Romain Gour

Gour, Romain

Romain (Joseph Ferréol) Gour. Baritone, writer, b L'Assomption 19 Aug 1899, d Montreal 22 Jul 1968. He studied with Romain Pelletier and Raoul Paquet and took singing lessons from Salvator Issaurel ca 1921-4. In Montreal he was soloist at St-Léon de Westmount, Notre-Dame, and St-Thomas d'Aquin churches. On 18 Nov 1920 at the St-Denis Theatre he appeared in Massenet's Thaïs and on 25 Mar 1926 at the Gesù Church he sang the role of Jesus in Marc-Antoine Charpentier's oratorio Le Reniement de saint Pierre. With Jacques Gérard, Gaston Favreau, and René Tourangeau, he became a member of the Pro Arte Ensemble, and he sang with the third Issaurel Quartet along with Jeanne Desjardins, Rhéa Labrosse, and Louis La Rue. However his career was short; in 1928 he gave up singing for a career in insurance.

Gour founded, and directed for its entire existence, the quarterly review Qui? (1949-54) in which he wrote biographical essays on Francis Archambault, Alexis Contant, Guillaume Couture, Emma Lajeunesse (Albani), Rodolphe Plamondon, and the sculptor Philippe Hébert. Some were reprinted in Courtes Biographies canadiennes (Montreal, 1949-ca 1952). He was the author of the critical biography La Palme-Issaurel (Montreal 1948) and of a genealogical study, Pierre Gour 1652-1732, Alexis Gour 1814-1892 et ses descendants (Montreal 1936).

See also Émile Gour (his uncle).