Raynald Arseneault (9 June 1945 – 27 January 1995) was a Canadian composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

. An associate of 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 A ...

, his compositional output consists of more than 50 works. His style was particularly influenced by

Ivan Wyschnegradsky Ivan Alexandrovich Wyschnegradsky; Is also transliterated as Vïshnegradsky, Wyshnegradsky, Wischnegradsky, Vishnegradsky, or Wishnegradsky (after he emigrated to France, he used "Wyschnegradsky" as spelling for his surname)., group=n ( ; Septe ...

and

Giacinto Scelsi Giacinto Francesco Maria Scelsi (; 8 January 1905 – 9 August 1988, sometimes cited as 8 August 1988) was an Italian composer who also wrote surrealist poetry in French. He is best known for having composed music based around only one pitch, ...

; both of whom he met with in Europe during the 1970s. He served for many years as the organist and director of sacred music at Saint-Marc Church in Rosemont. Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, Arseneault studied with

Françoise Aubut Françoise Aubut-Pratte, née Aubut (5 September 1922 – 8 October 1984) was a Canadian concert organist, and music teacher. Life Born in Saint-Jérôme (Quebec), a great-granddaughter of Calixa Lavallée, she began her piano studies at the a ...

and Gilles Tremblay 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, ...

where he graduated with a premier prix in composition in 1973. That same year he won the Prix d’Europe which enabled him to pursue studies in France. He remained for eight years in that country where he studied composition with

Tony Aubin Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Career Aubin was born in Paris. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (music theory), Noel Gallon (counterpoint), ...

, Claude Lefebvre,

Claude Ballif Claude Ballif (22 May 1924 – 24 July 2004) was a French composer, writer, and pedagogue. He worked at a number of institutions throughout more than 40 years of teaching, one of which he had attended as a student. Among his pupils were Raynald ...

, Ivo Malec and

Michel Philippot Michel Paul Philippot (2 February 1925 – 28 July 1996) was a French composer, mathematician, acoustician, musicologist, aesthetician, broadcaster, and educator. Life Philippot was born in Verzy. His studies of mathematics were interrupted by W ...

. Raynald Arseneault's music has been performed in numerous music festivals around the world, and has been recorded by the

RTBF The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Com ...

, the ORTF and the CBC. Some of the principal performers of his music are, notably, the

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orch ...

, the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France (Edgar Cosma), the

Orchestre Métropolitain The Orchestre Métropolitain (OM) is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside the c ...

(Walter Boudreau), the Orchestre symphonique de la Radio-Télévision Belge (

Simon Streatfeild Simon Nicolas Streatfeild (5 October 1929 – 7 December 2019) was a British-Canadian violist, conductor and teacher. Simon Nicolas Streatfeild was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England in 1929. He studied viola with Frederick Riddle at the ...

), the

Société de musique contemporaine du Québec The Quebec Contemporary Music Society, or Société de musique contemporaine du Québec in French (SMCQ), is a contemporary classical-music organization based in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1966 by Montreal composers and musicians, includin ...

(Gilles Auger); organists

Bernard Foccroulle Bernard Charles M. E. T. H. Foccroulle (born 23 November 1953) is a Belgian organist, composer, conductor and opera director. Biography He was born in Liège and studied at the Conservatoire de Liège. Initially, he became known as a member o ...

, Michelle Quintal, André Laberge and Gisèle Guibord, singer Natalie Choquette, pianists Louis-Philippe Pelletier, Suzanne Fournier, Daniel Cholette and Julio Laks, violinist Carmen Fournier, guitarist

Michael Laucke Michael Laucke (; 29 January 1947 – 2 December 2021) was a Canadian classical, new flamenco and flamenco guitarist and composer. Starting at the age of thirteen, Laucke gave professional snooker demonstrations and his winnings allowed him t ...

, and flautists Lise Daoust, Claire Marchand and Helmut W. Erdmann. He has been awarded several grants from the Ministère de l'Éducation and the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, as well as from The Canada Council. Arseneault was also a resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts de Paris in the studio of The Canada Council (1979–80) and in the studio of the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec (1980–81).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arseneault, Raynald 1945 births 1995 deaths Canadian male composers Canadian organists Male organists Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Musicians from Quebec City 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century organists 20th-century Canadian male musicians