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Preface
This article will endeavor to address the life and work of Conrad Letendre, a great
Canadian innovator. Although not well known outside of the province of Québec, Conrad
Letendre (1904-77) was and is highly regarded within that province as an organist,
teacher, theorist, and composer.
Although I did not know Conrad Letendre, I have known the musician's widow since
1979 and have known Raymond Daveluy, one of his most illustrious students, since 1974.
As part of my graduate work at the University of Western Ontario, I undertook a study
of the life and work of Conrad Letendre. Concerning this master's thesis, I wish to
express my thanks and appreciation to Larry Cortner and Jeffrey Stokes for their guidance,
patience, and encouragement in its preparation. The invaluable information contributed
by Michel Perrault and Raymond Daveluy, as well as that supplied by Conrad Letendre's
widow, is also deeply appreciated. I also want to acknowledge the late J. Lansing
MasDowell and Jacques Falardeau for their assistance in translating the article from
the periodical Vie Musicale, and Kirk Reiser of the Computer Braille Facility at the
University of Wester Ontario, who was of great help in making computer printouts of
the various Braille-computer drafts of the afore-mentioned paper.
Concerning this article, Raymond Daveluy provided information that was otherwise
unavailable. In addition, I would like to thank my wife, Shirley, for typing the entire
original manuscript of this article. Sincere gratitude is also expressed to Christopher
Halabecki for retyping the manuscript onto a cumputer disk for future editing, and
to Robert Halabecki for assisting in the proofreading.
This article is not merely an account of this musician but also contains the opinions
of Raymond Daveluy and the author. It is hoped that it will result in a greater appreciation
of this great Canadian musician.
Biography
On August 16, 1977, there was a death that received a great deal of attention by
the media. If the average person would be asked who died in 1977, the answer would
most likely be Elvis Presley. However, there was a death that year that received no
attention at all outside the province of Québec. The name of Conrad Letendre is still
not very well known, yet within that province, he was and is highly regarded as organist,
theorist, teacher, and composer. Unfortunately, there is little available concerning
his life, other than some short biographical notes by his widow in Volume 1 of Letendre's
Organ Works, and an article written by Letendre's student, Jean Chatillon, in the
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Another article by Jean Chatillon, in the same work,
useful in this regard, is one on Gabriel Cusson, one of Conrad Letendre's contemporaries.
It is important that Conrad Letendre, a fine blind musician, should be recognized,
since he was Raymond Daveluy's principal organ teacher.
Conrad Letendre was born in St-Zéphirin-de-Courval (near Trois-Rivières) on January
9, 1904. Although he gradually lost his sight between the ages of two and ten, this
fact did not stop him from attending the local country school. From 1913 to 1927,
he received his education at the Institut Nazareth for blind youth in Montréal. During
this period he was taught violin by Camille Couture, piano and organ by Arthur Letondal,
and theory by Achille Fortier and Romain Pelletier. These teachers had studied in
France with Dubois, Gigout, Guiraud, and Marmontel; therefore Letendre was influenced
by the French school. As a young organist, he performed, among other works, organ
symphonies by Louis Vierne and preludes and fugues by Marcel Dupré, which further
reinforced the French influence.
Upon graduation in 1927, Letendre was appointed organist at the Church of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire
in St-Hyacinthe, Québec, where he became well known for his skill as an improvisor,
especially for his extemporizations before and after Mass. He retained this position
until 1933. Also in 1927, he was appointed as a teacher of piano and organ at the
seminary of St-Hyacinthe, a position he held until 1935.
In 1930, Letendre married Alice Daudelin. Her father, Napoléon Daudelin, was an
organ builder who founded the Canadian Pipe Organ Company, a rival of Casavant Frères
at the time. Alice died three years later, after giving birth to a daughter, Madeleine,
who, like her father, was later to become the organist of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire; she
died in 1966.
From 1936 onwards, Conrad Letendre resided in Montréal. Although he would experience
years of hardship, the lifestyle of the city suited him. He did a great deal of research
and spent much time exchanging views on harmony with another great blind musician,
cellist, theorist, and composer, Gabriel Cusson (1903-72), who had won the « Prix
d'Europe » competition in Québec, in 1924, which allowed him to study in Paris from
1924 to 1930 at the École normale, receiving instruction in composition from the reknowned
teacher Nadia Boulanger. Letendre and Cusson grew up together in the same school and
remained friends throughout their lives.
From 1942 to 1954, Letendre pursued his career simultaneously in St-Hyancinthe and
Montréal. In St-Hyacinthe, he taught in most of the city's religious institutions.
In addition, he was advisor to « La Bonne Chanson » (founded and published by Father
Charles-Émile Gadbois), and from 1952 to 1954, was the editor of the magazine, Musique
et Musiciens. In Montréal, he taught theory and practical subjects privately. In 1943,
he married his 19-year-old srudent, Aline Chenier-Lavergne, who became his assistant.
From 1955 to 1962, he taught harmony as a member of the music faculty at the University
of Montréal. He also taught organ at his alma mater, the Institut Nazareth.
Evidence of his teaching ability can be found in those of his students who have
become prominent and respected in their chosen fields, both in Canada and abroad.
Many of Canada's finest organists studied with him. These include Gaston and Lucienne
Arel, Raymond Daveluy (reknowned organist at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montréal and
also a celebrated improvisor and composer), Kenneth Gilbert (well known organist and
harpsichordist), and Bernard and Mireille Lagacé. Letendre's philosophy of organ playing
was quite innovative, especially for his time. He did not believe in performing a
piece in a totally legato manner, which was espoused by many organ teachers earlier
in the century, and therefore, his ideas on articulation were very progressive. In
addition, Letendre did not believe in performing a work with both hand on the same
keyboard at all times.
In Letendre's philosophy, the melody should be soloed out, and Bach fugues should
be played in « quartet » style, with each voice on a different manual with the bass
part in the pedal. Works that Letendre believed needed such individual treatment are
Bach's Canonic Variations on « Von Himmel hoch » and the five-voice setting of Vater
unser in Himmelreich (BWV 682). The author feels that Letendre's philosophy of organ
registration, controversial as it may seem today, has great musical merit and certainly
would aid in making various organ works clearer to an audience, as in the Bach works
cited.
However, Conrad Letendre' influence was not restricted to organists alone. Two of
his closest disciples were the composer Jean Chatillon and the composer and theorist
Michel Perrault.
As a theorist, Letendre's treatise on harmony is considered to be his most important
achievement. Influenced by the writings of the German theorist Hugo Riemann and the
Belgian theorist François-Auguste Gevaert, Letendre's system of teaching harmony differed
considerably from that of most theorists. According to Jean Chatillon, most theorists
compile hundreds of examples of chosen principles from the « correct » authors, but
the results, in his opinion, is a failure when these theorists « attempt to make their
point and draw a coherent and logical system from the heap of ill-sorted facts that
they have gleaned. » Therefore, in Chatillon's view, each law bears more exceptions
than normal situations. With the Letendre system, on the other hand, as Chatillon
puts it, « Relying on a few simple facts (for example, the dominant-tonic relation),
he weighs each phenomenon that arises and attempts to reduce it to its bare essential. »
From the outset of his career, Conrad Letendre was always interested in the art
of organ building, and he learned a great deal on the subject from Napoléon Daudelin.
In the 1950s, he was consulted by Casavant and entrusted with the design of several
of the larger instruments in Québec, including the organs of St.Sixte in St. Laurent,
Les Saints Martyrs in Victoriaville, and St. Jude in Montréal. His specifications
were followed when the organ of the Gesu Church in Montréal, built by Casavant in
1901, was restored by the firm in 1954.
As a composer, Letendre's compositions are not numerous. The organ works, contained
in three slender volumes published in 1982, were written between 1958 and 1977. Although
he composed little, he did, however, improvise all his life. According to Raymond
Daveluy, Letendre's improvisations were always logical in their development, and one
can also say this about his finely crafted compositions.
With the help of a bursary from « le Ministère des Affaires culturelles » of Québec,
and part of the time at his own expense, Conrad Letendre conducted research in musical
science for several years while continuing to teach organ. He left some teaching works
that touched on his research. As a result of these works, which are still unpublished,
two of his followers, Jean Chatillon and Michel Perrault, along with several others,
founded in 1970 the « Institut de sciences musicales Conrad Letendre », which was
later renamed « Pantonal Inc. ».
Although space forbids the inclusion of a detailed description of the blind music
community and its needs in Québec, it should be noted that Conrad Letendre was concerned
about his fellow blind musicians in Québec, having also taught at the Institut Nazareth.
As a result, he was keen on finding younger people who would be interested in learning
braille in order to maintain the braille music transcription service in Montréal.
In the 1970s, it became increasingly necessary to find younger braille music transcribers
because of the fact that Robert Robitaille, a much respected braille transcriber working
for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, would be retiring.
On November 20, 1977, a conference of blind musicians in Québec was held at the
Louis Braille School in Longueuil, Québec. This conference was concerned with the
transcription of braille into ink-print and vice versa. Conrad Letendre suddenly died,
surrounded by his colleagues.
On the first anniversary of his death, his wife played a recital of his works on
the CBC French radio network (Radio Canada). « Le Festival Conrad Letendre » first
took place in the spring of 1979, and became an annual music event in St. Hyacinthe
until 1983 as a memorial to Letendre and his outstanding contributions to the world
of music. A concert commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death was held at the
Gesu Church in Montreal in 1987.
I have performed Conrad Letendre's organ works in many recitals and church services
anad have lectured for the Royal Canadian College of Organists on his life and work,
having written a master's thesis on the subject at the University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario. It was an honor to have been the first recipient of the « Prix Conrad
Letendre » in 1979. Conrad Letendre was an excellent role model as an innovative Canadian
Blind Musician.
Conclusion
He has had an enormously positive influence on the musical life of Canada, and made
important contributions in this regard.
In summing up, it can be noted that Conrad Letendre had what could be termed « a
quadruple career » or four areas of influence. Fist of all, his teaching ability is
well attested by the fact that, within approximately a 15-year period, he produced
about 90% of the leading organists in the province of Québec.
Second, he was responsible for drawing up the specifications of a number of new
organs as well as the rebuilding of the organ at the Gesu Church in Montréal.
Third, he was a composer. Although he did not produce large-scale works as did Vierne
and Dupré, he did write worthwhile music that deserves to be better known.
Fourth, his importance as a theorist has been stressed. Although evidence of Letendre's
thinking can be found in his own compositions, there are some difficulties in applying
his theories to traditional counterpoint. Jean Chatillon admits this when he writes:
« It is true that the Letendre system is applied to the older counterpoint and fugue
with difficulty, but it relates very well to a renewed counterpoint and a rejuvenated
fugue according to perspective. » In addition to his influence on the music of Raymond
Daveluy, Letendre's harmonic theories have also been taken up and expanded by Michel
Perrault.
Letendre's treatise on harmony was left unfinished and has never been published.
However, considerable work is being done to complete this work in the near future.
This great Canadian musician should be better known for his innovative work.
John W. Vandertuin, FRCCO (Honoris Causa)
CONRAD LETENDRE, A GREAT CANADIAN INNOVATOR
(Excerpted from From The American Organist, January 2006 by Michel Perrault)
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