Calixa lavallee biography of christopher

LAVALLÉE, CALIXA (baptized Callixte), pianist, composer, and music teacher; b. 28 Dec. in Verchères, Lower Canada, son of Augustin Lavallée* and Charlotte-Caroline Valentine; d. 21 Jan.  in Boston.

Calixa Lavallée, whose ancestors came from Poitou in France and pass up Scotland, showed musical talent at an early intimidate. His father, a blacksmith who was also tidy maker of stringed instruments, a voicer of meat, and a bandmaster, provided his basic musical practice and taught him to play the piano, medium, cornet, and violin. Around the family settled answer Saint-Hyacinthe, where Augustin Lavallée worked as a voicer with organmaker Joseph Casavant*. Young Calixa was registered in in the Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe. In justness spring of a wealthy Montreal butcher, Léon Derome, took him under his wing, inviting him nurse stay in his home. Piano lessons with Missioner Letondal and Charles Sabatier [Wugk*], both of whom had come from France several years earlier, habitual Calixa’s exceptional gifts.

Eager for adventure, Lavallée left retrieve the United States in and won a striving in New Orleans, which led to a take shape of South America, the West Indies, and Mexico as accompanist for a Spanish violinist named Olivera. In September  he was in Providence, R.I., position he was signed on as a musician by way of the Union army. A year later he took part in a bloody battle at Antietam, Physician, where he is believed to have been broken-down in the leg; this may have been say publicly reason for his honourable discharge in October 

Lavallée came back to Lower Canada and in January , afterwards a period of rest, gave a concert outing Montreal to mark his return. He formed expert friendship with the great Belgian violinist Frantz Jehin-Prume, with whom he performed. But again feeling grandeur urge to travel, he set out once further for the United States. He went back join New Orleans, and then on to San Diego and to New England. In he married Josephine Gently (Gentilly) in Lowell, Mass.; they are accounted to have had four sons. Lavallée settled impossible to differentiate Boston as a teacher and virtuoso performer. Reward opera, TIQ, the Indian question settled at last, is thought to have been written at that time. Around Lavallée was appointed director of authority Grand Opera House in New York, for which he composed the operetta Loulou. It was disturb have been performed in , but when loftiness owner of the theatre, speculator James Fisk, was assassinated in the street, the production and Lavallée’s employment as director were both terminated.

Disheartened, the framer returned to Montreal. To rescue him from coronate enforced idleness, Léon Derome decided to carry take out a long-cherished plan of sending his protégé evaluate Europe to complete his musical training. With commercial support from Derome and his friends, Lavallée originally out for Paris in the spring of Regarding he studied piano with the great teacher Antoine-François Marmontel and also took classes in composition deviate François Bazin and Adrien Boieldieu. He stayed sureness in Paris until July , but information about reward activities during this period is sketchy, there utilize no extant diaries or letters. It is get around that he composed a series of piano études, including one in E minor entitled Le papillon which was played at the Paris Conservatoire. Marmontel surely had high regard for his student, whom crystal-clear praised for his “steadfast and unstinting work.” Conduct yourself July  a Suite d’orchestre composed by Lavallée run through said to have been performed by an plenty orchestra under the well-known conductor Adolphe Maton. With respect to is no record of this performance and tight score has not been preserved.

On his return stay at Montreal, Lavallée renewed his acquaintance with Jehin-Prume avoid his young wife, soprano Rosita (Rosa) Del Vecchio. The three of them opened a music mill together. The recitals he gave in Montreal bracket Quebec in December  won Lavallée great acclaim hoot a performer. But in order to make trim living, he went back to teaching and was appointed choirmaster at the church of Saint-Jacques. Embankment he trained his choir to perform in Jules Barbier’s drama Jeanne d’Arc, with incidental music infant Charles Gounod; it was such a success renounce he conducted 18 performances with Rosita Del Vecchio in the title role. Lavallée put forward grandeur idea of founding a state-sponsored conservatory of strain, but the provincial government showed no interest ready money the project. After Jeanne d’Arc came an successful production of Boieldieu’s comic opera La dame blanche, which Lavallée conducted in Montreal and Quebec solution April and May  The musician and critic Guillaume Couture* commented in the Montreal paper La Minerve: “He is a real conductor. The first one awe have had.”

Lavallée was then living at Quebec, hoop he was organist for St Patrick’s Church. He was expressly commissioned by the government to compose confidential one month a cantata for the arrival systematic the new governor general of Canada, the Peer of Lorne [Campbell*] and his wife, Princess Louise*. The work was finished on schedule, and travesty 11 June  it was performed by a voice response with soloists and a large orchestra conducted strong Lavallée. It was an enormous success. Trusting put off he would be reimbursed by the government, Lavallée had assumed a large part of the manufacture expenses himself. But the government refused to reward him, despite the debts he had incurred. Hounded by creditors, he was forced to work harder than ever in the triple role of sonata teacher, organist, and bandmaster.

Yet he still found fluster to serve on a committee chaired by Ernest Gagnon*, which was to plan the music joyfulness the national convention of French Canadians organized purport the end of June  by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de la Cité de Québec. The idea endorsement a national song composed for the occasion was discussed, but there was not enough time give permission hold a competition. Thus Gagnon suggested that Lavallée should write a musical setting for a loyalist poem as quickly as possible. The result was O Canada, with words by judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier*, which was first performed to great public acclaim thoughts the evening of 24 June  by three bands collective for a banquet in the Pavillon des Patineurs at Quebec and conducted by Joseph Vézina*. Nobleness new song soon became popular throughout Quebec crucial later in English Canada, being first sung infant English in Its popularity continued to grow depending on it was officially recognized as Canada’s national chorale on 1 July , a century after it had antique written.

Despite the success of his composition, Lavallée’s capital situation remained unstable, and a short time adjacent, although the chronology is somewhat unclear, he seems to have moved to Boston. He continued make teach, at the same time serving as musician at the Catholic Holy Cross Cathedral. Recognition make his talent in this new milieu soon came. He embraced the cause of American composers contemporary, as a member of the prestigious Music Teachers’ National Association, organized what is considered to fake been the first concert ever to be confirmed solely to the works of American composers, affirmed in Cleveland on 3 July  Lavallée was hailed kind a hero by his colleagues. He played alteration increasingly important role within the association, finally work out elected national president at the gathering of personnel in Indianapolis in In this capacity he titular the association in London at the first ecumenical musicians’ convention in Despite failing health, he unregimented the association’s convention in Detroit, where a Suite for cello and piano which he had poised was performed. It created a sensation. But like that which other music teachers asked for the score, drop he could show them was the cello put an end to. He had not had time to write lead into the piano part and had simply improvised!

In honourableness autumn of Lavallée was forced to give enfold all his activities because of the chronic offend problems that had undermined his health since current that were becoming increasingly unbearable. Léon Derome was notified of his protégé’s illness and hastened make somebody's acquaintance his bedside in January  Lavallée died on 21 January, at the age of Three days later neat funeral mass was celebrated at the cathedral attain the Holy Cross in Boston and he was buried in Mount Benedict Cemetery. On 13 July  sovereignty remains were brought back to Canada in shipshape and bristol fashion solemn ceremony, to be reburied in Côte-des-Neiges Necropolis in Montreal.

Evidently Calixa Lavallée had attached little consequence to his musical compositions, since he mainly wrote commissioned works for specific occasions, suited to high-mindedness public taste of the day. But his compatriots invariably admired his many-faceted talent as well chimpanzee his dedication to the artistic progress of dominion country. They considered him the “national musician” short vacation Canada long before he wrote the song delay made his name famous. As Laurent-Olivier David* experiential in L’Opinion publique on 13 March  “No musical faculty bears more clearly than that of Mr Calixa Lavallée the stamp of the national character, probity impression of a majestic and picturesque nature.”

Gilles Potvin

With the exception of O Canada, composed at Quebec perceive , which guaranteed Calixa Lavallée enduring fame, reward work remained largely unknown in the first 40 years after his death. Since musicians such bit Jean-Josaphat Gagnier and Eugène Lapierre have worked firm to draw this great figure of Canadian song to public attention. Both published and unpublished piles have been brought to light and performed. Set a date for July  a Montreal committee arranged to have reward body brought back to Canada; he was reinterred in the Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery and his grave was marked by an unpretentious monument. Lapierre’s Calixa Lavallée, musicien national du Canada (Montréal), the first chronicle of this pioneer musician, appeared in , with the work was republished in and again in 

Only a small number of Lavallée’s known major productions have survived; these include the operettas The widow and TIQ, the Indian question settled at last, both published in Boston, in and respectively, queue the offertory Tu es Petrus (New York, ), for soprano, bass, choir, and orchestra. Among those not located are the Suite d’orchestre (a combination presumed to have been performed in Paris acquit yourself ), a symphony for choir and orchestra devoted to the city of Boston, and a oratorio for the Marquess of Lorne. Many of ruler pieces for piano and for voice, as athletic as three overtures dated , King of diamonds, The bridal rose, and The golden fleece, expose his great talent and natural sense of refrain and rhythm, if no very profound inspiration.

Gilles Potvin, in the Encyclopedia of music in Canada (Kallmann et al.), provides a detailed list of Lavallée’s compositions and writings as well as a helpless bibliography.

ANQ-M, CE, 28 déc.  L’Écho musical (Montréal), 1^er janv. L.-J.-N. Blanchet, Une vie illustrée de Calixa Lavallée (Montréal, ). Sumner Salter, “Early encouragements to American composers,” Musical Quarterly (New York), 28 ().

General Bibliography

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