Valsien was born
Albert Valensi in
Algiers, the son of a French silk merchant on the Rue de la Lyre. He was educated at the lycée in
Ben Aknoun and showed a precocious talent as a composer. His first published song, "Reine de prés" was written when he was 14 and had considerable success. His teacher suggested that he go to France to study at the
Conservatoire de Paris, but his mother was opposed to the idea. Instead, at the age of 16 he enrolled in the in Algiers where he won the first prize in
harmony the following year. While still a student at the École supérieure several of his songs were performed at the Casino d'Alger. Valsien eventually went to Paris after completing his military service as a nurse stationed at
Bône in the north-eastern corner of Algeria. In Paris he showed his songs to the singer
Félix Mayol. It marked the beginning of a partnership which produced some of Mayol's greatest successes including "Cousine", "Arrouah Sidi", "Si l'on s'aime", "Voilà pourquoi", and "Bou-dou-ba-da-bouh!". The latter became a prototype for a genre of popular songs depicting soldiers from France's African colonies and inspired the title of
Bon Candidat Boudoubadabout, one of
Georges Rouault's etchings in the series
Les Réincarnation du Père Ubu. At the outbreak of World War I, Valsien rejoined the army as a nurse and was stationed at
Barlin in northern France. While under bombardment by German artillery, he composed the song "Petit matelot" which Mayol sang in his visits to French military hospitals. Towards the end of the war, he fell ill and was transferred to the auxiliary service in
Orléans. There he met
Jean Guitton who showed him an operetta libretto he had written,
Clo-Clo, and convinced Valsien to set it to music.
Clo-Clo (co-composed with Francis Kams) premiered at the Eldorado in 1920 conducted by Valsien himself. In the later years of his career, Valsien devoted himself primarily to conducting for various Paris theatres including the
Théâtre Daunou,
Théâtre des Folies-Wagram, and
Théâtre des Nouveautés as well as conducting dozens of recordings for
Odeon Records. He also appeared as an actor in the role of the orchestra conductor in
Henri Jeanson's 1949 film
Lady Paname. Valsien died in Paris at the age of 73. ==Operettas==