Kneeling on the stage of the Auditorium Stravinski, he is singing “Hallelujah”. Two nights, two generous three-plus-hour concerts to open the Festival in 2013: the public reverberated with a single voice to Cohen’s deep, majestic mantras.

Today we pay tribute to a legendary poet, novelist, composer, and artist who has left us. He serenaded Montreux in 1976, 1985, 2008, and twice in 2013. Deep voice and universal themes, and a darkness not just accepted but embraced: after a half-century of songs, he intones “I’m ready, my Lord” on his final album, You Want It Darker...

So long, Leonard.

Photo © 2013 FFJM Mehdi Benkler​