Tags
Claude Léveillée, Gilles Vigneault, Jean Paul Lemieux, Jean-Pierre Ferland, La Capricieuse, Le Vieux Soldat canadien, les Ursulines, Mon Pays, Raymond Lévesque, Robert Charlebois

Les Ursulines, Jean-Paul Lemieux, Wikiart
It’s Sunday, which remains a sacred day for me. Other days serve different purposes and have an origin. Saturday is Saturn as in Saturnalia, a Roman festival taking place on the day of the longest night: Christmas. Humanity has always cherished symbols, but these change from culture to culture. They attach a story to things otherwise “ordinary.”
Jean-Paul Lemieux
To decorate my post, I chose Jean-Paul Lemieux (18 November 1904 – 7 December 1990) who lived in Berkeley, California for several years. His family may have wished to escape cold winters. He and Leclerc were born the same year and were good persons. Lemieux returned to Québec, despite the cold, the snow, various ice storms and numerous heat waves.
Félix Leclerc
Félix Leclerc (2 August 1914 – 8 August 1988), was born in La Tuque, Quebec and studied at the University of Ottawa until the Great Depression. There was no money. He then found work in radio stations, as speaker or writer. In 1939, he was employed by Ici Radio-Canada, the French counterpart of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC. He may have written radio dramas, which my father did, at approximately the same time in the history of Quebec.
After the war, Félix Leclerc, and his guitar, went to France where he took courses. He met kindred spirits, such as Boris Vian. In 1950, at the age of 36, he was discovered by French impresario Jacques Canetti. His daughter says that he divided his life between l’île d’Orléans, where he owned a house, and Paris.
In Le Tour de l’île, Leclerc also mentions a blue-eyed grandfather standing guard, which reminds me of Octave Crémazie‘s poem, entitled « Le Vieux Soldat canadien » . The first French ship to sail down the Saint Lawrence after the “Conquest” was La Capricieuse, in 1855.[1]
Other Quebec Singer-Songwriters
Félix Leclerc was the first of a group of Quebec singer-songwriters. These include Raymond Lévesque who wrote “Quand les hommes vivront d’amour,” Claude Léveillée who wrote songs for Édith Piaf, and also wrote Frédéric (1961), is also a major singer-songwriter. So are Jean-Pierre Ferland, the composer of Fais du feu dans la cheminée, Robert Charlebois, the author of Ordinaire, and Diane Dufresne. The best performers were Monique Leyrac and Pauline Julien. (Please click on the title of songs I have chosen to hear it.)
However, the most celebrated Québecois singer-songwriter is Gilles Vigneault. Vigneault wrote: “Mon Pays.”
Independence
You will have noticed that Leclerc mentions independence. As paradoxical as this may seem, I believe Québécois have their own country, albeit informally. But, their country is in Canada, where it is probably a safer and more stable place than outside Canada. Québec has yet to sign the Patriated Constitution (1982).
Lemieux’ Ursulines
Les Ursulines are a teaching order founded by Marie de l’Incarnation (née Marie Guyart), in 1639. The Ursulines’ main monastery, built in Quebec City, is the oldest institution of learning for women in North America. As a religious order, the Ursulines were founded in Italy.
—ooo—
I have worked on the Battle of Quebec and grouped the lines differently. Folklore has its rules, but the “Battle of Quebec” is a challenge. Lines vary in length. The French lines would be called “octaves.” The words “La Danaé” would be at the end of each octave.The English lines (4 stanzas containing 4 lines) seem a response.
La Récréation (playtime)
Before the Révolution tranquille, teachers were nuns and school girls wore a navy blue pinafore dress over a white blouse.
Jean-Paul Lemieux, 1957 (Galerie d’Art Michel Bigué)
Le peintre Jean-Paul Lemieux. Le musicien Philippe Lauters.
RELATED ARTICLE
- La Capricieuse & Crémazie’s “Old Soldier” (25 April 2012) ♥
Sources and Resources
- Le Vieux Soldat canadien is a Wikisource publication
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[1] Jacques Portes, “Visite de la Capricieuse en 1855: point tournant des relations France-Canada,” l’Encyclopédie du Patrimoine culturel de l’Amérique française
Jean Paul Lemieux’s work is beautiful; the people full of emotion. I am listening to Raymond Lévesque – Quand les hommes vivront d’amour…….lovely lyrics and voice.
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I really like Jean Paul Lemieux. His view of Quebec was kind to its people. That’s what we were before the Révolution tranquille. The province was secularized. I don’t know what happened to the Ursulines. They may still be in their monastery, in Quebec City. If women continued joining the Order, they may well be teachers in civilian clothes. I was taught by nuns and wore that blue pinafore dress over a white blouse. That particular picture is dear to me.
Raymond Lévesque wrote the song of the century. The Middle East is a battlefield. Israelis will not respect Palestinians. It’s still a sad world. People have to leave the US, a country of immigrants. I will put songs underneath the other names. They may have been translated. If not, I’ll translate. It’s always so nice to hear from you. Take care, Micheline
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I’m very taken with Jean Paul Lemieux’s work.
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So am I. He invented a style. 🙂
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Jean Paul Lemieux painted his view of Quebec, but his view is universal. We can all relate to it. I love the simplicity, the cleanliness, the hint of japonisme. We are a people who live in winter. But on summer days, women drink tea wearing their best clothes and jewellery. The picture of the schoolgirl is iconic. That’s how our mothers cut our hair and those are the clothes we wore. But not the sweater: it was a white cotton blouse. The picture remains iconic. I thank you for writing. 🙂
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It is his simplicity that appeals to me. I had never heard of him, to my shame, so I am very grateful for the introduction.
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I think simplicity is the most important feature of Lemieux’s lovely paintings. One can relate to his paintings.
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