Alexandre M. Clerk

Alexandre M. (Marie) Clerk. Choirmaster, teacher, b Montreal 31 Aug 1861, d there 27 Jul 1932. In 1896 he succeeded R.-O. Pelletier as choirmaster at the Gesù Church. Under his direction the choir performed Dubois's Le Paradis perdu, the choral portions of Mendelssohn's Athalie, Massenet's La Vierge and Marie-Magdeleine, and The Sun-Worshippers by the English composer Arthur Goring Thomas. In 1903 Clerk succeeded Charles Labelle as choirmaster at Saint-Louis-de-France Church. He also took over the direction of the Assn chorale Saint-Louis-de-France and conducted oratorios and concert performances of opera with orchestra. He harmonized four plainsong masses and composed other sacred music. Most of his works later were destroyed by fire. His grandnephew, André Clerk, was a producer of music programs for the CBC.