Marius Cayouette

Cayouette, Marius

Marius Cayouette. Organist, teacher, composer, b Ste-Justine, near Quebec City, 3 Nov 1904, d Quebec City 16 Mar 1985. He began his musical studies at the parish school, and continued with Father Alphonse Tardif (piano) and Father Henri Raymond (aesthetics) at the Collège de Lévis, and with Henri Gagnon (piano and organ), Robert Talbot (theory), and Joseph Turgeon (piano) in Quebec City. He devoted himself to 'the defence and illustration' of church music, especially in his capacity as a member of the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music. He became the organist at Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand Church at Montmorency, near Quebec City, in 1924, and continued in that position until 1974. He occupied the chair of musical aesthetics 1946-52 at Laval University and has taught music history and aesthetics at the CMQ. His compositions include pieces for organ, including Deux Ex-voto ('Ave maris stella,' 'Victimae paschali'), Offertoire on 'Hodie Christus natus es,' Thèmes grégoriens for Easter, Deux Miniatures (Christmas and Easter), and Prélude sur un cantique à Ste-Anne, and also an 'Ave Maria' for soprano (Recueil Rancourt). Some of his papers are held in the Claude Lagacé collection at the ANQ in Quebec.City.