Ernest Gagnon (; 7 November 1834 – 15 September 1915) was a Canadian

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

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 def ...

, and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

. He is best known for compiling a large amount of French Canadian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

which he published as ''Chansons populaires du Canada'' in 1865–1867. He was greatly admired for his

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

performances on the organ and was also considered an expert at

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

accompaniment.

Biography

Born in

Louiseville Louiseville () is a Types of municipalities in Quebec, town in the Mauricie Quebec region, region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shor ...

, Gagnon was from a prominent family of musicians in Québec City. He is the brother of composer

Gustave Gagnon Gustave Adolphe Mathurin Gagnon (; 6 November 1842 – 19 November 1930) was a Canadian organist, composer, and music educator. Family background and education Born in Louiseville, Gagnon was from a prominent family of musicians in Québ ...

and the uncle of composer

Henri Gagnon Henri Gagnon (; 6 March 1887 – 17 May 1961) was a Canadian composer, organist, and music educator. He spent 51 years playing the organ at the Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral of Quebec City where, according to music historian François Brassard, ...

. His sister Élisabeth was married to pianist Paul Letondal. He studied the organ with

Charles Wugk Sabatier Charles-Désiré-Joseph Wugk Sabatier (1 December 1819 – 22 August 1862) was a Canadian pianist, organist, composer, and music educator of French birth. Early life and career in Europe Born Charles Wugk in Tourcoing, Sabatier was the son of an ...

. From 1853 to 1864 he was the organist of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, and held a similar position at the Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral from 1864 to 1876. In 1857 he travelled to Paris after obtaining a study leave and became a pupil of

Henri Herz Henri Herz (6 January 1803 – 5 January 1888) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and piano manufacturer, Austrian by birth and French by nationality and domicile. He was a professor in the Paris Conservatoire for more than thirty years. Among his ...

and

Alexandre Goria Alexandre Édouard Goria (21 January 1823 – 6 July 1860) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer of salon pieces. Biography Alexandre Goria was born in Paris and admitted as a student at the age of seven to the Conservatoire de Paris on 15 ...

. Many of his arts songs, choral pieces, and works for solo piano have been published by the Canadian Musical Heritage Society and by

Adélard Joseph Boucher Adélard Joseph François-Arthur Boucher (28 June 1835 – 16 November 1912) was a Canadian publisher, importer, choirmaster, organist, conductor, writer on music, composer and numismatist. In 1865 he founded the A.J. Boucher Co. in Montreal ...

. His piano work ''Stadaconé'' (1858) was notably the first notated composition to be based on the music of the

aboriginal peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population. There are over ...

. He died in Quebec City at the age of 80 and is buried at the

Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont The Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont (; English: Belmont Cemetery) is a historic garden cemetery located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Roman Catholic cemetery was built between 1857 and 1859. Its architect, Charles Baillargé, took inspir ...

References

External links

* * 1834 births 1915 deaths 19th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian composers Province of Canada people Canadian male composers Canadian folklorists Canadian folk-song collectors Canadian organists Male organists People from Rivière-du-Loup 20th-century Canadian male musicians 19th-century Canadian male musicians Academic staff of Université Laval Université Laval alumni 20th-century Canadian musicologists {{Canada-composer-stub