Achille Fortier (23 October 1864 – 19 August 1939) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. His compositional output includes a modest amount of

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

works, several songs and

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s, and a small amount of

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

music. A considerable portion of his compositions are religious in nature. Much of his work remains unpublished and some of his music is now lost as it was destroyed by a fire. The

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec ( 'National Library and Archives of Quebec') or BAnQ is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Gr ...

holds more than 30 of his original scores in its collection.Achille Fortier at canadianencyclopedia.ca
/ref>

Life

Born in Saint-Clet,

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

, Fortier received his initial musical training at the Petit Séminaire de Saint-Thérèse just outside Montreal where he was a pupil of Father Sauvé. He then pursued further studies with Guillaume Couture and

Dominique Ducharme Dominique Ducharme (15 May 1765 – 3 August 1853), from Lachine, Quebec, was a French Canadian fur trader, settler, militia officer, and public servant. He was named François Ducharme at birth, the son of Jean-Marie Ducharme. In 1793 Duch ...

in Montreal. In 1885 Fortier went to France where he studied for the next five years. Among his teachers there were

André Gedalge André Gedalge (27 December 1856 – 5 February 1926) was a French composer and teacher. Biography André Gedalge was born at 75 rue des Saints-Pères in Paris where he first worked as a bookseller and editor, specialising in ''livres de prix' ...

and

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

(

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

). In 1889 he attended the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, the first Canadian to be admitted as a regular student.Jean-Nicolas De Surmont, “FORTIER, ACHILLE (baptized Antonio-Achille),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 16, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–
/ref> In 1890 Fortier returned to Canada to join the teaching staff at the Institut Nazareth in Montreal where he was an instructor for classes in

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, harmony, and singing. He also taught similar courses at the Dames du Sacré-Coeur Convent, the Villa-Maria Convent, and at the Conservatoire of the Canadian Artistic Society. Some of his notable pupils included Jean-Noël Charbonneau,

Gabriel Cusson Gabriel Cusson (2 April 1903, Roxton Pond, Quebec - 18 Apr 1972, Montreal) was a Canadian composer and music educator. As a composer, his music was heavily influenced by the style of early 20th-century French composers. Most of his work remains u ...

Frédéric Pelletier Frédéric Pelletier (1 May 1870 – 30 May 1944) was a Canadian choir conductor, music educator, composer, music critic, journalist, civil servant, military officer, and physician. He was one of the principal music critics in Montreal ...

, and Édouard LeBel. From 1892 to 1893 he served as the choirmaster for the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. He later worked in Ottawa for many years as a French to English translator for the Canadian federal government, beginning in 1900. He died in

Viauville Viauville is a neighbourhood in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1892 as a result of an urban plan made by Charles-Théodore Viau and the former city of Maisonneuve, and part of th ...

at the age of 74.

Honors

*In 1926 he was awarded an

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. *In 1985 the city of Montreal named a street in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district after him. *In 1988 soprano Liette Turner, cellist Alain Aubut, and pianist Réjean Coallier formed the chamber group Ensemble Achille-Fortier, an ensemble dedicated to performing music from Quebec of the 19th century and early 20th century. The group has released several CDs, many of which contain music by Fortier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortier, Achille 1864 births 1939 deaths 19th-century composers 20th-century Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian music educators Conservatoire de Paris alumni Male composers Musicians from Montreal People from Montérégie 20th-century Canadian male musicians 19th-century male musicians