McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Ferval, Vincent, 1911-1953
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- McCaughan, Paul-Émile, 1911-1953
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1911-1953
History
French-Canadian organist and composer Paul-Émile McCaughan (pseudonym Vincent Ferval) attended the Conservatoire national de musique in Montreal and studied under the renowned organist Georges-Émile Tanguay. He received his “license en musique avec distinction” and later a doctorate. He composed both popular songs and religious pieces in the 1930s and 1940s. He also was awarded a “license” in theology and became first a priest and then an abbé. For the popular waltzes and songs that he composed, he often used the pseudonym “Vincent Ferval.” He collaborated with such lyricists as Pierre Janquin and Alain Rivière for such songs as “La valse de muguet” and “La valse de souvenir” respectively. He also composed music to accompany the poetry of François Hertel (pseudonym of Quebec author, Rodolphe Dubé). In 1946 he wrote a book, “La philosophie de la musique.”