(Re)discover Lionel Daunais 40 Years After His Passing with Marc Bourdeau

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Montréal composer Lionel Daunais' passing, the Centrediscs label and Marc Bourdeau, pianist and producer, invite us to (re)discover some of his best-known works thanks to LIONEL DAUNAIS mélodies . songs, a new album slated for release on 1 April 2022.

For more than 50 years, Lionel Daunais had an undeniable influence on Québec's lyric arts scene through his many activities as a singer, composer, lyricist, stage director, radio personality, and artistic director.

Mr. Bourdeau was a teenager when he first encountered the diverse work of Lionel Daunais, and over the years, he has had the opportunity of performing this repertoire in concert and on the radio, with an always enthusiastic response from the audience.

"Seeing that the 40th anniversary of his death was approaching, I said to myself that we absolutely had to record a beautiful album, on the one hand to celebrate Daunais' considerable contribution to the development of Québec musical life, and on the other to allow people, here and abroad, to discover or rediscover this outstanding songwriter.", explained Mr. Bourdeau, adding, "We were very fortunate to receive generous financial support from the Canada Council for the Arts so as to carry out our project."

Five Performers, Canada and Switzerland

This new album is the only one where the lovely songs of Lionel Daunais are performed by 5 excellent classical musicians from Canada and Switzerland:

• Jacqueline Woodley, soprano
• Annina Haug, mezzo-soprano
• Pierre Rancourt, baritone
• Michel Bellavance, flute
• Marc Bourdeau, piano and arrangement

The programme is composed of 27 works - sung in solo, duo and trio - that reflect the diversity of styles of Lionel Daunais' writing: French mélodies, pop tunes, humorous folk-inspired songs, and songs for young people. The lyrics are by French and Québec poets, including Daunais himself. To find out more: https://lioneldaunais.com.

In addition to the repertoire on the album, Mr. Bourdeau released three more songs as singles available on streaming platforms:

• « La tourtière » (vocal trio and piano), released on 4 February
• « Le voyage de noces » (baritone and piano), released on 4 March
• « Chanson des amours perdues » (soprano and piano), released on 18 March

Marc Bourdeau is a Canadian pianist, chamber musician and vocal coach from Montréal. He has performed in renowned venues in Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, New York, Munich, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Zürich, and his widely acclaimed discography contains a dozen albums.

Need more Montreal Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...