Serge Fiori (born March 4, 1952) was the lead vocalist and guitarist for

Harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. After Harmonium broke up he pursued a solo career.

Biography

Serge Fiori grew up in the

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

district of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada, and made his performing debut in the ballroom orchestra of his father George Fiori. At age 18 he was working as a professional musician, and beginning to write his own material. In 1972, a friend introduced him to who was looking for someone to write the music for a play. Although the project was not completed, the two guitarists formed Harmonium the following year, completing the trio with bassist . Harmonium recorded three studio albums, adding members along the way to become a progressive rock group: ''

'' (1974), ''

Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison ''Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison'' (''If We Needed a Fifth Season''), also known as ''Les Cinq Saisons'' (''The Five Seasons''), is the second studio album by French-Canadian progressive rock band Harmonium, released on 15 April 1975 ...

'' (1975), and '' L'Heptade'' (1976). When Harmonium disbanded in 1978, Fiori began collaborating with

Richard Séguin Richard Séguin (born March 27, 1952 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec Canada) is a Québécois songwriter, musician and singer. His music career began in the 1970s with the duo Les Séguin, with his twin sister Marie-Claire. The duo achieved c ...

to record '' Deux cents nuits à l'heure''. This was also Séguin's first album after leaving the group . Most of the musicians from Harmonium appeared on the 1978 LP and again on

Neil Chotem Neil Chotem (9 September 1920 – 21 February 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and music educator. Works Chotem's compositional style is tonal, and often incorporates elements of jazz and popular music. He comp ...

's ''Live au El Casino'' (1979) which included two new songs by Fiori. After that Fiori moved to Los Angeles to study meditation, computer science, and composition. He returned to the music business in 1983 as a songwriter for other artists, namely

Diane Dufresne Diane Dufresne, (born 30 September 1944) is a French Canadian singer and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs. Dufresne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She lived in Paris from 1965 to 1967 where ...

Nanette Workman Nanette Joan Workman (born 20 November 1945, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Quebec, Canada, during much of her career. She holds dual citizenship of both the United States and ...

and stand-up comic

Yvon Deschamps Yvon Deschamps (born July 31, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1 ...

. A year later he wrote and sang the theme song for the Montreal comedy festival '' Just for Laughs''. He released a solo album, ''Fiori'', in 1986. He spent the 1990s writing film scores (

André Forcier André Forcier (born Marc-André Forcier on July 19, 1947) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His work has been linked to Latin American magic realism by its use of fantasy but is firmly rooted in Quebec's reality. His unromanticized, e ...

's ''

An Imaginary Tale ''An Imaginary Tale'' (french: Une histoire inventée) is a 1990 Canadian drama film directed by André Forcier. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a ...

(Une histoire inventée)'' in 1990, ' ''Hathi'' in 2000, and '' Madame Brouette'' in 2002, with

Mamadou Diabaté Mamadou Diabaté (born 1975) is a Malian musician known for his work with the kora. He began playing quite early in his life, became known as a musician in the area of Mali in which he lived, and has since moved to the United States, recording s ...

and Majoly) and TV music, making a short set of public appearances in 1995 to present ''Gayatri'', ''Maha Mrityunjaya'' and ''Shiva'', three CDs of

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

. After 28 years, he released another solo album, ''Serge Fiori'', in 2014. A tribute to the album was presented by other artists at the Montreal FrancoFolies festival that year. In 2018, Fiori collaborated with

Louis-Jean Cormier Louis-Jean Cormier (born May 26, 1980 in Sept-Îles, Quebec) is a Canadian indie rock singer and songwriter. Formerly associated with the band Karkwa,"Great Expectations; Louis-Jean Cormier reclaims his own identity with his second solo album". ' ...

on ''Seul ensemble'' using new rerecordings of Fiori's songs for a dance and

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

show by

Cirque Eloize A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

that was presented in Montreal and

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 ...

in 2019. A soundtrack double album was also released.Josée Lapointe
"Les chansons d'Harmonium en HD"
'' La Presse'', March 12, 2019.

Discography

Albums

;Harmonium *''

'' (1974) *''

'' (1975) *'' L'Heptade'' (1976) *'' Harmonium en tournée'' (1980) ;Fiori-Séguin *'' Deux cents nuits à l'heure'' (1978) ;Serge Fiori *'' Fiori'' (1986) *''

Gayatri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST:Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of ''Vedamata'' (mother of the Vedas). Gayatri is ofte ...

'' (1994) *'' Maha Mrityunjaya'' (1994) *''

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

'' (1995) *''Contes pour tous: Mon petit diable'' (2000, soundtrack) *''Madame Brouette'' (2001, soundtrack) *''Babine'' (2008, soundtrack) *''

Serge Fiori Serge Fiori (born March 4, 1952) was the lead vocalist and guitarist for Harmonium, a progressive rock band from Quebec. After Harmonium broke up he pursued a solo career. Biography Serge Fiori grew up in the Little Italy district of Montreal, ...

'' (2014) *''Seul ensemble'' (2019)

References

External links

AllMusic Biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

br>Canadian Encyclopedia Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiori, Serge Living people 1952 births Canadian people of Italian descent French-language singers of Canada Canadian male singers Canadian guitarists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian male guitarists Canadian male pianists Singers from Montreal 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian male musicians