Marcel Saint-Cyr

Saint-Cyr, Marcel

Marcel Saint-Cyr. Cellist, viola da gamba and baryton player, teacher, b Quebec City, 20 May 1938; premier prix cello (CMQ) 1961, BA (Laval) 1961, concert diploma (Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Karlsruhe, Germany) 1964. Born into a family of musicians, he entered the CMQ where he studied cello with Lucien Plamondon and Walter Joachim. He took summer courses with Paul Tortelier and Leonard Rose (1958) and Enrico Mainardi (1964). In Paris and Siena he worked with André Navarra (1961-2) and in Karlsruhe with Leo Koscielny (1962-4).

In 1960 he founded and directed the Jannequin Choir. Following conducting lessons in Europe with Bruno Amaducci, Jean Fournet, and Artur Grüber, he became (1964) director of the choir of Laval University. In 1965, he was a founding member of the Orford String Quartet, and remained with the ensemble until 1980, making numerous recordings including all of Beethoven's string quartets. Saint-Cyr also studied viola da gamba with Otto Joachim (1961), Peggie Sampson in Toronto (1980) and Wieland Kuijken in Belgium (1980-1). While in Europe, he also studied the baryton with Riki Gerardy in London and Janos Liebner in Linz. In 1981 he founded the Ensemble de baryton Eisenstadt with the purpose of bringing to light the many works which Haydn wrote for this instrument. In 1986 the ensemble recorded four trios by Haydn on SNE 524; in 1990 it was in all likelyhood the only ensemble of its kind in Canada. Saint-Cyr has taught at the University of Toronto (1968-80), the University of Montreal (1981-4) and the CMM (1986-8). He joined McGill University in 1984. With flutist Robert Langevin and pianist Berta Rosenohl-Grinhauz, he has recorded the Suite miniature by Champagne on 4-ACM 30 (1987), and, with pianist Paul Helmer, Rodolphe Mathieu'sSonata, released on 4-ACM 32 (1988).

His brother, dom André Saint-Cyr, is an organist, a pianist and a composer who is mostly active as a tenor and an expert on Gregorian chant. In 1990 he directed the Gregorian choir of St-Jean-Baptiste church in Montreal and, as well, the choir of the St-Benoît-du-Lac Abbey. With the latter ensemble and organist dom André Laberge, dom André Saint-Cyr has recorded the LP Chant grégorien (Radio Québec SBL-1980).

Writings

'The baryton: king of instruments!' Continuo, Mar 1984