Claude Champagne (27 May 1891 – 21 December 1965) was a French Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, and violinist.

Early life and education

Born as Joseph-Arthur-Adonaï Claude Champagne in

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Champagne began piano and theory at 10 with Orpha-F. Deveaux, and continued with Romain-Octave Pelletier I and Alexis Contant at the Conservatoire national de musique. At 14, he studied

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

with Albert Chamberland. He earned diplomas from private institutions: the Dominion College of Music (theory and piano, 1908) and the Conservatoire national of Montreal.

Career

Early career

Between 1910 and 1921 Champagne taught piano, violin, and other instruments at the Varennes and Longueuil colleges. He performed on viola and saxophone with the Canadian Grenadier Guards Band directed by J.-J. Gagnier and gave private lessons in theory and harmony. He accompanied choirs, including that of the Maisonneuve district, and played violin during intermissions at the National, a variety theatre. In 1921 Champagne went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study music. By then he had developed an interest in

modality Modality may refer to: Humanities * Modality (theology), the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations * Modality (music), in music, the subject concerning certain diatonic scales * Modalit ...

, which stayed with him the rest of his life. His symphonic poem ''Hercule et Omphale'', composed in 1918, was first performed in Paris on 31 March 1926 at the Salle de l'Ancien Conservatoire under the direction of violinist, composer and conductor Juan Mendés. Even if the work's performance did not make its mark on the Parisian musical scene, the mere fact that it was programmed was a token of recognition of the composer's talent. Indeed, the Quebec papers are full of praise for Champagne's success in the French capital.

Later career

At his return to Canada, Champagne became heavily involved in teaching. In 1932 he joined the Faculty of Music at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, where he taught until 1941. He played an instrumental role in establishing the

Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec The Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec (, CMADQ) is a public network of nine state-subsidised schools offering higher education in music and theatre in Quebec, Canada. The organization was established in 1942 as a branch of th ...

in 1942. In 1943 he was appointed the first assistant director of the Montreal Conservatoire. In the 1950s, with Boris Berlin, he published a series of sight reading exercise books for students. In 1950 his post-romantic work ''Concerto'' was recorded by BMI Canada, and in about 1955 his First String Quartet was performed by the Montreal String Quartet, and recorded by the CBC Transcription Service. He was attached to the

Montreal Catholic School Commission The Montreal Catholic School Commission (Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal, CECM) was a Roman Catholic school district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which operated both French-language and English-language schools. It was the largest s ...

as co-ordinator of solfége in elementary schools, and he was at the same time professor at the McGill Conservatory. After that, he taught many Canadian composers including Jean Vallerand and François Morel.

Death

He died in Montreal on 21 December 1965. A concert hall at the Université de Montréal was later named for him.

Works

*Symphonie Gaspésienne *Fantaisie "J'ai du bon tabac" – for orchestra *Hercule et Omphale – for orchestra *La Laurentienne – for orchestra *Danse Villageoise *Piano Concerto (Fiesta) *Suite Canadienne – for choir and orchestra *Berceuse – for small orchestra *Prière – for organ *''Quadrilha Brasileira'' for Piano (1942) *Many choral pieces

Awards and honours

In 1963, Champagne was presented with an award by the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

References

External links

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Suite Canadienne
at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Canadian Sheet Music Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Champagne, Claude 1891 births 1965 deaths Canadian male composers Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal Conservatoire national de musique alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire national de musique Academic staff of McGill University Musicians from Montreal Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian military musicians