About the Virtual Exhibition

ABOUT THE VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

Claude Champagne was a pioneer not only as a composer and musician, but also as a teacher and administrator.  He was a tireless servant of music in Canada.  His polished, civilized, and disciplined art, with its emphasis on precision and conciseness, was inspired partly by French aesthetics at the turn of the century and partly by elements of French-Canadian poetry and folklore.  To understand his art, one has to take into account the sociocultural context of the Quebec of his day -- a Quebec characterized by a fervent attachment to France and a return to roots.  His attention to method made him an excellent teacher; he wrote books on solfège for Quebec students and provided a solid foundation in technique to a number of young composers, while encouraging them to develop discipline in their work.

In 1972, the National Library of Canada's Music Division acquired Claude Champagne's archives.  An exhibition drawn from his archival papers was produced at the library in 1990 - 91.  The exhibition, which celebrated the centenary of Champagne's birth, showcased a number of records and documents from his archive and others borrowed from the Champagne family or other organizations.  This virtual exhibition is based on the 1990 - 91 exhibition at the National Library of Canada.

After Claude Champagne's death in 1965, Marvin Duchow of McGill University went to the home of the Champagne family and prepared a manuscript entitled Claude Champagne:  An Inventory of His Manuscripts and Other Documents (May 15, 1972).  This was followed by a second work, also unpublished, entitled Detailed Inventory of the Claude Champagne Archive (July 17, 1973).  Both are available for consultation in the Music Division of the National Library of Canada.

Over the years, attempts had been made at the National Library to organize the Fonds Claude-Champagne; however, the work remained unfinished.  Marvin Duchow's Detailed Inventory of the Claude Champagne Archive was used as the basis for devising a classification scheme for the documents received by the Library.  After the organization of the documents in acid-free folders and boxes, a finding aid was produced. The finding aid is available for consultation in the Music Division of the National Library of Canada.

It became apparent through study of the archive that Claude Champagne's activities included not only composing, but also teaching and administrative work related to teaching.  He was equally devoted to projects promoting Canadian music.  Each of these, in turn, became the main themes around which the exhibition would revolve.

One of the most challenging facets of the project was the selection of items for the exhibition.  The difficulty arose in striking a good balance of visual materials which would, at the same time, be complete enough to relate Champagne's accomplishments.  The exhibition should appeal not only to the viewer with a casual interest in music and a curiosity to discover who Claude Champagne was, but also to the specialist in the field of music.  We hope it fulfills both needs.