Émile Gour
April 21, 1893 near Montréal – September 24, 1970 Montréal
Gour studied piano and harmony with Alphonse Lavallée-Smith and voice with Salvator Issaurel from 1915 to 1922.
While pursuing a career as a singer, Gour was employed by the
Canadian postal service.
He was a soloist at St-Louis-de-France and St-Jean-Baptiste churches and for 10 years at Notre-Dame.
From 1940 until his death, he was choirmaster at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and St-Antonin churches. During the era of silent pictures,
Gour was very active, performing songs and excerpts from operas before the films were shown. He participated in concerts given by
the organist Joseph Bonnet in Toronto, Guelph, London (Ont) and elsewhere.
After hearing him in the role of Jesus in Massenet's
Marie-Magdeleine, Adrien Arcand wrote M. Émile Gour was the best performer, a powerful voice, admirably controlled and
projected
with ease (Montréal La Presse, 1 December 1922).
He came to be known as The Canadian Caruso, although he did not sound like Caruso.
In 1923, Gour was Samson in a performance
in Worcester, Mass, and in 1928, he sang in Honegger's Le roi David in Montréal.
Gour was a member
of the Montréal Quartet along with Armand Gauthier, Charles-Émile Brodeur, and Hercule Lavoie. He was also a member of the first
Issaurel Vocal Quartet and the Issaurel Mixed Quartet. In New York, for Columbia, he made several recordings.
Reference
| Émile Gour sings | Faust: Alerte! Alerte!, with Yvonne Thibodeau and Joseph Saucier
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Discopgraphy
Columbia, New York ca January 1918
85836-1 L'amant jaloux: Tandis que tout sommeille E4601
85837-? Mireille: Anges du paradis E4581
85847-1 Le roi d'Ys: Vainement ma bien-aimée E4601
85851-1 Pagliacci: Air des sanglots E85851
85852-? Mai E4581
85857-1 Manon: Le rêve de Des Grieux E4577
85858-2 Fumeur d'opium(with Yvonne Thibodeau) E4577
85859-1 Minuit, Chrétiens E4596
85870-? Le crucifix (with Joseph Saucier) E4585
85884-1 Faust: Trio final (with Joseph Saucier & Yvonne Thibodeau) E85884
New York, September 1920
86589-3 Mignonne, pourquoi pleurer E4939
86594-2 Werther: Pourquoi me réveiller E4940
86603-2 Il est né le divin enfant nous E4893
with Guillaume Dupuis, Blanche Gonthier & Madeleine Cardinal
86604-2 Ça bergers, assemblons-nous E4893
with Guillaume Dupuis, Blanche Gonthier & Madeleine Cardinal
86612-1 L'amour chante E4948
86624-2 Le Cid: Priére E4941
86629-3 Carmen: La fleur E4944
86630-1 Le trouvère: Miserere E4944
86631-2 Chant de la victoire E4952
86632-3 La berceuse des nuits E4951
86633-1 Marche pour le printemps E4958
with Guillaume Dupuis, Blanche Gonthier & Madeleine Cardinal
? Berceuse aux étoiles (with Blanche Gonthier) E4951
New York November 1922
88839-1 J'ai pleuré en rêve E7879
88845-3 Carmela E7942
88846-1 Dieu vous créa si jolie E7849
88850-2 Mon ame avait rêvé E7849
88854-2 Obstination E7879
88856-2 Serenata (Toselli) E7942
Brunswick Records, Chicago April 1928 (With Mme Alba Lariviere)
PB 434-35 Ô ma bien aimée Br52015, Me M18039
Pb 436-37 Sur le lac d'argent Br52016, Me M180040
I wish to thank Christian Torrent for the recordings, picture, labels, discography and link.
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