Jean-Pierre Ferland remembered as a songwriting genius at national funeral in Montreal
People donning hints of yellow gathered at the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal to pay their respects to the late singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland Saturday morning.
Ferland, who has been described by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "giant" of francophone music, died on April 27 at age 89.
Ferland was given a national funeral by the Quebec government which included eulogies from friends and family and musical performances from the likes of Florence K, Claude Dubois, Melissa Bédard, Ferland's wife Julie Anne Saumur, and Ginette Reno (virtually), among others.
"I knew Jean-Pierre was a monument, but I'm overwhelmed by all the love Quebec has given him," said Saumur.
The couple met on an August evening in 2008 when Ferland performed alongside Céline Dion during the celebration of Quebec City's 400th anniversary on the Plains of Abraham.
"It was the beginning of an extraordinary love that lasted 16 years," remembered Saumur. "The poet in him bewitched the singer in me."
Premier François Legault also spoke at the funeral, saying it was an honour and duty for him to be there.
"Jean-Pierre Ferland was a genius of words and music, a genius that marked the lives of Quebecers," he said.
"Like many Quebec singers, in the 60s, Jean-Pierre left for a few years to Paris but despite his successes in Europe, he was homesick which is why in '68 he sang '[start] the fire in the chimney, I'm coming back home."
Two years later he released the "revolutionary" album, as described by Legault, Jaune which translates to "yellow" in French.
"It was as good as the Beatles but it was in French, it was québécois — songs that spoke to us," remembered Legault.
Following eulogies by Ferland's children, Julie and Bruno Ferland, film director Pierre Séguin shared a clip from a movie he filmed with Ferland which was supposed to be about his last tour in 2007.
"My life is like the river [I know] the flow of the water will never change, that, like the river, I'll end up in the ocean but in the end it doesn't scare me," said Ferland. "I think life is long enough, we have enough time to do what we need to do. I would not want to come back, not at all. I don't want to believe in reincarnation because I don't want to come back."
"What more can you ask for, I've been loved and I've loved a lot."
