Home | What's New | Ragtime Sources
Ragtime in Québec
Featuring the Rags and Compositions of Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière
|
 |
|
Jéan-Baptiste LaFrenière, described as
the national Strauss of Canada, was born in 1874 in
Maskinongé, Quebec. According to
Plante (1994) Lafrenière
spent most of his youth in Montreal and Louiseville where he
studied piano, organ, violin, cornet, and music theory at the
College St-Joseph de Berthier (1887-1892). Gilmore (1988:25)
suggests that Lafrenière was the first person known to have
performed ragtime in Montreal.
According to Plante (1994), Lafrenière contracted tuberculosis in 1911 and was forced to subsist on the slender income earned from his music publications and he died January 4, 1912, at age 37, leaving behind a widow (Victoria Danis) and two young children. He is buried in the Côte-des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal.
A number of CDs recorded by Mimi Blais include LaFrenière compositions.
______________________________________________________________
|
Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière appears to have published 44 compositions
(all of which are below), includings rags, marches and two-steps,
mazurkas, gavottes, songs and waltzes. Four of these compositions
were specifically targeted as rags by including "rag" as part of
their title: Raggity Rag (1907)
(below),
Balloon Rag (1911) (below),
Taxi Rag (1911) (below), and
John Chow
Chow Rag (1912) (below). These four rags - along with
Hip! Hip!
Hourra! Two Step (1907) (below) and
Silly-Ass Two Step (1907) (below)
– were included as the six
Lafrenière compositions included by
Clément Plante in his folio called Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière
(1874-1912): Rags & Two Steps (Montreal, QC: Fondation
ragtime du Québec, 1904). However,
Lafrenière also published
another two step, being
Ben,
two-step pour orchestre (1911)
I came across reference to a composition by Lafrenière that was not previously listed in any known bibliographies I had seen. The piece is Au pole nord: Two step (1909) (below). However, on examination of the score, one sees that it is note-for-note his composition from two year's previously, being Silly Ass. The piece is dedicated to Captain Bernier and the crew of the "Arctic." Bernier was a Canadian explorer (1852-1934) who led a number of expeditions by ship to Canada's north. Did Bernier pay Lafrenière for the piece (I assume not) or was it merely a patriotic gesture by Lafrenière? Perhaps Lafrenière's orchestra played at the dock at one of the launches of the "Arctic." Did Lafrenière get paid separately for this piece? Was it well known that he was repackaging Silly Ass at Au pole nord? Lafrenière also published 4 marches, one of which was written in common time (4/4) with the other three being written in 6/8 time (Scott Joplin also published a number of marches in both meters; March Majestic, for example, was written in 6/8 time). |
|
The sheet music of Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière below is all in the public domain and is divided into the following three categories – each in chronological order – followed by a listing of his lost and unpublished works:
a) Rags, Marches, Two Steps and other Ragtime-Era Compositions (19 pieces)
b) Songs (10 pieces)
c) Waltzes (15 pieces)
d) Lost and Unpublished Works (8 pieces)
a) Rags, Marches, Two-Steps & other Compositions of Jéan-Baptiste LaFrenière [top]
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
b) Songs by Jéan-Baptiste LaFrenière [top]
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
c) Waltzes by Jéan-Baptiste LaFrenière [top]
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
d) Unpublished Compositions of Jean-Baptiste Lafrenière [top]
1) Thomas, ouverture pour orchestre - 1907
Lost Works of Jean-Baptiste Lafrenière (Chronological Order)
1) L'Echo de Louiseville, morceau de fanfare - 1894
2) Messe de Noel - 1894
3) Alfred March - 1895
4) L'Etoile du Nord, morceau de fanfare - 1896
5) Pace Domine - 1897
6) Ecce Fidelis - 1897
7) Tantum Ergo - 1897
2) Ragtime Era Music in Quebec [top]
Set out below is a listing of 143 compositions sourced primarily from either the National Library of Quebec or Library and Archives Canada as ragtime-era compositions published in Quebec (not including those by Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière listed above). Of the 143 pieces listed below, 106 have the full-text sheet music available (for free).
Only three of the compositions below have the word "rag" in the title: Some Rag: A Real Live One (Willie Eckstein, below), Chewing Rag (Alcide Giroux, below) and Rag Tags Rag (Harry Thomas, below).
Included in the list below are 44 compositions published by Delmar Music of Quebec. The entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music for "Delmar Music" suggests there are 50 known publications by Delmar, covering the range of music from 1907 to 1999. Given the 44 Delmar publications below and the one Delmar publication listed above (Raggity Rag by Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière), this results in 45 named publications published by Delmar Music, all of which are extremely rare and almost never show up on EBay sheet music auctions. I will endeavour to verify any additional sheet music published by Delmar Music.
Some of the more prolific composers below include:
- Alcide J.E. Giroux (19 pieces below): Although he is one of the more prolific French-Canadian composers below, I could find very little information about Alcide Giroux. One of his compositions is clearly aimed at being the ragtime tradition: Chewing Rag (below) His photo appears numerous times in Le Passe Temps, including the following photo from the March 15, 1913, edition:
- Willie Eckstein (15 pieces
below): Willie Eckstein, also known as Billie Eckstein, was
born to European immigrants in Pointe St. Charles, a predominantly
Irish, working-class district of Montreal, one of 14 children (Gilmore
1988:25). According to Hutton (1985), Eckstein began playing at age
3, and at age12, he won a scholarship to study music at McGill
University. He also studied in Europe, and after returning from Europe
was "headhunted" while playing at the Canadian National Exhibition in
Toronto, Ontario, and went on a very successful North American tour.
On tour, he was billed as "The Boy Paderewski" since he was only 4
ft., 9 in. tall and wore a Fauntleroy suit to give the impression he
was younger than he was
According to Hutton (1985), Eckstein was earning $15,000 per year while on tour (a lot in those days) but when he grew too old, the novelty of the "act" wore off and he returned home to Montreal. In Montreal, he was the resident pianist at the Strand's Theatre, where he was billed as "The World's Foremost Motion Picture Interpreter" (Gilmore 1988: 17). Apparently, fans would come to the movie theatre primarily to listen to him, not necessarily to watch the movies. One of his protégés was Harry Thomas, and he also played with Vera Guilaroff.
Eckstein, along with Harry Thomas, composed the Delirious Rag and the Perpetual Rag, the sheet music for which I have been unable to track down.
Eckstein was the first person to record Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag as a piano solo (1923). According to Hutton (1985), Eckstein was admired by Teddy Roosevelt and Eubie Blake described Eckstein as "one of the best I ever heard."
After "talking" moving pictures arrived, Eckstein retired from the movie theatre and played piano at the Chateau Ste. Rose in Montreal for 20 years as "Mr. Fingers" (Hutton 1985). Eckstein continued to play piano until age 73, but was forced to retire when he broke his arm. In May 1963 at an evening tribute in his honour, Eckstein collapsed into a coma after the ceremony, never to recover (he died several months later).
Library and Archives Canada has an online biography of Willie Eckstein. In addition, relatives of Willie Eckstein have created a site dedicated to the life and music of Willie Eckstein, which includes a more complete listing of his music than what I have below. The following (from the sheet music cover to Floating Along) is a photo of Eckstein as a young man:
- Otto Zimmerman (13 pieces below) (1873-1932): In the entry for Joseph-Jean Goulet in the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music, an Otto Zimmerman is identified as a viola player in the Goulet String Quartet in 1900, which would match the time and era and identify Zimmerman as a musician in addition to being a composer. The May 29, 1897, edition of Le Passe Temps at pages 155-56 has a short article about Zimmerman, written by Gustave Comte, that states he was born in Germany and worked as a musician in New York before coming to Montreal. The National Library of Quebec catalog suggests his dates of birth and death as 1873 to 1932. His sketch appears on the cover of the same edition:
- Wilfrid Beaudry (10 pieces below): I have found very little on Wilfrid Beaudry, a composer of two-steps and waltzes from the ragtime era.
- Joseph Omer Dumas (9 pieces below) (April 1, 1889 ~ July 9, 1980): According to the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Joseph Dumas trained on the violin as a young boy and by 1912 was playing in a small group for silent films. The following photo of Dumas comes from the cover sheet to Fleurettes: valse:
- Louis-Napoleon Guilbault (4 pieces below): I have yet to find too much on this composer but will continue the research. The article here from the May 14, 1921, Le Passe Temps describes a concert he gave.
- Fernand Heintz (4 pieces below): An article in the Sept 26, 1903, edition of Le Passe Temps states that Heintz was born in Belgium on October 3, 1878, and debuted at l'Opera Comique de Montreal in November 1901 and toured the US and Canada as part of a trio. That same edition had the following picture of Heintz on the cover:
- Samuel Duguay (4 pieces below): A May 9, 1903, article in Le Passe Temps states that Duguay wrote Florette valse (below) when he was 20 years old, making him born in or about 1883. The same edition has the following photo of Duguay:
- Leon Dequin (3 pieces below): I have found very little on Leon Dequin but have included him since his Pretty Nelly: danse anglo-américaine (below) is a syncopated two step that falls within the ragtime genre. The use of "danse anglo-américaine" most certainly a more politer synonym for "ragtime."
See here in my essay on Ragtime Music in Canada for more on Montreal-based Harry Thomas, and here on Vera Guilaroff.
Two of the composers in the list below who published ragtime-era music in Quebec are listed in the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music, being Gitz Rice and Herbert Spencer. In addition, Library and Archives Canada has an online profile for Henri Miro as well as an online profile for Gitz Rice.
For more background on the music scene in Quebec during the ragtime era, see the Library and Archives Canada online essay called "The Music Scene in Quebec, 1915-1920."
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Beaudry, Wilfrid. 1909: pas de deux / two-step. Québec : Ls. R. Beaudry, éditeur: en vente à Montréal chez Dupuis Frère, 1909. |
|
|
Beaudry, Wilfrid. Carnaval: pas de deux / two-step in Montréal qui chante Montréal Vol. 2, no 18 (30 janvier 1910) at 8. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Beaudry, Wilfrid. J'ai connu le secret du bonheur: valse chantée (words by R. Beaudry). Montréal: Éditions Radio, [1927?] |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Contant, Alexis. Alice: valse pour piano. Montréal : Ed. Archambault, 1910. |
 |
Contant, Alexis. Les alliés: grande marche héroïque. [Montréal? : s.n., 1914? |
 |
Contant, Alexis. L'âme d'un ange (paroles de T. Banville). Montréal : Albert Turcotte, éditeur, 1900?. |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mercille, Albert. Lovelight waltzes /Lumière d'amour valse. Montreal: Delmar Music Co., 1910. |
|
|
Mercille, Albert. Tombola: march, two step. Montreal: Delmar Music Co., 1910. |
 |
|
|
|
Murchison, W.A. Back to Montreal. Montreal: The Delmar Music Co., 1909. |
|
|
Murchison, W.A. I’m Going Back to Work Down on the Farm. Montreal: The Delmar Music Co., 1909. |
| |
Murchison, W.A. Moonlight Dear: Indian Intermezzo Song. Montreal: The Delmar Music Co., 1909. |
|
|
Murchison, W.A. Only Baby Fingers. Montreal: The Delmar Music Co., 1909. |
|
|
Murchison, W.A. You’re the Sweetest Girl in all this World to Me. Montreal: The Delmar Music Co., 1909. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thomas, Harry. She Waits by the Lakes of Killarney for Me (words by E.D. McCarthy). Montreal: Delmar Music, 1913. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
3) Le Passe Temps [top]
|
The
National Library of Quebec
has done a wonderful thing by digitizing
Le Pass Temps,
a French language musical periodical/newspaper
than ran from
1895 to 1945.
The Canadian Encyclopedia of Music has an entry for Le Passe Temps that describe the periodical in more detail throughout its history. |
|
4) Modern Ragtime in Quebec [top]
Mimi Blais continues the French-Canadian tradition in ragtime through her performances of the music of Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière. Likewise, Gilles Poirier and Gabriel Bourque of Montreal perform ragtime duets as Two Pianos Alive.
5) Bibliography [top]
The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, s.v. "Delmar Music Co.," available online.
______________, s.v. "Le Passe Temps," available online.
______________, s.v. "Eckstein, Willie" (by Edward B. Moogk), available online.
______________, s.v. "Rice, Gitz" (by Edward B. Moogk), available online
______________, s.v. "Thomas, Harry" (by Chantal Gauthier), available online
Gilmore, John (1988). Swinging in Paradise: The Story of Jazz in Montreal (Montréal, QC: Véhicule Press, 1988).
Hutton, Jack (1985). Willie Eckstein: This Ragtime Kid Charmed Paderewski While Earning $15,000 a Year. Ragtimer (November-December 1985).
Jasen, David A. and Gene Jones (2000). That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime from Coast to Coast. New York: Schirmer Book.
Library and Archives Canada."The Music Scene in Quebec, 1915-1920."
Library and Archives Canada, The Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound Recordings. Willie Eckstein, Pianist and Composer (1888-1963).
Plante, Clément, ed. (1994). Jéan-Baptiste Lafrenière (1874-1912): Rags & Two Steps. Montreal, QC: Fondation ragtime du Québec.
[top]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
This site created by Ted Tjaden. Page last updated: September 14, 2008.