Pierre-Joseph Amédée Tremblay (14 April 1876 – 14 July 1949) was a Canadian organist,

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 def ...

, and music educator. A largely self-taught composer, his output includes several motets, two

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es, a few patriotic songs, works for solo organ, and the operetta ''L'Intransigeant'' (produced in Ottawa in 1906). His organ piece ''Suite de quatre pièces pour grand orgue'' is his most well known composition. Dedicated to Joseph Bonnet, it is noted for its "brilliant toccata" at the finale. His works have been published by Orme, Le Passe-Temps, and Ed. Archambault. Composers Guillaume Couture and Vincent d'Indy were admirers of Tremblay's music.

Life and career

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Tremblay, along with Alexis Contant, was one of the first major Canadian composers to be trained exclusively in his native country. At the age of 12 he began studying music with Father Sauvé, the organist at Saint Joseph's Church in Montreal. He later studied with Alcibiade Béique (piano and organ), Father Cléophas Borduas (Gregorian chant), and Romain-Octave Pelletier I (organ and fugue). Tremblay became the organist at Saint Joseph's Church in 1892 after having turned down a similar position at the Dominican Church in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. He remained in that post until 1894 when he became the organist at the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Ottawa. He was the organist at that church for the next 26 years during which time he also worked as a prominent organist, composer, and teacher in Ottawa. His pupils in that city included Joseph Beaulieu, Wilfrid Charette, Oscar O'Brien, and his own son, the composer George Tremblay. In 1920 Tremblay moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

to assume the post of organist at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He left there in 1925 to become the organist at St. Vincent de Paul Church in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He remained at that church until his death in Los Angeles in 1949.

Scores

External links

Canadian Encyclopedia
Article by Gilles Potvin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremblay, Amedee 1876 births 1949 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian music educators Canadian organists Canadian male organists