01/1/25

Gilles Vigneault (1928–)

Gilles Vigneault is a poet and chansonnier from Natashquan, in the Côte-Nord region of Québec. He is regarded as one of the most important chansonniers of the 20th century, and can be credited with preserving and disseminate Québécois language and culture for an international audience.

Vigneault was born in 1928 in Natashquan; his father was a fisherman, and his family was likely of Acadian descent (as with many Natashquan residents). He studied at classics-focused schools and read French literature in university in Québec City; during this time he worked as a librarian, archivist and publisher, and inspired by important French authors such as Paul Verlaine, Victor Hugo, and Pierre de Ronsard, he took up writing poetry; he began to circulate his work and write songs for other musicians in the 1950s. In the beginning of the 1960s, he began to perform at clubs in Québec City, and released his first album, Gilles Vigneault, in 1962. With his song Mon Pays from the soundtrack to La neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan (1964), his reputation began to spread in Québec, and also Europe and the rest of Canada. During the 1970s, and marked by his featuring at the Superfrancofête (on the Plains of Abraham), he was cemented as one of the Francophone world’s most well-known artists, and toured through much of Europe and Canada: Vigneault is credited as one of the major revitalisers and disseminators of Québécois music and culture throughout the world.

Vigneault has released a staggering 44 studio albums, plus additional documentaries, soundtracks, collections of poetry, singles, and collaborations. His music has also been widely recorded by other chansonniers. Much of his output centres around Québec and its unique culture and people; he has been a strong voice for Québec nationalism including during the referenda, has starkly defended the French language, and has subsequently endorsed the Parti Québécois. Two of his songs, “Mon pays” and “Gens du pays,” have been adopted as unofficial national anthems of Québec. Vigneault founded his own record label in the early 1970s, releasing over 20 recordings with Éditions du vent qui vire. 

Vigneault has received seven honourary Doctorate degrees, and has received a number of awards from the governments of Québec and France. There are a number of streets named after him in Québec, and even schools named in his honour in Québec, Montreal and Marseilles.

 

Further Reading:

Wikipedia (FR): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Vigneault

Official Biography: https://gillesvigneault.com/biographie/

Canadian Encyclopedia: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/vigneault-gilles

Discographie: https://disqu-o-quebec.com/Artistes/U-V/vigneault_gilles.html

 

Streaming: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC07AAQqy1bL_dKrhuEI8ceg

Much of his music is not available on streaming platforms, but some has been uploaded to Youtube by third parties; e.g. his debut, eponymous album (which is actually really good): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGb0opOAMj8

 

Related Contents:

Si les bateaux (1963)

Mon pays (1965)

Les gens de mon pays (1965)

 

01/1/25

Chasse-galerie (2014)

French Lyrics:

Le froid mordait mon coeur gelé
Le vent hurlait ma solitude
J’aurais au diable vendu mon âme
Pour sentir la chaleur de ma douce compagne.

Le malin vit belle occasion
De tenter mes rêves, d’ouvrir l’horizon
De faire miroiter la chaleur de mon ange
Inaccessible en cette morte saison.

Il m’apparut coiffé de cornes
Son feu brûla mon visage morne
La terreur laissa place à mon fol espoir
Car ma douce compagne je mourrais de revoir

Son marché fut, fort équitable
Ce demon ne semblait pas mauvais diable
Dans un canot vers elle pourrais-je voler
Sans toutefois d’aucune croix m’approcher
Et vers le ciel je partis
Soutenu par tous les feux de l’enfer réunis

Au bord du rivage je l’avais quittée
Je vis son dernier souffle s’envoler
Mon canot frappa la croix du clocher
Dans ses bras je suis tombé.

From: Paroles.net (https://www.paroles.net/daniel-lavoie/paroles-chasse-galerie)

Suggested Sources:

Daniel Lavoie, “Chasse-galerie,” La licorne captive – Un projet musical de Laurent Guardo, 2014. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5v3CKFLJhM.

01/1/25

La chasse-galerie (1978)

NOTE: “La chasse-galerie” refers to a Québec legend first written by Honoré Beaugrand (1892), a play by Victor-Lévy Beaulieu (2014), a film (2016), as well as the song by Claude Dubois. It also figures on “La Maudite” a beer produced by Unibroue (Chambly, Québec) and on a Canada Post stamp (1991).

French Lyrics:

À force de rester dans la forêt à s′ennuyer
Le diable est venu les tenter
Il fallait deux semaines
Quand la glace s’était en aller
En canot pour s′en retourner
C’était déjà l’hiver les grands froids
Nous mordait les pieds
Impossible de s′en aller
C′était déjà Noël le Nouvel An montrait son nez
Tous les hommes voulaient s’en aller
Le diable guettant comme un rapace son gibier
Vint leur offrir tout un marché
Dans un canot dans le plus grand que vous ayez
Installez-vous là sans bouger
Quand minuit sonnera ton canot d′un coup bougera
Il s’élèvera pour t′emporter
Mais si l’un d′entre vous après la fête terminée
Manque le bateau vous périrez
Et chez le grand Satan vous irez brûler ignorés
Ignorés pour l’éternité
Le canot s’éleva jusqu′au ciel ils furent emportés
Jusqu′à leur village tant aimé
Chacun revint une fois la fête terminée
Sauf le dernier sans y pensé
Posant le pied en embarquant s’est retourné
C′est retourné sans y penser
Alors le grand Satan dans un tourbillon de brasier
Tous et chacun à emporter
Le plus jeune d’entre eux
Le plus méfiant le plus peureux
Gardait comme un bijou précieux
Une prière à tuer les diables de la terre
Et quand il l′eut enfin citée
Comme des étoiles furent soudainement libérées
Devant leur cabane isolée

Suggested sources:

Related Contents:

“Les voyageurs”

“La chasse-galerie” by Daniel Lavoie

01/1/25

Édith Butler (1942–)

“Tall and regal, dressed all in white, Edith Butler sparkles on stage,” Le Droit (Ottawa, 12 April 1979). Hailed as the “mother of Acadian music,” Edith’s captivating presence allows her to share Acadian folksongs and culture with the world.

Born in the remote village of Paquetville, NB in 1942, singer-songwriter Edith Butler was raised by a family of musicians. She performed at cafés while studying at l’Université de Moncton where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. After a brief period of teaching school (1964-1966), Edith acquired a Master’s degree in ethnographic research at Laval University, QC. She remained active in the musical community during these years, including performances at festivals, on Halifax TV, in boîtes à chansons[1], and the leading role in the film Les Acadiens de la dispersion (National Film Board of Canada, 1964).

As Edith’s musical career developed, she began touring internationally. Edith started composing her own songs in the early 70s and collaborating with her agent Lise Aubut. These compositions reflect New Brunswick’s Acadian and Mi’kmaq culture and history. Edith and Lise established les Éditions de l’Arcadie and l’Acalf[2] in 1975. They also formed the record company SPPS[3] with Angèle Arsenault, and Jacqueline Lemay in 1974.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Edith continued to perform across Canada and Europe. She won the Prix international de la chanson (1981) and the Grand prix du disque de l’Académie Charles-Cros (1983) for her album De Paquetville à Paris. Edith won two Félix trophies and her albums … et le party continue! (1986) and Party pour danser (1987) were certified gold.

Edith’s effortless beauty and full-throated vocals combined with “rollicking footstomping” made her an ideal recipient for numerous awards: the Ordre du Mérite de la culture française (1971) and the Officer of the Order of Canada (1975) are two of many. She was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame for her song “Paquetville,” in 2007.

Although she is well-known for her colourful, infectious energy in Acadian folk song, Edith holds her audience through the most soft, sobering laments as well. A variety of instruments appear at her shows, including the banjo, dulcimer, guitar, harmonica, drum, and violin. Edith’s blend of traditional folk songs with new compositions preserves while expanding Acadian art. Despite the unjust deportation and hardships of the Acadians, they endured as America’s first francophone culture through a fierce oral tradition. Edith Butler is an undisputed pioneer and advocate of Acadian heritage.

[1] Intimate performance spaces for young musicians. Benoît L’Herbier, “Boîtes à chansons,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 7, 2006, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/boites-a-chansons-emc (accessed January 20, 2025).

[2] Acronym for Aide à la création artistique et littéraire de la femme. Sarah Church et al. “Edith Butler,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, August 10, 2010, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/edith-butler-emc (accessed January 20, 2025).

Suggested Sources:

Related Contents:

01/1/25

Québec

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Suggested Sources:

  • Louder, D., Morissonneau, C., and Waddell, E. 1979. Du continent perdu à l’archipel retrouvé: Le Québec et l’Amérique française. Cahiers de géographie du Québec, 23(58), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.7202/021419ar

Related Contents:

“La Bolduc”

“Félix Leclerc”

“Gille Vigneault”

“Pauline Julien”

“Paul Piché”

“Raoûl Duguay”

“Robert Charlebois”

“Claude Gauthier”

“Claude Dubois”

“La bottine souriante”

01/1/25

Fédération des francophones hors Québec (1975–1991)

NOTE: The Fédération des francophones hors Québec (FFHQ) becomes the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) in June 1991.

Suggested Sources:

12/29/24

Rita Joe (1932–2007)

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Suggested Sources:

Film by Brain Guns, “Song of Eskasoni (28 min)” National Film Board website, https://www.nfb.ca/film/song_of_eskasoni/

12/29/24

Boîtes à chansons

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Suggested Sources:

Related Contents:

 

12/28/24

Abitibi-Témiscamingue

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Suggested Sources:

“Generation Mobilisation,” short  documentary film by Mélanie Kistabish, Eza Paventi & Kim Nguyen Xuan: https://www.nfb.ca/film/generation-mobilisation/

NFB synopsis: One hundred years after signing Treaty 9 with the federal government, the Abitibiwinni of the Algonquin Nation are calling for respect for their lands, history, culture and rights. Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music.

Related Contents:

Raoûl Duguay, “La biti a tibi”

12/28/24

Hudson’s Bay Company

Hudson’s Bay Company was chartered on May 2, 1670. It began as a fur trading business as aresult of the increasing demand in beaver fur, and it would later become one of the largest furtrade companies in the world. As of today, Hudson’s Bay Company is a private business ownedby a holding company. The company was founded when French traders Médard Chouart desGroseilliers and his brother-in-law, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, after being rejected Quebec andFrench support, sought patronage of England by proposing a trading route that reached theinterior part of the continent. This route eventually gave traders easy access to fur resourcesfrom the local indigenous people. After being persuaded by Prince Rupert of the idea of a furtrade and its economic potential of that region, King Charles II agreed to finance a voyage toHudson Bay.
The first voyage happened on June 3, 1688 with Radisson setting out on the Eaglet and desGroseilliers on the Nonsuch. The Eaglet was damaged by a storm, however, the Nonsuchreturned a year later with a cargo of beaver pelts. Convinced by this return, later on May 2,1760, King Charles II granted a Royal Charter to Prince Rupert and his “Company ofAdventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay,” hence the Hudson’s Bay Company wasofficially established. This royal charter gave the company the control of trade and ownership ofall lands surrounded by the water flowing into the Bay, which was later named Rupert’s Land,this totaled to be more than 3 million square miles of land. This territory ultimately becameprovinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, parts of British Columbia, northwest-Nunavut Territory, northern Ontario, and northern Quebec. It also covered regions of present-day Montana, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. In fact, many parts of Rupert’s Landlater became known as “Métis Homeland” by the Métis people.
As a result of the fur trade, Indigenous people’s lifestyle and economy has changed; manycame to rely on European manufactured goods and food for survival, and led to an increasedcompetition among Indigenous peoples for European goods. Previously, Indigenous tradersmostly acted as the middlemen, as they brought furs from communities hidden further inland totrading posts. Later more indigenous people moved away from their territory in search of furanimals in order to obtain a better trade position.
Among the goods traded, beaver pelts were the most valuable to the settlers, and they wereconsidered the highest quality after trapping during fall and winter months. The indigenoustraders traded beaver pelts for metal goods like guns, also textiles and food. They had acurrency of the fur trade which was the Made Beaver coin, this was introduced in order tostandardize trade; one beaver coin was equivalent to one prime beaver skin.

Suggested Sources:

Arthur J. Ray, “Hudson’s Bay Company,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Nathan Coschi, Leanna Fong, Sasha Yusufali, Nathan Baker, and Jessica Poulin (eds.). Published online, 2 April 2009; Last edited, 19 January 2013. Accessed online, 6 March 2025, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hudsons-bay-company

Harris, Carolyn, “Rupert’s Land,” Canada’s History. Published online, 26 October 2016. Accessed online, 6 March 2025, https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/exploration/rupert-s-land 

“What is Rupert’s Land?” Rupert’s Land Institute. Accessed online, 6 March 2025, https://www.rupertsland.org/about/what-is-ruperts-land/ 

“The Fur Trade,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Accessed online 6 March 2025, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/the-fur-trade.

“Hudson’s Bay Company Beginnings,” ‌CBC History, Accessed online, 6 March 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP6CH1PA5LE.html 

Related Contents:

Métis People

Other Materials:

Film about Métis struggles with monopoly of HBC: https://www.nfb.ca/film/mistress_madeleine/

Synopsis (NFB): Part of the Daughters of the Country series, this film, set in the 1850s, unfolds against the backdrop of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s monopoly of the fur trade. In protest, some Métis engage in trade with the Americans. Madeleine, the Métis common-law wife of a Hudson’s Bay Company clerk, is torn between loyalty to her husband and loyalty to her brother, a freetrader. Even more shattering, a change in company policy destroys Madeleine’s happy and secure life, forcing her to re-evaluate her identity.