Pierre Mercure (21 February 1927 – 29 January 1966) was a Canadian

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 ...

, TV producer,

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

ist, and administrator. Mercure was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. As a student at the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (, CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean ...

, he earned honours including Premier prix Harmony, Counterpoint, and Deuxième prix bassoon in 1949. His primary composition teacher was

Claude Champagne 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 Montreal, Quebec, Champagne began piano and the ...

. He also studied composition briefly with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

in Paris and

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (3 February 1904 – 19 February 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Croati ...

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

."Pierre Mercure" in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
/ref> Mercure began his composing career in the world of ballet, composing four ballets in a short period in 1948 and 1950, and going on to compose orchestral, chamber and electronic music as well. He sought to help the Canadian new music community progress to the level of their counterparts in European and American classical music, taking many trips to France to immerse himself in new music there. He died in a road traffic accident near

Avallon Avallon () is a commune in the Burgundian department of Yonne, in France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish ''*Aballū'', oblique ''*Aballon-'' meaning "Apple-tree (place)" or "(plac ...

, France, aged 38. He was married to actress

Monique Mercure Marie Lise Monique Émond (14 November 193016 May 2020), better known as Monique Mercure (), was a Canadian stage and screen actress. She was one of the country's great actors of the classical and modern repertory. In 1977, Mercure won a Cann ...

from 1949 to 1958.

Works

Ballet * ''Dualité'' (1948) * ''La Femme archaïque'' (1949) * ''Lucrèce Borgia'' (1949) * ''Emprise'' (1950) * ''Improvisation'' (1961) * ''Incandescence'' (1961) * ''Structures métalliques I and II'' (1961) * ''Tétrachromie'' (1963) * ''Manipulations'' (1964) * ''Surimpressions'' (1964) Film *''

Walls of Memory ''Walls of Memory'' () is a Canadian short documentary film, directed by Léonard Forest for the National Film Board of Canada and released in 1964.Christian Rasselet, "Travelling arrière". ''Objectif'', February/March 1965. pp. 55-56. The film ...

(Mémoire en fête)'' - 1964 * ''La Forme des choses'' (1965) * ''Élément 3'' (1965) Orchestral * ''Kaléidoscope'' (1948) * ''Ils ont détruit la ville'' (1950) * ''Cantate pour une joie'' (1955) * ''Divertissement'' (1957) * ''Triptyque'' (1959) * ''Lignes et points'' (1964) Chamber * ''Pantomime'' (1948) * ''H2O per Severino'' (1965) Electronic * ''Jeu de hockey'' (1961) * ''Répercussions'' (1961) * ''Structures métalliques III'' (1962) * ''Psaume pour abri'' (1963)

References

External links

Pierre Mercure
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Pierre Mercure
at

The Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercure, Pierre 1927 births 1966 deaths Canadian classical bassoonists Canadian male composers Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Musicians from Quebec 20th-century Canadian classical musicians 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians