Joseph Quesnel
Joseph Quesnel (15 November 1746 – 2 or 3 July 1809) was a French Canadian composer, poet and playwright. Among his works were two
Early life and education
Quesnel was born in Saint-Malo, France, the third child of Isaac Quesnel de La Rivaudais (1712-1779), a prosperous merchant, and his wife Pélagie-Jeanne-Marguerite Duguen.[3] He studied at the Collège Saint-Louis (1766).
Life and career
Quesnel joined the French merchant marine and sailed to
In 1779, Quesnel sailed for New York in command of a French warship which was captured by the
Quesnel published a number of theatrical works, including Colas et Colinette, which was written in 1788 and first performed in 1790,[7] and Lucas et Cecile;[11][12] he also wrote poetry; his best known poem was titled "L'Épître à M. Labadie".[13]
Besides several songs, he composed sacred music for the parish church of Montreal,[6] and some motets, and wrote a short treatise on the dramatic art (1805). He founded and was part of the troupe of Montreal's Théàtre de Societé.[14][15][8]
He died of
Quesnel was the subject of the comic opera Le Père des amours, written by Eugène Lapierre in 1942.
Family
Quesnel's son
Works
- Colas et Colinette, a vaudeville (1788)
- Lucas et Cecile, an operetta
- L'Anglomanie, a comedy in verse[17]
- Les Républicains Français, a comedy in prose, afterward published in Paris
- "L'Épître à M. Labadie" – poem
See also
References
- ^ "Canadian Songs for Parlour and Stage". Carleton University. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- ISBN 978-1-55458-892-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8020-5579-8.
- ^ Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- ISBN 978-2-7621-3120-8.
- ^ a b c William White (1890). Canadiana. Vol. 2. Gazette Print Company. p. 22.
- ^ a b The Sonneck Society Bulletin. The Society. 1993. p. 58.
- ^ a b MusiCanada. Vol. Issues 17-29. The Centre. 1969. p. 18.
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has extra text (help) - ^ University of Ottawa. Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française (1970). Bulletin du Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française, Université d'Ottawa. Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française, Université d'Ottawa. pp. 22, 59.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-8311-5.
- ISBN 978-2-7637-7282-0.
- ^ Opera Canada. Vol. 9–11. Canadian Opera Association. 1968. pp. 32, 79.
- ISBN 978-1-55458-199-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-5252-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7755-0583-2.
- ^ Contemporary Canadian Composers ed. by Keith MacMillan and John Beckwith. Toronto : Oxford University Press, 1975
- ^ Littérature canadienne (1848). Le répertoire national ou recueil de littérature canadienne, compilé et publ. par J. Huston. pp. 7–8.
External links
- Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Entry from the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
- (in French) Fonds Joseph Quesnel (R5990) at Library and Archives Canada
- Colas et Colinette ou le Bailli dupé, comédie-vaudeville by Joseph Quesnel. file (R12428) at Library and Archives Canada. The file contains an annotated copy of the piano-vocal score (65 p.) and a text concerning the reconstruction of the work by Godfrey Ridout.