Richard Desjardins (born March 16, 1948) is a Québécois

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

and film director.

Career

Desjardins and his friends formed the country rock ensemble Abbitibbi in the 1970s; Desjardins played piano, guitar, and sang. When the group disbanded in 1982, Desjardins pursued a solo career. He released a number of solo albums, including ''Tu m'aimes-tu'' in 1990Colin Larkin.
The encyclopedia of popular music
'. Oxford Univ.; 2000.. p. 865. and ''Boom Boom'', which appeared on the RPM 100 Top Albums list in 1998. Desjardins also found work scoring films, especially documentaries. This involvement in the Quebec film industry even led him to co-direct a number of feature-length documentaries. He was known for his environmental activism, especially with regards to protecting forests from

over-exploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...

, and to promote this he created the documentary film ''L'erreur boréale'' in 1999. In 2007 Desjardins, along with Robert Monderie, created ''The Invisible People'', a documentary about the Algonquin nation in Quebec. Desjardins went on tour in 2013, promoting his album ''L'existoire''; after that he made occasional live appearances, including the 2018 Festival guitares du monde in Abitibi. In 2017 a group of singers came together at Steve Jolin's Rouyn-Noranda record company to record ''Chanter Richard Desjardins'', a tribute album of Desjardins' songs. He was profiled in Lisette Marcotte's 2019 documentary film '' The Last Nataq (Le dernier Nataq)''.

Discography

Albums * 1981-Boom Town Café (with Abbittibbi) * 1988-Les derniers humains * 1989- Le trésor de la langue (with René Lussier) * 1990-Tu m'aimes-tu * 1992-Les derniers humains (new recording) * 1994-Chaude était la nuit (with Abbittibbi)
Landscapes and Landmarks of Canada: Real, Imagined, (Re)Viewed
'. Wilfrid Laurier University Press; 28 March 2017. . p. 173. * 1998-Boom Boom * 2003-Kanasuta * 2011-L'existoire Live albums * 1993-Richard Desjardins au Club Soda * 1996-Desjardins Abbittibbi Live (with Abbittibbi) Soundtrack * 1990-Le Party DVD * Kanasuta - Là où les diables vont danser (2005)

Filmography

* 1977 - ''A Raging Disaster (Comme des chiens en pacage)'' by Desjardins and Robert Monderie * 1978 - ''Firefly (Mouche à feu)'', by Desjardins and Robert Monderie * 1999 - '' Forest Alert (L'erreur boréale)'' by Desjardins and Robert Monderie * 2007 - '' The Invisible Nation (Le peuple invisible)'' by Desjardins and Robert Monderie * 2011 - '' The Hole Story (Trou story)'' by Desjardins and Robert Monderie

Music for films and theater

* À double tour (English title: Twice Convicted), by Marie Cadieux, 1994 * '' The Party (Le Party)'' by

Pierre Falardeau Pierre Falardeau (December 28, 1946 – September 25, 2009) was a Québécois film and documentary director, pamphleteer and noted activist for Quebec independence. Falardeau wrote at least one book, ''Rien n'est plus précieux que la libert� ...

, 1990 * La Nuit avec Hortense (The night with Hortense), by Jean Chabot, 1988 * Noranda, by Robert Monderie and Daniel Corvec, 1984 * Le doux partage (Soft Sharing) by Sylvie van Brabant, 1983 * Depuis que le monde est monde (Since the world is world) by Sylvie van Brabant, 1981 * '' Blue Winter (L'hiver bleu)'' by André Blanchard, 1978 * Beat by André Blanchard, 1976 (Desjardins and Abbittibbi as well as other musicians) * Composed music for and was musical director of ”Têtes rondes et têtes pointues“ ("The Roundheads and the Peakheads") by Bertold Brecht, at the 1986 Brecht International Festival in Toronto.

Bibliography

* Carole Couture, "la parole est mine d’or", Éditions Tryptique, Montréal, 1999.

References

External links

Desjardins' web site.Words to 59 of Desjardins' songs.
(site down)
Radio Canada
(Documentary about Richard Desjardins)
Radio France, France Blue
(Interviews with Desjardins)
Summary of Desjardins Life’s work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desjardins, Richard 1948 births Living people French Quebecers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters French-language singers of Canada People from Rouyn-Noranda Film directors from Quebec Canadian documentary film directors Canadian environmentalists Singers from Quebec Songwriters from Quebec Canadian film score composers Félix Award winners