Albert Viau, a Canadian singer, was born in Montréal on November 6, 1910. His musical journey began with piano studies from 1918 to 1926 under Arthur Caron, whose daughter he later married in 1936. Viau then shifted his focus to vocal music, studying voice with Victor Brault and Arthur Laurendeau, prosody with Conrad Letendre, Gregorian chant with Dom Georges Mercure, and harmony with Oscar O'Brien, Roland Van de Goor, and Michel Perrault.
Viau made his professional debut in 1931 at Loew's Theatre, performing in the opera "Roméo et Juliette," which featured notable artists such as Edward Johnson, Léon Rothier, and Lionel Daunais. During the 1930s, he also taught tailoring alongside his father, and after his father's accidental death in 1935, Viau continued the classes independently. In 1934, he succeeded Léopold Fortin in Paul-Émile Corbeil's barbershop quartet, Les Grenadiers impériaux, and later joined Thérèse Laurendeau and Paul Demeules in the trio Les Masques.
Viau became a prominent voice in French-language radio, appearing on programs like "La petite histoire" and "Le chanteur de lied" in 1934, broadcast by what is now known as the Société Radio-Canada (SRC). He was a familiar presence for 21 years on "Le réveil rural" (SRC, 1937-1967) and for 15 years on "Le quart d'heure de la Bonne Chanson" (SRC and CKAC, 1939-1953). His radio work also included shows such as "Sur les boulevards" (SRC, 1938-1941), "L'heure des vedettes" (CKAC, 1938-1941), and "Chansons de chez-nous" (CKAC, 1944). In March 1944, he performed at Georges Dufresne's Théâtre de l'opérette in "Les dragons de Villars," sharing the stage with Caro Lamoureux and Raymond Cardin.
Throughout this period, Viau held several recitals across Canada and the United States. In the 1940s, he recorded over 80 songs from Abbé Charles-Émile Gadbois' "Bonne Chanson" songbooks for RCA Victor. He is perhaps best known for singing "Reine du rosaire," the theme song for the radio program "Le chapelet en famille" (CKAC, 1951-1969), which resonated with an entire generation. Viau composed over 200 songs, hymns, and masses for the deceased during these years. He also joined David Rochette, François Brunet, and Omer Durenceau as tenor in the folk quartet Les Troubadours du Québec, featured on the SRC program "V'là l'bon vent" from 1949 to 1951. Additionally, he was part of the Quatuor B.A., which included Paul-Émile Corbeil, François Brunet, and Raymond Cardin on "La route enchantée."
In February 1952, Viau co-founded the Quatuor 1900 with David Rochette, Raymond Cardin, and Thérèse Davy. This quartet was featured at the cabaret Le Montmartre (formerly Faisan doré) and on the SRC radio network in "Variétés 1900" until 1954. Alongside his singing career, Viau translated, arranged, and composed around 1,500 radio and television advertisements from 1948 to 1971. He also directed various choirs, including the Chanteurs modernes and the Ménestrels laurentiens.
During the 1953-1954 period, Viau worked as a producer for the radio station CJMS in Montréal, where Abbé Gadbois served as director. He also directed and arranged for several vocal groups, such as Boute-en-train (with Louis Bourdon and Omer Duranceau) and held the position of choirmaster at Saint-Sixte Church in Saint-Laurent from 1950 to 1983. Viau provided voice, piano, guitar, and recorder lessons at his two music studios—one at his home on Cardinal Street in Saint-Laurent and another on Sainte-Catherine Street in Montréal. From 1965 to 1986, he taught music for the Montréal Catholic School Commission. Albert Viau passed away on June 27, 2001.
Throughout his career, he recorded songs under the pseudonym Jacques Dupont and composed works as Paul Marcil and Bill Caron. His publishing company, Éditions Albert-Viau, released two songbooks: "Six chansonnettes pour bambins et bambines" (1954) and "Six chansons enfantines" (1958). He collaborated with Camille Andréa to create songs for Les Élèves Du Studio Brasseur, including the album "Premiers Pas". Additionally, he had a small role in the Quebec film "Le père Chopin" (1945).
Albert Viau's archives, housed by the Société d'histoire de la Haute-Yamaska, include complete recordings, sheet music, arrangements from the Cahiers de la Bonne Chanson, unpublished recordings for "Le réveil rural," concert and tour programs, newspaper clippings, and sacred choir arrangements. Additional materials, including sheet music and photographs, are preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec in Montréal.
Source: Unpublished research notes by Robert Thérien, music researcher, Montréal.
