Oscar O'Brien

Oscar O'Brien (7 September 1892 – 20 September 1958) was a Canadian folklorist, composer, pianist, organist, music educator, and Roman Catholic priest. A large portion of his compositions were based in folklore and he also arranged and harmonized roughly 400 French and Canadian folksongs; many of which were written for his collaborations with Charles Marchand and the Alouette Vocal Quartet. He worked as an arranger or accompanist on numerous 78 rpm recordings for such labels as Bluebird, Brunswick, Columbia, Starr, and Victor. He contributed numerous articles on folklore to publications like Le Canada français and was a frequent lecturer on folklore subjects. In 1978 CBC Radio recognized O'Brien in a series of six broadcasts featuring his harmonizations.

Birth and Death Data: Born September 7, 1892 (Ottawa), Died September 20, 1958 (Montreal)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: arranger, songwriter, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick E20534-E20535 10-in. 10/27/1926 La valse des belles mères Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Brunswick E20546-E20547 10-in. 10/27/1926 Le laboureur Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Brunswick E20548-E20549 10-in. 10/27/1926 Le pont d‘Longueuil Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Brunswick E20550-E20551 10-in. 10/27/1926 Dans un p’tit bois Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano arranger  
Brunswick E20554-E20555 10-in. 10/27/1926 Dans tous les cantons Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 10367 10-in. 5/12/1925 Dans tous les cantons Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 10368 10-in. 5/12/1925 J'ai c't' épaule qui m'branle Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano arranger  
Edison 10369 10-in. 5/13/1925 Dans le petit bois de l'ail Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with orchestra arranger  
Edison 10370 10-in. 5/13/1925 La grand' d'mande Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Edison 11552 10-in. 3/3/1927 Dans un p'tit bois Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with orchestra arranger  
Edison 11556 10-in. 3/4/1927 La rengaine de Merle Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano arranger  
Victor (Canada) [ViC cat 263572-A] 10-in. approximately November 1928 La valse des belles-mères Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  
Victor (Canada) [ViC cat 263572-B] 10-in. approximately November 1928 La grand' d'mande Charles Marchand Male vocal solo, with piano songwriter  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "O'Brien, Oscar," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115193.

O'Brien, Oscar. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115193.

"O'Brien, Oscar." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115193

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