Georges-Émile Tanguay (5 June 1893 – 24 November 1964) was a Canadian

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 ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and

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 ...

. An associate of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, his compositional output is relatively small; consisting of 4 orchestral works, 4 chamber music pieces, 9 works for solo piano, 2 works for solo organ, and 4 choral works. The library at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

holds many of his original manuscripts and his personal papers.

Early life and education

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, Tanquay earned a lauréat diploma from the Académie de musique du Québec where he was a pupil of Léon J. Dessane and

Joseph-Arthur Bernier Joseph-Arthur Bernier (19 March 1877 – 28 April 1944) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, and music educator. Born in Lévis, Quebec, he was the senior member of a prominent family of musicians from Quebec City. He is the father of pian ...

. He also studied with Arthur Letondal and

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 ...

in Montreal. From 1912 to 1914 he studied with

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

(organ) and Félix Fourdrain (harmony) in Paris. He then lived and worked in New York City where he studied the organ with

Pietro Yon Pietro Alessandro Yon (August 8, 1886 – November 22, 1943) was an Italian-born organist and composer who made his career in the United States. Early life Yon was born in Settimo Vittone, (Piedmont, Italy). His earliest studies in music beg ...

and

Gaston Dethier Gaston Marie Dethier (1875 – 1958) was an American organist, pianist, and composer of Belgian birth. Early life Born in Liège, he was the son of organist Emile Jean Joseph Dethier (1849-1933), the brother of violinist Edouard Dethier, an ...

. Tanquay returned to Paris in 1920 to study with

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...

at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

. He remained in that city for the next five years studying under

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

(harmony and counterpoint),

Édouard Mignan Édouard Charles Octave Mignan (17 March 1884 - 17 September 1969) was a French organist and composer. He was born in Orléans and 14 years old he became the organist of église Saint Paterne. He studied organ in Paris with Alexandre Guilmant a ...

(organ), and Simone Plé-Caussade (piano).

Career

Tanguay returned to Canada in 1925 to assume the post of organist at Église de l'Immaculée-Conception, Montréal. He remained there through 1945. As an educator, Tanguay taught privately and at a number of institutions. In the 1930s he taught at the

Conservatoire national de musique Conservatoire national de musique was a music conservatory in Montreal, Quebec that was actively providing higher education in music during the first eight decades of the 20th century. Founded in 1905 by Alphonse Lavallée-Smith as the Conservatoir ...

. He was one of the original faculty members at the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

when the school opened in 1943. He later taught harmony and organ at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. Many of his students had musical careers, including musicians Léon Bernier,

Maurice Blackburn Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. ...

, Marcel Laurencelle, Gilberte Martin, Marcelle Martin, Magdeleine Martin,

Lucien Martin Lucien Martin (30 May 1908 – 29 October 1950) was a Canadian violinist, conducting, conductor, and composer. Only one of his compositions was published, the art song ''La Chanson des belles'', which was performed by Jeanne Desjardins in its pre ...

, André Mérineau, Renée Morisset, and Micheline Tessier. His works continued to be performed after his death: in 2012 his "Deuz pieces pour orchestre" was performed by the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, to mark the Canadian Sesquicentennial, a performance of Tanguay's ''Pavane'' was recorded by the Symphonova Orchestra.

References

External links

Georges-Émile Tanguay at WorldCat

Profile at the Canadian Music Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanguay, Georges-Emile 1893 births 1964 deaths Canadian male composers Canadian organists Male organists Canadian educators Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal faculty Conservatoire national de musique faculty Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Université de Montréal faculty Pupils of Vincent d'Indy Musicians from Quebec City 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian pianists 20th-century organists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians