Faces of our history: Frantz Jéhin-Prume, the music of a beautiful era

FROM BELGIUM TO MONTREAL

The history of music in Quebec conceals ancient treasures that are unfortunately little visited today. In French-Canadian artistic and literary circles at the end of the 19th century, we remember Louis Fréchette, Calixa Lavallée, Arthur Buies… All were friends and collaborators of Frantz Jéhin-Prume (1839-1899) , a talented violinist, who was not destined to settle in Quebec. Born in Spa, Belgium, he began studying the violin at the age of four. As an adult, he went on European and American tours, which took him on vacation to Montreal in 1865. The musical milieu of the time, from the Jesuits to Calixa Lavallée, asked him to perform in Montreal halls. He was welcomed at the Gésu, at the Nordheimer room and at the Mechanic’s Hall. He then met a young singer who would become his wife in 1866, Rosita Del Vecchio. Their marriage, which filled Notre-Dame Church, and their successes on the North American tour convinced Jéhin-Prume to settle in Montreal.

ROSITA DEL VECCHIO, PARTNER AT THE STAGE AND IN THE CITY

Rosita Del Vecchio, born in Montreal in 1846, descends from a family of Italian origin who arrived in Montreal at the end of the 18th century. Endowed with a remarkable mezzo-soprano voice, she was also gifted for acting and tragedy. She even acquired the nickname “Sarah Bernhardt of Canada”, a compliment that must have been worth its weight in gold at the time when the great French tragedian was at the height of her fame. Del Vecchio herself had had another well-known singer as a classmate: Emma Albani. After European musical classes, she took part in her husband’s tours in America and created roles in plays by Louis Fréchette, notably the Rose Laurier in his historical drama. Papineau. She will give Jéhin-Prume a son before dying in 1881 just a few days after giving birth to a second child. His last words, “let me sleep”, will be translated into a poem by Fréchette set to music by Jéhin-Prume.

HERITAGE MUSICAL

After Rosita’s death, Jéhin-Prume goes on tour again, remarries, but according to her friends, something has broken. In addition to experiencing the mourning of Rosita Del Vecchio, Jéhin-Prume, like many French-Canadian artists of his time, dreamed of recognition in European cities more accustomed, at the time, to valuing classical art. Nevertheless, he returned to Montreal for good in 1885. He devoted himself to teaching the violin and building a cultural life that fostered the emergence of local talent. Recognized for his solid technique and the quality of his sonorities, he composed nearly a hundred original works, of which barely twenty have survived. In 1892, he was one of the founders of the Montreal Artistic Association, the first regular professional chamber music association in Quebec. In a young country where the essential was to be built artistically, Jéhin-Prume remains one of the first artists of international caliber to adopt Canada and Quebec.