Over the Yuletide season, 'Espace musique,' the Radio-Canada music station, presented a special program of Christmas music by André Gagnon, on their radio/TV series: "Studio 12."
And ... his products REALLY sell!
Nearly 20 years after he released his Christmas album, 'Noël' -- which sold more than 200,000 copies -- he recently unveiled, Dans le silence de la nuit.
(BTW, Les chemins ombragés, released in September, 2010 -- which reached #1 in Québec and #7 in Canada, in its FIRST WEEK! -- was certified gold, signifying sales of 40,000 copies!)
The radio program began with a one-hour conversation with Gagnon, who presented some of his wide-ranging discography, dating all the way back to the later 1960s.
He related stories about some of the music and the personalities he had worked with, especially during the "Golden Age" (my term) of home-grown Québec pop music, the late '60s and early '70s.
Some of his featured songs included: 'Les enfants de l'avenir', sung by Isabelle Pierre, (who had a short musical career, and with whom he has list touch since that time) composed by the legendary lyricist, Stéphane Venne; and 'Frédéric', by Claude Léveillée, his close friend who died earlier this year. (Gagnon revealed that he had not yet begun to grieve, and was in no hurry to begin.)
The second part, moving to the radio and TV pickup, featured three Québec women vocalists performing hand-picked Christmas songs, backed up by Gagnon on piano and his group of six musicians.
The Canadian Encyclopedia discusses his multi-faceted work this way: André Gagnon's music is not easy to classify. It ranges widely and makes audacious combinations of elements from both sides of the barrier between classical and pop music.
As you can guess, André Gagnon is already moving on to new, fascinating projects! *
Check out his extensive website.
*'projects' (Artsy folks always refer to their works-in-progress as 'projects'!)
(BTW, Les chemins ombragés, released in September, 2010 -- which reached #1 in Québec and #7 in Canada, in its FIRST WEEK! -- was certified gold, signifying sales of 40,000 copies!)
The radio program began with a one-hour conversation with Gagnon, who presented some of his wide-ranging discography, dating all the way back to the later 1960s.
He related stories about some of the music and the personalities he had worked with, especially during the "Golden Age" (my term) of home-grown Québec pop music, the late '60s and early '70s.
Some of his featured songs included: 'Les enfants de l'avenir', sung by Isabelle Pierre, (who had a short musical career, and with whom he has list touch since that time) composed by the legendary lyricist, Stéphane Venne; and 'Frédéric', by Claude Léveillée, his close friend who died earlier this year. (Gagnon revealed that he had not yet begun to grieve, and was in no hurry to begin.)
The second part, moving to the radio and TV pickup, featured three Québec women vocalists performing hand-picked Christmas songs, backed up by Gagnon on piano and his group of six musicians.
The Canadian Encyclopedia discusses his multi-faceted work this way: André Gagnon's music is not easy to classify. It ranges widely and makes audacious combinations of elements from both sides of the barrier between classical and pop music.
As you can guess, André Gagnon is already moving on to new, fascinating projects! *
Check out his extensive website.
*'projects' (Artsy folks always refer to their works-in-progress as 'projects'!)
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