Liturgical Music in French Canada

[note: ‘French Canada’ refers not only to the province of Quebec, but also to the pockets of French-speaking people in all parts of Canada] Early history Roman Catholic liturgical music was brought to New France in the 17th century by French missionaries and peasants. In the 1640s the Jesuit Relations (Relations des jésuites, Paris, 1632-72) referred to music sung by the peoples of the First Nations and French settlers. One of the songs that has survived and is sung at Christmas time in churches across Canada in both French and English is the carol ‘Jesous Ahatonia’ (‘Jesus Is Born’), also known as the ‘Noël Huron’. Jean de Brébeuf*, a missionary in the Great Lakes region, is thought to...