Music and tributes in spotlight at Jean-Pierre Ferland's national funeral

Music and the colour yellow punctuated the state funeral of singer Jean-Pierre Ferland on Saturday in Montreal, where family, friends and public figures paid their last respects.

The Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral was filled with yellow flowers and guests' clothing, in reference to Ferland's 1970 album "Jaune", which included "Le Petit Roi".

The singer's urn, also the color of sunlight, was brought to the altar to the sound of "Je Reviens Chez Nous", at the stroke of 11 a.m.

"In my eyes, my father was a firework. High, tall and bright," said his daughter Julie Ferland, alongside her brother, Bruno Ferland. "At the end of his life, Dad was peaceful and happy. He went peacefully, and he smiled his superb, playful smile right up to the last moment."

His partner of the last 16 years, Julie Anne Saumur, also delivered a touching speech to the "man of her life".

"You put music in my life. You took me a little higher, a little further. When I saw your face, it lit up like the sun, you said in the hollow of my ear: you're beautiful. And I knew you were my love, and I was your mistress," she said, recalling the day they met, Aug. 22, 2008, the night Ferland sang a duet on the Plains of Abraham with Céline Dion and Ginette Reno.

"What a beautiful life journey we took together," she said. "I'll always be grateful for having had the chance to share a part of my life with you. Thank you for these 16 beautiful years of happiness, but I would have taken many more."

Julie-Anne Saumur, speaks during the national funeral of her husband Quebec singer Jean-Pierre Ferland at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

She also performed a moving rendition of Ferland's well-known song, "Une chance qu'on s'a", with singer Mélissa Bédard. The audience rose to their feet and applauded the two women warmly for several minutes.  

Julie-Anne Saumur, wife of Quebec singer Jean-Pierre Ferland, pays her respects as he lies in repose, Friday, May 31, 2024 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press)

Claude Dubois also sang "Si Dieu existe", and the funeral concluded with "Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin", performed by Ginette Reno, via video.

Singer Florence K also sang "La musique", and Jean-Sébastien Lavoie did "Je ne veux pas dormir ce soir".

Premier François Legault spoke at the start of the ceremony, presided over by Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine, to underline the legacy of a "giant".

"Jean-Pierre Ferland was a genius of words and music, a genius who marked the lives of Quebecers," said Legault. "What's exceptional about Jean-Pierre Ferland's work is his mastery of words, his poetry. It's intelligent, it speaks to the heart."

Quebec Premier Francois Legault speaks during the national funeral of Quebec singer Jean-Pierre Ferland at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

Marc-François Bernier, who wrote the biography "Jean-Pierre Ferland: Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin", also spoke at the ceremony.

"Through his work, Jean-Pierre taught generations of men that it was possible to have emotion in love and tenderness," he said. "He taught them that seduction through humour, words and melody was the primary condition of consent, long before it was the topic of the day. It's a fine legacy, especially in these times when speech is often violent."

Sylvie Ferland, the eldest daughter of Antoine Ferland, the singer's brother, delivered a message from her father.

"I love you, to say the least, and I'm proud to be your brother," she said. "In all humility, but from the bottom of my heart, from your biggest fan and admirer, your brother Antoine, rest in peace, may your star shine in the center of your successes, which will light up our hearts, forever."

"It doesn't scare me to die"

Director Pierre Séguin paid tribute to his friend, thanking Ferland "on behalf of all the television technicians he worked with".

He then showed an excerpt from a video of Ferland, which he shot while making a film about his "supposed last tour", in New Richmond, Gaspésie.

"One morning, before going to do his show in the evening, he said to me: ‘Take your camera, come to the back (of the hotel), I need to talk to you’."

To the sound of “T'es belle” and “Le soleil emmène au soleil”, performed in the cathedral by pianist François Cousineau, who composed some of the artist's songs, the video extract was played.

It shows Ferland on a bridge over a small river, speaking frankly about his relationship with death.

"I don't want to die in a brutal accident, like a car crash, I wouldn't like that. I don't want to die sick either," said Ferland. "I'm not afraid of dying.

“I've been loved, I've loved a lot. Love has been my source of life, my source of inspiration. Women have embellished my life, I can't ask for more than that. I've had a good life, I want to have a good, peaceful death." 

On Friday, the public was able to pay their last respects to Jean-Pierre Ferland, who was laid to rest in a chapelle ardente at Place des Arts' Théâtre Maisonneuve.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante pays her respects as Quebec singer Jean-Pierre Ferland lies in repose, Friday, May 31, 2024 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press)

The singer-songwriter passed away on April 27 at the age of 89 of natural causes. He had been hospitalized since Feb. 14 at CHSLD Desy, in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Lanaudière.

He would have turned 90 on the next Fête nationale, June 24.

This report by The Canadian press was first published in French on June 1, 2024.