Gilles Vigneault - poems -

Classic Poetry Series
Gilles Vigneault
- 0 poems -
Publication Date:
2012
Publisher:
PoemHunter.Com - The World's Poetry Archive
Gilles Vigneault (27 October 1928-)
Gilles Vigneault, born October 27, 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher and
singer-songwriter, and well-known Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist.
A poet deeply rooted in his native Quebec, Vigneault has become an icon at
home and Quebec ambassador abroad. He is one of the principal figures of
the generation of chansonniers who helped the Quebec chanson find its own
identity, even while helping it find a universal dimension.
Biography
Born in Natashquan, on the far north shore of the St. Lawrence River in
Quebec, he was educated in Rimouski and Quebec City.
Vigneault started writing poetry during his studies at the Seminary in
Rimouski, and by the 1950s was publishing poems and writing songs. In
1959 he founded a publishing house, Les Éditions de l'Arc to distribute his
publications. His first collection, Étraves was published in 1959.
In August 1960, at the request of the audience at the boîte à chansons
L'Arlequin in Quebec City, he agreed to sing his earliest song: Jos
Monferrand, written in 1957, which had been recorded by Jacques Labrecque
in 1959. This was the beginning of his singing career which sprang up in
1962, when he received the Grand prix du disque from Montreal radio station
CKAC. His reputation grew in Quebec and elsewhere with the success of his
song Mon Pays, from the sound track of the NFB film La neige a fondu sur la
Manicouagan (1965).
In the last half of the 1960s, Vigneault started to perform outside of Quebec,
notably in France, but also elsewhere in Canada, including appearances at
the Mariposa Folk Festival and at Massey Hall, in Toronto.
The mid-1970s saw Vigneault's participation in several major events. On 13
August 1974 130,000 spectators came together on the Plains of Abraham for
the Superfrancofête, where Vigneault participated in an historic concert
alongside Félix Leclerc, a representative, in a way, of the older generation,
and Robert Charlebois, of the younger generation. A highpoint of the concert
was the threesome's rendition of Raymond Lévesque's powerful Quand les
hommes vivront d'amour.
On 24 June 1975, during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day concert on Montreal's
Mount Royal, Vigneault sang for the first time Gens du pays, a song which
has since become a sort of anthem in Quebec.
In 1976, the Ensemble Claude-Gervaise recorded an album of Vigneault's
music entitled Tout l'monde est malheureux: "Claude-Gervaise" Joue
Vigneault.
An ardent Quebec nationalist, Vigneault was disappointed by the results of
the 1980 Quebec referendum. During the 1980s he lived in France for a short
time.
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On 25 February 2010, Gilles Vigneault has signed, together with 500 artists,
the call to support the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions against Israeli apartheid.
He has seven children:Michel, Louis, françois, Pascale, Guillaume, Jessica
and Benjamin. His son Guillaume Vigneault is a young novelist of note.
Honours
Vigneault has received a number of honorary doctorates including:
Trent (1975)
Université du Québec à Rimouski (1979)
Université de Montréal (1981).
Vigneault has received numerous awards and honours:
Prix Félix-Leclerc for the song Mon pays (1965)
Governor General's Award for French language poetry or drama (1965)
Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée (1966)
Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy, Paris (in 1970 for Du
milieu du pont; in 1984 for two recordings for children: Les Quatre saisons
de Piquot and Quelques pas dans l'univers d'Éviola)
Molson Prize (1982)
Prix Denise-Pelletier conferred by the Quebec government (1983)
Jacques-Blanchet medal (1987)
Vermeil medal of the City of Paris (1990)
Governor General's Performing Arts Awards - Lifetime Artistic Achievement
(1993)
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006)
He is a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2000), Knight of the
Légion d'honneur (1986), and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
(1990).
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