Brother Basile

Brother Basile

Brother Basile (b Simon Néron). Ethnomusicologist, teacher, b Roberval, near Chicoutimi, Que, 18 Apr 1906, d Roma, Lesotho, Southern Africa, 5 Sep 1973; L MUS (Montreal) 1941, D MUS (Montreal) 1946. He joined the order of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart at St-Hyacinthe in 1918. He studied African music during his assignments as a missionary 1933-7 in Sudan, 1937-9 in Madagascar, and 1939-49 and 1954-71 in Lesotho. He obtained a licentiate for his thesis, 'Le symbolisme en musique' (Symbolism in Music), and a doctorate for 'La musique chez les Noirs d'Afrique' (Music in Black Africa), published under the title Au rythme des tambours (Montreal 1949). Recognized as a specialist in African music, Brother Basile contributed articles to European and South African publications including African Music (vol 1, 1957, vol 2, 1958), La Revue musicale (no. 239-40, 1958), Worldmission (vol 10, 1959), and Journal of the International Folk Music Council (vol 11, 1959). He was also a poet, entomologist, philatelist, and educator.