Jean-Noël Charbonneau

Charbonneau, Jean-Noël

Jean-Noël Charbonneau. Teacher, choirmaster, Gregorianist, b Montreal 5 Jun 1875, d there 26 Jan 1945; D MUS (Montreal) 1932. He took his classical education at Ste-Thérèse and continued his musical studies in Montreal under Guillaume Couture and Achille Fortier. He also studied with Arthur Letondal, Joseph-Daniel Dussault, and Pascal Deremouchamps, and in 1910 travelled to Europe for studies with René Moissenet in Dijon, France and with Dom Lucien David at the St Anselme Abbey in Rome. While choirmaster 1900-33 at St-Charles Roman Catholic Church in Montreal, he founded the Schola cantorum in 1915, the year he became president of the Conservatoire national. He became a director and teacher at the conservatory in 1917 and remained there until 1922, when he organized the Institut musical du Canada, which in 1938 became affiliated with the University of Montreal. In 1934 he went to Valleyfield, Que, to establish the Schola Ste-Cécile, a diocesan school of liturgical singing. He also became choirmaster at the Valleyfield Cathedral. At this time he organized summer courses and Gregorian chant competitions. In 1942 he was elected president of the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music in Montreal.

Charbonneau's writings (all unpublished) include Solfège des écoles (three volumes), Traité d'harmonie, and his doctoral thesis, 'L'histoire musicale de l'église'. He composed motets, faux-bourdons (on psalms, graduals, and tracts), and cantatas. A distinguished educator, he worked in several areas for the advancement of the study of music and gave many lectures.

Charbonneau's sons were both professional musicians. Jean (1911-55) was his successor in 1933 at St-Charles Church, and was choirmaster at the cathedral in Chatham, NB. Also a voice teacher, Jean conducted the Lavallée-Smith Choir in Montreal.