View source for Music of Quebec

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{{Quebecmusic}}
As a cosmopolitan province, [[Quebec]] is a home to various genres of music, ranging from [[folk music|folk]] to [[hip hop music|hip hop]]. Music has played an important role in [[Québécois people|Quebecer culture]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=2006-02-07 |title=Music in Quebec City {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-city-emc |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonjour Quebec |date=2023-05-15 |title=Concerts and music |url=https://www.bonjourquebec.com/en/to-see-and-do/festivals-and-events/concerts-and-music |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Bonjour Québec |language=en-ca}}</ref> In the 1920s and 1930s, singer/songwriter [[La Bolduc|Madam Bolduc]] performed comedic songs in a folk style with Irish influences. Quebec's popular artists of the last century include [[Félix Leclerc]] (1950's), [[Gilles Vigneault]] (1960s–present), [[Kate and Anna McGarrigle]] (1970's–present) and [[Céline Dion]] (1980's–present).<ref>{{cite web|first=Donald|last=Loignon|title=Répertoire des artistes québécois|url=http://www.repertoiredesartistesquebecois.org/index2.asp|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727213504/http://www.repertoiredesartistesquebecois.org/index2.asp|archive-date=July 27, 2011|access-date=July 6, 2011|publisher=DLP multimédia|language=fr}}</ref>'

The [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] and the [[Inuit]] of Quebec also have their own traditional music.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Univ of Washington |first=Canadian Quebecois Music |date=2023-05-15 |title=First Nations Music |url=https://jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/first-nations-music/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/first-nations-music/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Univ of Washington |first=Canadian Quebecois music |date=2023-05-15 |title=The Metis Music |url=https://jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/metis-music/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/metis-music/}}</ref> A local variety of [[Celtic music]] can also be found there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Erika Hope |title=Research Guides: Québec: French Culture, First Nations & Folk Music: Québécois Music |url=https://guides.loc.gov/quebec/quebecois-music#:~:text=Later%20in%20the%2019th%20century,France%20over%20the%20preceding%20centuries. |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=guides.loc.gov |language=en}}</ref> Quebec also has many well-known [[jazz]] musicians and a culture of [[European classical music|classical music]], as well as a strong presence of [[historically informed performance]] of [[Baroque music|baroque]] and renaissance music.

The song ''[[À la claire fontaine]]''<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=À la claire fontaine|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a-la-claire-fontaine-emc/|access-date=July 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806082946/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000031|archive-date=August 6, 2011|author=Plouffe, Hélène|url-status=live}}</ref> was the anthem of the [[New France]], [[Patriote movement|Patriots]] and [[French Canadian]] before being replaced by ''[[O Canada]]''. Currently, the song ''[[Gens du pays]]'' is preferred by many Quebecers to be the national anthem of Quebec. The [[ADISQ|Association Québécois de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo]] (ADISQ) was created in 1978 to promote the music industry in Quebec.<ref>{{cite web|author=ADISQ|title=Notre raison d'être, c'est la musique de votre quotidien|url=http://www.adisq.com/assoc-profil.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718175149/http://www.adisq.com/assoc-profil.html|archive-date=July 18, 2011|access-date=June 23, 2011|publisher=Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo}}</ref> The [[Orchestre symphonique de Québec]] and the [[Montreal Symphony Orchestra]] are respectively

== Traditional music ==
When it was under French control, Québec was referred to as Le Canada. It was known as the advanced colony out of all the New France settlements. After some generations of French settlers being born in Canada, the colonists began to identify with their home country and call themselves les Canadiens (the Canadians) as distinct from les Français (the French), those native to France. The ''Canadiens'' brought with them a rich tradition of songs and dances from northern France, namely the regions of [[Île-de-France]], [[Picardy]], [[Normandy]], [[Poitou]], and [[Brittany]]. Influence from these regions and the Irish immigration to Quebec of the 19th century may explain the Celtic connection that Quebec still shares with [[Brittany]], Ireland, [[Scotland]] and the [[Maritimes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=University of Washington |first=Canadian Studies Center |date=2023-05-15 |title=Quebecois Music |url=https://jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/quebecois-music/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/quebecois-music/}}</ref>

As time went by, the French Canadians began to develop their own music, and also incorporated and transformed the styles of music played by the settlers from Great Britain, in particular the Scots, after the [[Conquest (military)|Conquest]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canadian Journal of Traditional music 1982 |first=Instrumental folk music of Quebec |date=1982 |title=Instrumental Folk Music of Quebec: An Introduction |url=https://cjtm.icaap.org/content/10/v10art2.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=cjtm.icaap.org}}</ref> (One hundred of these songs were collected by [[Ernest Gagnon]] for an 1865 compilation, one of the first such collections to be published in Canada.)

[[Image:Lumbermen violin and sticks 1943.jpg|thumb|Québécois [[lumberjack]]s playing the [[fiddle]], with sticks for percussion, in a lumber camp in 1943.]]
Traditional music is infused with many dances, such as the [[jig]], the [[quadrille]], the [[Reel (dance)|reel]] and [[line dancing]], which have developed in the festivities since the early days of colonization.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Univ of Washington |first=Arcadian Music (Canadian Quebecois Music) |date=2023-05-15 |title=Arcadian Music |url=https://jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/acadian-music/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=jsis.washington.edu/canada/music-collection/acadian-music/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McGill Univ (research by L. Risk) |first=Laura Risk |date=2017-02-27 |title=Musical Tradition and Identity in Quebec |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/music/article/student-research/musical-tradition-and-identity-quebec |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Music |language=en}}</ref> And in Quebec's culture, the following musical instruments are the most prominent: harmonica (music-of-mouth or lip-destruction), [[fiddle]], [[Spoon (musical instrument)|spoons]], [[jaw harp]] and [[accordion]]. Traditional Quebec music is characterized by ''[[podorythmie]]'' which means giving the rhythm with the feet,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Folk Song and Music in Quebec: a Brief Introduction, by Stephen D. Winick, Ph.D.: Expanded Liner Notes (Le temps des Fetes, Washington Revels, revelsdc.org/canadiancd)|url=http://revelsdc.org/canadiancd/article.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908154910/http://revelsdc.org/canadiancd/article.html|archive-date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|website=revelsdc.org}}</ref> and is currently provided by various contemporary groups performing mostly during Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations, the [[National Holiday (Quebec)|Quebec National Holiday]] and many local festivals.

== Popular music ==

Perhaps the phenomenon in the popular music of that century was the career of [[La Bolduc]], who became extremely popular singing satirical and sometimes racy songs based on the Quebec and Irish folk traditions, and who also was expert in the wordless vocalization known as ''[[turlutte]]''.

By the 1960s, radio and television had begun to help disseminate French folk songs, especially after the 1967 foundation of the Centennial Collection of Canadian Folk Songs, including recordings of Quebec performers like Yves Albert and Jacques Labrecque, as well as [[Acadian]] [[Edith Butler]].

The popular songwriters and singers of this period were [[Gilles Vigneault]], [[Leonard Cohen]] (attended [[McGill University]], d.2016, buried in Montreal), and [[Félix Leclerc]], who brought more influences to the music of France-based singing stars like [[Jacques Brel]]. Leclerc, from [[La Tuque, Quebec|La Tuque]], and Vigneault, from [[Natashquan, Quebec (municipality)|Natashquan]] in the north of Quebec, became heroes for a new generation of Quebec youth. It was Vigneault's "[[Mon pays]]" (My Country), which became a rallying anthem for Quebec nationalism after a 1965 performance by [[Monique Leyrac]], and established a tradition of Quebec artists supporting Quebec's independence movement. Many artists openly endorsed it, notably Raymond Lévesque, [[Pauline Julien]] and [[Paul Piché]].

In the 1960s, the French Canadians of Quebec were beginning to self-identify as ''Québécois'' (Quebecers). See the [[Quiet Revolution]]. Another important nationalist performer during this period was [[Georges Dor]], who enjoyed international success with the recording of his own composition, "La complainte de la Manic" ("The Ballad of Manicouagan"); other popular singers of the time include [[Claude Gauthier (singer)|Claude Gauthier]] and Clemence Desrochers. Popular artists of the 70s included [[Harmonium (band)|Harmonium]], [[Offenbach (band)|Offenbach]], [[Plume Latraverse]], [[Garolou]] and [[Beau Dommage]], as well as [[Michel Rivard (musician)|Michel Rivard]].

Country music, in both French and English (primarily the former), is prevalent in Quebec. An aspect of the overall Canadian country scene, it is the chief source of francophone country, inclusive of artists such as [[Renée Martel]], [[Gildor Roy]], [[Patrick Norman (singer)|Patrick Norman]], [[Willie Lamothe]], and [[Georges Hamel]].

[[Progressive rock]] and [[fusion jazz]] band [[Maneige]] was founded in Quebec in 1972 by Alain Bergeron and Jérôme Langlois. The band was one of the Quebec progressive rock scene's longest running and consistent bands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/maneige-p19135/biography|title = Maneige &#124; Biography, Albums, Streaming Links| website=[[AllMusic]] }}</ref> In 1974, Vigneault and Leclerc played on the [[Plains of Abraham]] with [[Robert Charlebois]], who made heavy use of [[Quebec French]] in his [[rock and roll]] fusions. 
In 1976, multi-instrumentalist sisters [[Kate & Anna McGarrigle]] emerged on the international music scene with their blend of folk-rock and vocal harmonies added to self-penned songs in English and French, many of the latter co-written with Swiss-born poet [[Philippe Tatartcheff]]. The 1970s also saw roots performers like [[La Bottine Souriante]] gain critical and commercial acclaim within Quebec. [[Jim Corcoran]] and Bertrand Gosselin released ''La tête en gigue'', an influential album that helped bring Quebec roots to crossover audiences across Canada, the United States and Europe.
In addition to his musical career, Corcoran currently hosts a weekly show on [[CBC Radio One]], which airs Francophone music from Quebec for English audiences across Canada.
The early 1980s saw the formation of francophone [[synthpop]]/[[New wave music|new wave]] groups such as [[Nudimension]] that became involved in the genesis of music video and [[MTV]] culture.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/fr/article/on-a-retrouve-le-premier-chanteur-punk-du-quebec/ "On a retrouvé le premier chanteur punk du Québec"]. ''Vice'', Félix B. Desfossés, Sept. 26 2017</ref>

More recent Quebec performers include [[Richard Desjardins]], [[Daniel Boucher (musician)|Daniel Boucher]], [[Marie-Chantal Toupin]], [[Éric Lapointe (singer)|Éric Lapointe]], [[Vilain Pingouin]], [[Mes Aïeux]], [[Les Trois Accords]], [[Kaïn]], [[Dumas (singer)|Dumas]], [[La Chicane]], [[Les Colocs]], [[Mélanie Renaud]], [[Cindy Daniel]], [[Daniel Bélanger]], [[Paul Cargnello]], [[Laurence Jalbert]], [[:fr:Rudy Caya|Rudy Caya]], [[Jean Leloup]], [[Celine Dion]] (who had 4 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits like "[[My Heart Will Go On]]" in 1998), [[Les Stups]], [[La Chicane]], [[Dan Bigras]], [[Isabelle Boulay]] and more recently [[Cœur de pirate]]. Some bands, such as [[Les Cowboys Fringants]] have known success in Europe (primarily in France) while [[Karkwa]], [[Vulgaires Machins]], [[:ca:Les Batinses|Les Batinses]] and [[Malajube]] are also recognized elsewhere in Canada and internationally.

[[Hip hop music|Hip-hop]] has been widely active in the Montreal area with groups like [[Loco Locass]], [[Sans Pression]], [[Dionysos (Canadian band)|Dionysos]], [[Criollo (band)|Criollo]], [[Atach Tatuq]], [[Manu Militari]], [[:fr:KC L.M.N.O.P.|KCLMNOP]], [[Imposs]], [[Muzion]] and [[Dubmatique]].

[[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]], and other adjacent metal genres, have as well played a significant role in Quebec's musical repertoire, represented notably by [[Sword (band)|Sword]], [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]] and [[death metal]] bands [[Cryptopsy]], [[Kataklysm]], [[Martyr (band)|Martyr]], [[Neuraxis (band)|Neuraxis]], [[Gorguts]], [[Quo Vadis (band)|Quo Vadis]], [[Despised Icon]], [[Ex Deo]], [[Blackguard (band)|Blackguard]], [[Beneath the Massacre]], [[Augury (band)|Augury]] and many others. The Quebec black metal scene has also gotten some attention in recent years, including bands like Akitsa, Spirit of the Forest, Forteresse, Chasse-Galerie, Monarque and [[Nefastus Dies]].

In 2003, [[TVA (TV network)|TVA]] began to broadcast ''[[Star Académie]]'', a Québécois version of a [[Star Academy|French reality music competition]], several new artists including [[Marie-Élaine Thibert]], [[Marie-Mai]], [[Émily Bégin]] and [[Stéphanie Lapointe]] became well-known music artists after their passage in the reality show.

The tensions between Quebec and English Canada have, at times, played out on Quebec's music scene as well. In 1991, [[Celine Dion|Céline Dion]] won the [[Felix Award|Félix]] award for Best Anglophone Artist for her English-language debut, ''Unison'', but refused it as she did not view herself as an Anglophone artist.

Quebec has also produced a number of significant Anglophone artists, including [[Arcade Fire]] (who had 3 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 like ''[[The Suburbs (album)|The Suburbs]]'' in 2010.) [[Win Butler]] graduated from [[McGill University]] in Montreal in 2004. [[Régine Chassagne]] also went there. Other Anglophone artists from Quebec include [[Patrick Watson (musician)|Patrick Watson]], [[The Dears]], [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]], [[Riverbeds (band)|Riverbeds]], [[Stars (Canadian band)|Stars]], [[The Stills]], [[The Unicorns]], [[Wolf Parade]], [[Rufus Wainwright]], [[Sam Roberts (singer-songwriter)|Sam Roberts]], [[Paul Cargnello]], [[We Are Wolves]], [[The New Cities]], [[Chromeo]], [[Simple Plan]] and [[William Shatner#Career as a recording artist|William Shatner]]. In addition, some Quebec artists from the 1960s to the 1980s [[Lewis Furey]], [[Men Without Hats]], [[Norman Iceberg]], [[Rational Youth]], [[Corey Hart (singer)|Corey Hart]], [[Julie Masse]], [[Martine St. Clair]], [[Marjo (singer)|Marjo]], [[Offenbach (band)|Offenbach]], [[The Box (band)|The Box]], [[Gino Vannelli]], [[Luba (singer)|Luba]], [[Jacynthe]], [[France Joli]], [[Sass Jordan]], and [[Grimskunk]] have frequently recorded both English and French material.

Quebec artists have dominated the long and short lists of the [[Polaris Music Prize]]. Among them, [[Arcade Fire]], [[Patrick Watson (musician)|Patrick Watson]], [[Godspeed You Black Emperor]], [[Karkwa]] and [[Backxwash]] have all won the coveted award.

==Jazz music==
[[File:The Lost Fingers at Festival Franco-Ontarien, 0285.jpg|thumb|Christian Roberge, lead singer of French-Canadian gypsy jazz band [[The Lost Fingers]], performing at Festival Franco-Ontarien in Ottawa on 11 June 2009.]]

Some famous jazz musicians from Quebec are [[Oscar Peterson]], [[Paul Bley]], [[Oliver Jones (pianist)|Oliver Jones]], [[Charlie Biddle|Charles Biddle]], [[Ranee Lee]], [[Karen Young (Canadian singer)|Karen Young]], and [[Alain Caron (bass player)|Alain Caron]].

The [[Montreal International Jazz Festival]] is a globally renowned jazz festival,having been hosted by the city since 1980 it's attracting thousands of visitors annually. For the rest of the year, the [[L'OFF Festival de Jazz de Montreal]] organizes jazz shows in bars across Montreal.

== Classical music ==
The early part of the 20th century saw growth in opera, and the foundation of the [[Montreal Opera Company]] in 1910, and opera singers became popular.

[[André Gagnon]], [[Angèle Dubeau]], [[Michael Laucke]], [[Louis Lortie]], [[Alain Lefèvre]], [[Alain Trudel]], [[Alexandre Da Costa]], [[Marc-André Hamelin]], [[Natalie Choquette|Nathalie Choquette]] and [[Richard Verreau]] are established classical musicians from Québec at the present. {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

[[André Mathieu]] is among the renowned composers from the province. {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}  He has been compared to a 'little Canadian Mozart', and [[Rachmaninov]] pronounced him, "a genius, more so than I am". His works became the official music of the Summer Olympics of 1976. Other famous composers are [[Claude Champagne]], [[Calixa Lavallée]], [[Pierre Mercure]], [[Jacques Hétu]], [[André Gagnon]], [[Airat Ichmouratov]], [[Denis Gougeon]], [[José Evangelista]] and composer-critic [[Alfred La Liberté]], among others.

==Quebec and France==
Both nations have influenced each other in terms of music styles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macleans website |first=Luke Ottenhof |date=2018-09-18 |title=Québécois music isn’t marginalized—it's English Canadians who are missing out |url=https://macleans.ca/culture/arts/quebecois-music-isnt-marginalized-its-english-canadians-who-are-missing-out/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=macleans.ca/culture/arts/quebecois-music-isnt-marginalized-its-english-canadians-who-are-missing-out/}}</ref> In recent years, Quebec singers have gained notable recognition on the French stage. Quebec singers that have performed in France included:  [[Celine Dion|Céline Dion]], [[Garou (singer)|Garou]], [[Anthony Kavanagh]] (a stand-up comedian), [[Isabelle Boulay]], [[Bruno Pelletier]], [[Lynda Lemay]], [[Cœur de pirate]] and many others.

[[Roch Voisine]] and [[Natasha St-Pier]] are two artists who also perform in France and are often mistaken for Quebecers. They are actually from New Brunswick and are of Acadian heritage, like [[Daniel Lavoie]] who is from [[Manitoba]].

==Musicals==
Few musicals were made or adapted by Quebec artists. Among them, [[Luc Plamondon]] has had the brightest career as a songwriter, writing for the big ones (Céline Dion, Garou). The main musicals 'made in Quebec' : ''Starmania'', ''La Légende de Jimmy'', ''Notre-Dame-de-Paris'', ''Chicago (adapted into French)'', "Demain matin, Montréal m'attend", ''Dracula''.

==Le Cirque du Soleil==
[[Cirque du Soleil]] develops its own musical pieces to go along with various acrobatic tricks. The music aspect of the show is essential as it sets a mood for performances and links one number to another.

== See also ==
* [[Culture of Quebec]]
* [[French-Canadian music]]
* [[Gogo (Quebec music)]]
* [[List of Quebec musicians]]
* [[List of Quebec record labels]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Brouillard, Marcel. ''Images de la chanson: un siècle chanté''. [S.l.]: Éditions l'Essentiel; Ville Montréal, Qué.: Distr. Novalis, 2000. {{ISBN|2-921970-06-6}}
* Défossé, Félix. L'Évolution du métal québécois, vol. [1], No Speed Limit, 1964–1989. Rouyn-Noranda, Qué.: Éditions du Quartz, 2014. N.B.: Two more vols. are projected to complete this 3 vol. history of heavy metal music of Québec. {{ISBN|978-2-924031-16-2}}
* Duguay, Raoul. ''Musiciens du Québec''. Montréal: Éditions du Jour, 1971. ''N.B''.: The emphasis is on "classical" then contemporary composers and on those of "musique actuelle".
* Lasalle-Leduc, Annette. ''La Vie musicale au Canada français''. Québec, Qué.: Ministère des Affaires culturelles, 1964.
* [[Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre|Lefebvre, Marie-Thérèse]]. ''La Création musicale des femmes du Québec''. Montréal: Éditions du Remue-ménage, 1991. ''N.B''.: Concerns women composers of Québec.
* Rodrigue, Patrick. "Rouyn-Noranda, la Mecque du rock 'n' roll" & "Un Musée du rock 'n' roll pourrait naître à Rouyn-Noranda", Abi''tibi-Express'', vol. 1, no 44 (31 mai 2011), p.&nbsp;4. N.B.: Paired ill. articles, each individually titled and separately accessible also on the newspaper's Internet site, describing Rouyn-Noranda as one of the two contrasting poles, the other being Montréal, of popular music in Québec.
* Sévigny, Jean-Pierre. ''Sierra Norteña: the Influence of Latin Music on the French-Canadian Popular Song and Dance Scene, Especially as Reflected in the Career of Alys Robi and the Pedagogy of Maurice Lacasse-Morenoff''. Montréal: Productions Juke-Box, 1994. 13 p. ''N.B''. Published text of a paper prepared for, and presented on, on 12 March 1994, the conference, Popular Music Music & Identity (Montréal, Qué., 12–13 March 1994), under the auspices of the Canadian Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.

== External links ==
* [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/10/v10art2.html Instrumental Folk Music of Quebec]
* [http://www.quebecpop.com Québec Pop]
* [http://www.bandeapart.fm Bande à Part (CBC/Radio-Canada)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050818030635/http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/music/default.htm The Cirque du Soleil official website = music]
* [http://www.violonsduroy.com/ Les Violons du Roy]

{{Music topics}}
{{Quebec topics}}
{{Canada topics}}

[[Category:Culture of Quebec]]
[[Category:Music of Quebec| ]]