Gilles Vigneault

Gilles Vigneault Template:Postnom ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: "Mon pays"<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> and "Gens du pays",<ref>"Gilles Vigneault's powerful dream of un pays". Montreal Gazette, 23 June 2018, Bernard Perusse</ref> and his line Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver (My country is not a country, it is winter, from "Mon Pays") became a proverb in Quebec.<ref>"Gilles Vigneault." Oxford Essential Quotations. Ed. Ratcliffe, Susan. : Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference. 2012. Date Accessed 6 May. 2014.</ref> Vigneault is a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec, Knight of the Legion of Honour, and Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Life and career

Vigneault was born in Natashquan, in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec.

He started writing poetry during his studies at the seminary in Rimouski, and by the 1950s was publishing poems and writing songs for other performers. In 1959, he founded the publishing house Les Éditions de l'Arc to distribute his publications.<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca"/> His first collection, Étraves, was published in 1959.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1960, Vigneault made his singing debut at the L'Arlequin club in Quebec City,<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca"/> followed by a successful Montreal concert later that year.<ref>Marshall, Joyce. "Vigneault, Gilles." The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. : Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference. 2006. Date Accessed 6 May. 2014</ref> In 1962, he recorded his first album, Gilles Vigneault, and received the Grand Prix du Disque from Montreal radio station CKAC. His reputation grew in Quebec and beyond with the success of his song "Mon Pays", from the soundtrack of the NFB film The Snow Has Melted on the Manicouagan (La neige a fondu sur la Manicouagan) in 1965.<ref name="rfimusique.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Vigneault's reputation as a songwriter and performer continued to spread and he became popular not only in Quebec, but also in English Canada and Europe.<ref name="oxfordreference.com">Template:Cite book</ref> He performed in major Canadian concert halls, including Montreal's Place des Arts, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and at Toronto's Massey Hall. In Europe, he toured in France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.<ref name="thecanadianencyclopedia.ca"/>

The mid-1970s saw Vigneault's participation in several major events. On 13 August 1974, 130,000 spectators came together on the Plains of Abraham for the Superfrancofête, where Vigneault participated in a historic concert alongside Félix Leclerc and Robert Charlebois. The concert was recorded and released as the album Template:Interlanguage link. At the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day concert "Les 5 Jean-Baptistes" on Montreal's Mount Royal on 24 June 1976, Gilles Vigneault performed together with Robert Charlebois, Claude Léveillée, Jean-Pierre Ferland, and Yvon Deschamps. This concert was recorded and released as 1 fois 5, which later received the Grand Prix du Disque (the Charles Cros award).<ref name="musicme.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from Université TÉLUQ for his lifetime achievements, notably his contribution to Québécois identity, which mirrored, according to spokesperson Lucie Laflamme, TELUQ's own mission to "solely offer distance education in French across North America, a core of the foundation behind what made us unique for the last 50 years".<ref name=":0" />

Vigneault's political views have remained strongly in favour of national sovereignty for Quebec. During the 2014 Quebec general election campaign, he supported the Parti Québécois.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The main subjects of Vigneault's writing are Quebec and its people, as well as human relationships, love, and everyday life.<ref name="oxfordreference.com"/> Vigneault is also concerned with environmental issues and has written songs and tales for children.<ref name="rfimusique.com"/>

His childhood reminiscences about his upbringing were filmed by Michel Moreau for the 1993 documentary film A Childhood in Natashquan (Une enfance à Natashquan).<ref>"Small-time hood film wins top spot". Edmonton Journal, 16 February 1993.</ref>

Family

Gilles Vigneault has seven children: Michel, Louis, François (a poet and lyricist), Pascale, Guillaume (a novelist), Jessica (a pianist and singer), and Benjamin (a percussionist).<ref name="musicme.com"/>

Discography (partial)

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Honours

Honorary doctorates:

• Trent University (1975)
• Université du Québec à Rimouski (1979)
• Université de Montréal (1981)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• York University (1985)
• Carleton University (2017)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and honours:

• Prix Félix-Leclerc for the song "Mon pays" (1965)
• Governor General's Award for French language poetry or drama (1965)<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
• Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée (1966)<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
• Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy, Paris (in 1970 for Du milieu du pont,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in 1984 for two recordings for children: Les Quatre saisons de Piquot and Quelques pas dans l'univers d'Éviola and in 1990)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Molson Prize (1982)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Prix Denise-Pelletier conferred by the Quebec government (1983)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Médaille Jacques-Blanchet (1987)
• Grande médaille de la chanson française-Vermeil medal (1988)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Governor General's Performing Arts Award - Lifetime Artistic Achievement (1993)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

He is a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2000), Knight of the Légion d'honneur (1986), and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1990).<ref>Gilles Vigneault - Ordre national du Québec</ref>

Several cultural institutions and streets in Quebec and France bear the name of Gilles Vigneault:

• The library of the Rimouski Community college (La Bibliothèque Gilles-Vigneault)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• École Gilles-Vigneault (Montreal, Quebec)
• École Gilles-Vigneault de Marseille (Marseille, France)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Rue Gilles-Vigneault (Blainville, Quebec)<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Rue Gilles-Vigneault (Rimouski, Quebec)<ref name="auto"/>
• Rue Gilles-Vigneault (Granby, Quebec)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Rue Gilles Vigneault (Saint-Charles-Borromée, Québec) <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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See also

• List of Quebec musicians
• List of poets
• Music of Quebec
• Culture of Quebec

Further reading

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External links

• Template:Official website
• Gilles Vigneault chante son pays – Archives de Radio-Canada (French) Template:Webarchive
• Template:In lang Pendant que Gilles Vigneault at Radio-Canada
• Template:In lang Gilles Vigneault at Québec Info Musique