O | Artist | Song | Result | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jo Roland | "Ein kleines Schiff in einer alten Branntweinflasche" | Unknown | |
| 2 | Mathé Altéry | "Marie-toi, Marie" | 13 | 2 |
| 3 | Christa Williams | "Irgendwoher" | 14 | 1 |
| 4 | Jo Roland | "Adieu Madeleine" | 10 | 3 |
| 5 | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Die Spieldose" | Unknown | |
| 6 | Mathé Altéry | "Fallait pas faire ça" | ||
| 7 | Christa Williams | "Mit küssen fängt die Liebe an" | ||
| 8 | Jo Roland | "Sire le roi" | 10 | 3 |
| 9 | Christa Williams & Jo Roland | "Mein kleines Lied" | Unknown | |
At Eurovision
[edit]At the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 in Cannes, the Swiss entry was the eighth entry of the night following Sweden and preceding Austria. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received fourteen points in total; finishing in fourth place out of eleven countries.
The Swiss entry was conducted at the contest by Franck Pourcel.
Voting
[edit]Every participating broadcaster assembled a jury panel of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.
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References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "GRAND PRIX SUISSE DE LA CHANSON EUROVISION 1959. DEUXIÈME DEMI-FINALE". Radio Je vois tout - télévision. 8 January 1959. p. 27.
- ^ a b c "GRAND PRIX EUROPÉEN DE LA CHANSON 1959". Radio Je vois tout - télévision. 21 November 1958. p. 6.
- ^ a b "Le Grand Prix européen de la chanson". Radio Je vois tout - télévision. 11 December 1958. p. 26.
- ^ "2es Eliminatoires suisses du Grand Prix Eurovision de la chanson". Radio Je vois tout - télévision. 8 January 1959. p. 20.
- ^ "C'est' à Lausanne qu'aura lieula finale suisse du Grand Prixde la chanson Eurovision". Radio Je vois tout - télévision. 19 February 1959. p. 11.
- ^ "SWISS NATIONAL FINAL 1959". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ a b "La Suisse ne vivrait pas longtemps si elle n'avait que des chansons "sélectionnées" à exporter... ...ou les aspects d'un concours radiophonique". Scriptorium. 23 February 1959. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Cannes 1959". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.