Félix Leclerc (1914-1988)
Félix Leclerc (1914-1988) was a true icon in Québec. As a singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, novelist, actor and broadcaster, he was the pioneering musician who influenced the development of the Québec chanson and the overall chansonnier movement both in Québec and France after World War II. As Christian Larsen nicely putted, “Félix Leclerc is to the Canadian chanson what Trenet was to the French chanson: a revolutionary, a turning point, and a leader.” His original and evocative style made him immensely popular for French-Canadian songwriters, having a huge influence on even songwriters in France such as Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel and many others. Leclerc’s contribution to postwar Québec music further fueled the already growing Québec nationalism which helped formed one collective identity and unity of the Québecois.
Born into a highly musical family, Leclerc was the sixth of eleven children. He was exposed to classical music of Mozart and Schubert by his mother and older sister, who played the piano. Nevertheless, Leclerc’s true passion was literature, and so he enrolled into the University of Ottawa, where he wrote his first song, “Notre sentier”. The Great Depression in the early 1930s cut short his academic studies and Leclerc soon found himself working at a farm. His experience working there gave him several inspirations for his later songs. After bouncing around between various odd jobs, Leclerc worked at a few radio stations in Québec where at the same time, he learned to play the guitar, which served him a very important purpose later in life. During World War II, Leclerc became an actor and radio scriptwriter for Radio-Canada. The scripts he wrote for many drama series became popular, so much so that the famous writer and filmmaker Albert Tessier, encouraged their publication. Leclerc even had his own program in Radio-Canada called Félix Leclerc et ses chansons, where he sang several of his songs that were popular in Québec such as “Le train du nord” and “Bozo”. From this point on, Leclerc’s career continued to further grow, and his music became internationally known. He toured in France, Belgium and Switzerland, and even shared a bill with Édith Piaf, while performing in the ABC, a music hall in Paris where he made his sensational debut as a singer there in 1950.
Leclerc’s song lyrics drew much inspiration from the elements of the world such as water, earth, fire and wind, in combination with themes that reflect his love for animals and nature. He reflects the characteristics of humanity as being rooted in nature. As for Leclerc’s music especially for his use of the guitar, he tunes all strings lower by 1½ tones. He employs many virtuosic techniques such as artificial harmonics, fast arpeggios and tremolos, showcasing his true skill and talent.
Leclerc was a huge supporter of Québec nationalism even though he wasn’t a part of any political party. Several of his written plays and songs such as “Le père” and “Les rogations”, contained hints of French-Canadian nationalism as well as hidden messages of radicalisation and political power. In his song “L’Alouette en colère”, written after the October Crisis in 1970, Leclerc presented his view of Québec as having been stolen and oppressed. As stated before, this idea roughly translates to how his contributions to the Québec chanson and the chansonnier movement in general gave the Québecois a sense of identity and unity to further ride the waves of Québec nationalism with pride.
Given his extensive and highly successful entertainment career particularly in music, Leclerc was awarded some of the highest and most prestigious awards in France such as the Légion d’honneur and the Grand prix du disque, l’Académie Charles-Cros of which Leclerc was a three-time recipient. He was also awarded the Order of Canada, the Calixa Lavallée award of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, the Award of the Canadian Conference of the Arts and held an honorary doctorate from the University of Québec.
Sources:
- Roy, Bruno, Christian Rioux, Denise Ménard and Hélène Plouffe. “Félix Leclerc.” The Canadian Encylopedia. Historica Canada. Article published February 25, 2008; Last Edited December 10, 2024.
- “Félix Leclerc.” Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. https://www.cshf.ca/songwriter/felix-leclerc/
- Brouillard, Marcel. Félix Leclerc: l’homme derrière la légende. Québec: Éditions Québec/Amérique inc., 1994.
Songs:
- “L’Alouette en colère” (1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxYa3gztBys
- “Notre Sentier” (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlICQFFD4k0
- “Le train du nord” (1950): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NhNO6WQSm8