Chansonnier (singer) explained

A chansonnier (in French pronounced as /ʃɑ̃sɔnje/; female: chansonnière, in French pronounced as /ʃɑ̃sɔnjɛʁ/)^[1] was a poet songwriter, a solitary singer, who sang his or her own songs (chansons) with a guitar, prominent in francophone countries during the 1960s and 1970s. Unlike popular singers, chansonniers need no artifice to sing their soul poetry. They performed in "Les Boites à Chansons"^[2] which flourished during those years. The themes of their songs varied but included nature, love, simplicity and a social interest to improve their world.

Canada

In Canada, the chansonnier tradition played a prominent role in the development of Quebec's social and political awareness during the Quiet Revolution,^[3] (la Révolution tranquille) that led to the affirmation of national identity of Québécois people.^[4] One prominent chansonnier, Robert Charlebois, transformed the province's musical culture when he moved from traditional chansonnier pop to a more rock-oriented sound with his fourth album, Lindberg, in 1968.^[5]

French-Canadian chansonniers

(listed alphabetically by surname)

• Geneviève Aubin-Bertrand
• Jacques Blanchet
• Hervé Brousseau
• Monique Brunet
• Pierre Calvé
• Christine Charbonneau
• Robert Charlebois
• Gervaises Desbiens-Roy
• Clémence Desrochers
• Serge Deyglun

• Lorainne Diot
• Georges Dor
• Jean-Pierre Ferland
• Jean-Paul Fillion
• Louise Forestier
• Claude Gauthier
• Marc Gélinas
• Suzanne Jacob
• Pauline Julien
• Mado de L'Isle

• Jacques Labrecque
• Georges Langford
• Christian Larsen
• Marie Lavigueur
• Félix Leclerc
• Tex Lecor
• Sylvain Lelièvre
• Jacqueline Lemay
• Pierre Létourneau
• Claude Léveillée

• Raymond Lévesque
• Monique Miville-Deschênes
• Priscilla
• Marie Savard
• Gilles Vigneault

References

• The reference used here is an exhaustive work on women songwriters in Quebec, which cover the period of 1960 to 1976. The female names that are listed above are those found in the chapter 9 'Les chansonnières', page 95 to 119, which correspond to the period of the cultural phenomenon). «La chanson écrite au féminin». An extensive research in musicology written by Cécile Tremblay-Matte.«La chanson écrite au féminin de Madeleine de Verchères à Mitsou 1730-1990», Éditions Trois, 2033 avenue Jessop, Laval, Québec. Diffusion pour le Canada, DMR, 3700 A boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, Québec, et pour l'Europe, Les Diffusions du Solstice, 363 B Chaussée de Waterloo, Bruxelles, Belgique. Données de catalogage avant publication (Canada) .«La chanson écrite au féminin», Collection Trois Guinées dirigée par Anne-Marie Alonso. Dépot légal- BNQ, BNC troisième trimestre 1990, contient 391 pages.

Notes and References

1. "Chansonnier definition as intended in Quebec",Chansonniers in The Canadian Encyclopedia
2. "Paragraph 6, "After 1960, the boîtes à chansons increased in number concurrently with Quebec's Quiet Revolution, a powerful movement of economic and cultural emancipation (...)",Chanson in Quebec in The Canadian Encyclopedia
   - "Thanks to Félix Leclerc', the new Québec song (chanson) would become the natural path for the collective identity of all Quebeckers and the first Ambassador of this Society in complete mutation...",Chanson in Quebec in The Canadian Encyclopedia
   - "Boites à chansons",Boîtes à chansons in The Canadian Encyclopedia
3. "Paragraph 8, "Chanson in Quebec in The Canadian Encyclopedia
4. Book: Shepherd, John . Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: VolumeII: Performance and Production . 2003 . A&C Black . 978-0-8264-6322-7 . en.
5. [Bob Mersereau]