Frédéric Pelletier (1 May 1870 – 30 May 1944) was a Canadian choir

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

, journalist,

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

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, and physician. He was one of the principal music critics in Montreal during the first half of the 20th century, having worked in that capacity for every major publication in Montreal at one time or another. He was also a professor of music history at several institutions and worked as a choirmaster in several Montreal churches. His compositional output was mainly dedicated to sacred choral works, including several

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s and carols, 2 oratorios, a ''Requiem Mass'', and a ''Stabat Mater''. He also wrote some works for solo organ, some songs, and a number of harmonizations of Canadian folk tunes.

Life and career

Born in Montreal, Pelletier was part of a prominent musical family in Quebec. He was the son of musician

Romain-Octave Pelletier I Romain-Octave Pelletier I (sometimes spelled Peltier) (9 September 1843 – 4 March 1927) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, writer on music, and music educator. Early life and career Born in Montreal, Pelletier was a member of a prom ...

, the brother of organist, composer and conductor

Romain Pelletier Romain Pelletier (sometimes spelled Peltier) (22 August 1875 – 24 November 1953) was a Canadian organist, choir conductor, composer, and music educator. His compositional output consists entirely of works for solo organ and motets. He was ...

, and the father of violinist Romain-Octave Pelletier II. His other brother Victor was a cellist in J.-J. Goulet's Montreal Symphony Orchestra of which he also served as music librarian. He began his musical education as a boy studying the piano under his father. He later was a pupil of Guillaume Couture (singing) and

Achille Fortier Achille Fortier (23 October 1864 – 19 August 1939) was a Canadian composer and music educator. His compositional output includes a modest amount of choral and chamber works, several songs and motets, and a small amount of symphonic music. A con ...

(harmony and counterpoint). In c. 1887 Pelletier entered the Royal Military College Saint-Jean and after graduating served as a captain in the Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. He then entered the medical school at the Université de Montréal where he earned his MD in 1895. He operated a medical practice in Montreal for a little while, but abandoned it in favour of a career as a journalist and musician. He worked as a reporter and editor for various daily newspapers in Montreal up until 1914. He also was a music columnist for various periodicals from 1900 up until the end of his life; including '' La Patrie'' (1904–1910), '' La Presse'' (1904–1910), ''La Musique'' (1919–1921), '' Musical America'' (1923–1925), '' Association française d'action artistique'' (1920–1944), '' L'Art musical'', '' La Lyre'', '' Musical Canada'', and the '' Quinzaine musicale et artistique'' among others. For '' Le Devoir'' he authored a dozen reviews between 1911 and 1913 before being appointed its long-time music editor and critic (1916–1944). As a musician, Pelletier was primarily active as a choir conductor. He held the post of choirmaster at several churches in Montreal, including

Saint-Léon de Westmount Church Saint-Léon may refer to the following: Places ;France: * Saint-Léon, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Saint-Léon, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the department of Haute-Garonne * Saint-Léon, Gironde, a commune in the department of ...

(1909), St James-the-Less (1910–1936), and Sainte-Brigide de Kildare Church (1923–1924). In 1922 he founded the Saint-Saëns Choral Society, notably conducting performance that year of '' Samson et Dalila'' with Cédia Brault and Émile Gour. In 1931 he coordinated the first Canadian tour of the Paris children's choir Petits Chanteurs à la croix de bois, who included within their repertoire his Canadian folksong harmonizations. From 1932-1935 he served as the president of the

Académie de musique du Québec The Quebec Music Academy (''L'académie de musique du Québec'') is a nonprofit association based in Montreal, Canada, founded in 1868. It was built by order of Queen Victoria in 1870 and brought together the most renowned musicians of Quebec. The ...

and in 1933-1934 he taught music history at the

École de musique Vincent-d'Indy The école de musique Vincent-d'Indy is a subsidized private music college situated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the Outremont district, that specializes in music education. Programs L'école Vincent-d'Indy offers programs that result in stu ...

. He also taught that subject at the Conservatoire national de musique for a number of years. In addition to his work as a writer and musician, Pelletier served the city of Montreal as the secretary of the department of health from 1914-21. He then took the post of librarian and publicist for Quebec province's department of health in 1922, a position he held until his death in Montreal in 1944. His book ''Initiation à l'orchestre in Montreal'' was published posthumously in 1948, but his memoirs, ''Montréal, fin de siècle'', which were intended for publication upon his death, have never been printed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelletier, Frederic 1870 births 1944 deaths Université de Montréal alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire national de musique Academic staff of the École de musique Vincent-d'Indy Canadian music educators Canadian composers Canadian male composers Male conductors (music) Canadian music critics Canadian choral conductors Journalists from Montreal Musicians from Montreal Physicians from Montreal Quebec civil servants Royal Military College Saint-Jean alumni Military personnel from Montreal Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal officers