Calixa Lavallée

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Links to Other Sites
Calixa Lavallée, composer, pianist (b at Verchères, Canada E 28 Dec 1842; d at Boston, Mass 21 Jan 1891). Author of the music for O CANADA which became the Canadian national anthem, Lavallée was a pioneer in music both in Canada and the US. Taught first by his father, he studied in Montréal, then left for the US in 1857 and toured South America, the West Indies and Mexico.

After returning to Verchères in 1863, he gave concerts and taught. On 24 January 1864 he gave a concert in Montréal playing piano, violin and cornet. From 1865 to 1872 he again lived in the US and from 1873 to 1875 studied piano, harmony and composition in Paris; one of his piano studies composed at this time, Le Papillon, was particularly successful. He later opened a studio in Montréal with Frantz JEHIN-PRUME and Rosita del Vecchio, was twice president of the Académie de musique de Québec, and tried unsuccessfully to open a conservatory of music. In 1881 Lavallée's comic opera The Widow was presented in New Orleans.

Lavallée, Calixa
Lavallée, Calixa
Calixa Lavallée, composer of the National Anthem "O Canada" and one of a generation of pioneers who nourished the growth of music in early Canada (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-70448).
O Canada First Edition
O Canada First Edition
Calixa Lavallée appeared on the cover of the first edition of the words and music to "O Canada" (courtesy Musée du Seminaire de Québec).

Author HÉLÈNE PLOUFFE


Links to Other Sites
Les Voltigeurs de Québec
Watch the Heritage Minute about Canada's national anthem from the Historica-Dominion Institute. See also related online learning resources.

Calixa Lavallée
A biography of renowned Canadian musician Calixa Lavallée. From the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Calixa Lavallée
A biography of Calixa Lavallée, pianist, composer, and music teacher. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Shawnadithit: Last of the Beothuk

Shawnadithit grew anxious waiting for her uncle, Longnon, to return to camp at the junction of Badger Brook and the Exploits River, deep in the wilds of Newfoundland...

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.