Omer Létourneau

Joseph Hercule Omer Létourneau ( born March 13, 1891 in Quebec City; † August 14, 1983 ) was a Canadian organist and pianist, composer, music publisher and music educator.

Létourneau had 1904 Organ and piano lessons with Joseph- Arthur Bernier, and in 1907 organist at the Chapel of Notre -Dame-de -Lourdes. He studied until 1912 at the Académie de musique du Québec and in 1913 went with a Prix d'Europe in Paris, where he was a pupil of Louis Vierne organ and composition student of Félix Fourdrain.

The outbreak of the First World War forced him to return to Canada. He was organist at the church of St -Sauveur in Quebec and established in early 1919, the journal La Musique. In October of the same year he continued his studies in Europe. He was at the Schola Cantorum in Paris organ student of Abel Decaux, attended courses in Gregorian chant with Amédée Gastoué and in choral conducting with Marc de Ranse.

In 1920 he returned to Quebec, where he served as organist and editor began its work again and also appeared as a pianist with Arthur LeBlanc, Paul Dufault, Théodore Botrel and his later son, the violinist Edwin Bélanger.

From 1925 to 1934 Létourneau taught at Laval University and taught courses at the Académie Commerciale de Québec and the Ursuline convents of Rivières and Rimouski. From 1935 to 1938 he was president of the Académie de musique du Québec. Among his pupils were François Brassard and Rolland -Georges Gingras.

In 1934 he took over the publishing Gauvin & Courchesne, of the leading music publisher of Quebec under the name Procure générale de musique. Here published numerous works of composer Joseph - Arthur Bernier, François Brassard, Léon Destroismaisons and Joseph Vézina.

Létourneau composed three operettas, seven masses, a cantata, songs, hymns and folksongs as well as works for violin, piano and organ. He has published several music-theoretical writings.

Létourneaus sister Clotilde Coulombe (* April 4, 1892; † 13 May 1985) was a pianist. The pupil of Alfred Cortot and Alfredo Casella in Paris broke her musical career as a concert pianist but a year after her return to Canada from and entered a religious order.

His sons were known as a musician: Paul Létourneau as a cellist, Jean Létourneau as a horn player and Claude Létourneau as a violinist. His daughter Madeleine, a pianist, married in 1937 the violinist Edwin Bélanger. From their marriage, among others went the violinist and composer Marc Bélanger and singer Guy Bélanger forth.

Works

• Vive la canadienne, operetta, 1924
• Coup d' soleil, operetta, 1930
• Mam'zelle Bébé, operetta, 1933
• Dieu te garde, mon Canada, cantata, 1934

Writings

• École de Dictee musicale (2 volumes)
• Théorie de la musique
• Questionnaire de la théorie musicale

• Classic organist
• Classic pianist
• Composer of classical music ( 20th century)
• Canadian Composer
• Music Publishers
• Music teacher
• Canadian
• Born 1891
• Died in 1983
• Man