Célestin Lavigueur (19 January 1831 – 11 December 1885) was a French Canadian musician and composer.[1]

Célestin Lavigueur
Background information
Birth nameJean-Célestin Lavigueur
Born(1831-01-19)19 January 1831
Quebec City, Lower Canada
Died11 December 1885(1885-12-11) (aged 54)
Lowell, Massachusetts

Early life and education

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Lavigueur was born in Quebec City, Lower Canada. He attended the Petit Séminaire de Québec, but left to devote his time to musical pursuits. He studied violin with an amateur musician, François Huot.[2] He learned to play several more instruments with little formal training.

Career

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Lavigueur taught piano, violin, and wind instruments at the Petit Séminaire de Québec from 1853 to 1881.

Lavigueur was a composer and a concert artist. He composed three operas: "La fiancée des bois", "Un mariage improvisé", and "Les enfants du manoir".[3][4][5] With poet Pierre-Gabriel Huot, he composed a song for the Huron people, "La Huronne, Romance for voice and piano" in about 1861.[6][7]

In 1880 Lavigueur's patriotic song, "O Canada, beau pays, ma patrie" was published.[8]

In 1881, he moved to Lowell, Massachusetts to be with one of his sons. He participated in the local music scene there, presenting a play with musical accompaniment.[9] He died in 1885 in Lowell.

Personal life

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Lavigueur's mother, Marguerite, was the daughter of General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Bt, Governor of New Brunswick. He married Mary Childs of Quebec in 1863. The couple had four children, including violinist Émile Lavignueur, and Henri-Edgar Lavigueur, a politician.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Magdeleine Andrée Bourget (2005). Célestin Lavigueur: musicien et poète, 1831-1885 : incursion dans la vie culturelle de Québec au XIXe siècle. Éditions de la Huit. ISBN 978-2-921707-18-3.
  2. ^ "Célestin Lavigueur". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 February 2006. by Cécile Huot
  3. ^ a b "Célestin Lavigueur". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
  4. ^ "Opera America Spring 2016 Preview". 23 Mar 2016. page 16
  5. ^ Clifford Ford (1982). Canada's music: an historical survey. GLC Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 9780888740540.
  6. ^ "La Huronne". The Canadian Encyclopedia, Denise Ménard, 7 February 2006
  7. ^ "Aboriginal soldiers from Quebec". Windspeaker, Volume 23, No. 8, November 2005
  8. ^ Brian Thompson (2015). Anthems and Minstrel Shows: The Life and Times of Calixa Lavallée, 1842-1891. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-7735-4555-7.
  9. ^ "Lowell – A center of French culture". The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts · 23 June 1972, Page 34