ART OF FUNERAL CEREMONY - "FINDING THE SOUL OF THE DEAD BUT LIVE WITH LIVE!"

by Bernard Bujold - 
I'm not a fan of funerals and I very rarely attends the funeral ceremonies, with some exceptions. For the past 20 years, I participated on site in no more than three or four ceremonies, contenting myself for the rest to watch the ceremony on television. 
Because Rene Angelil indirectly was part of one of my former lives, I wanted to attend the presentation on site as I had done in 2013 for Paul Desmarais Sr. or in 2009 for Gilles Carle. 
To be effective, a funeral ceremony should reflect the personality of the deceased. We should be able to feel his soul over in the Church. 
I remember Gilles Carle where Chloe Sainte Marie sang but also when the sculptor Armand Vaillancourt took the microphone to criticize the society. Real anger in the temple... 
 The most sumptuous ceremony was undoubtedly the one of Paul Desmarais. The Orchestre Métropolitain in full force and hundreds of dignitaries. The René Angélil ceremony was of great class and if sobriety was present, one could feel the love that Celine had for her husband. There are no large or small ceremony as long as one can reach the soul of the deceased. 
 But, as my namesake Bernard Arnault said to his wife the pianist Hélène Mercier crying the tragic death of her sister: "We must take care of the living or we will live as dead before our time ..." 
Long live life!
Photos 1 and 7: Notre Dame Montreal;
Photos 2 and 3: Celine Dion;
Photo 4: Paul Desmarais Sr;
Photos 5 and 6: Ceremony Gilles Carle;
Photo 8: Flowers;
SEE PHOTOS Art funeral ceremonies;

RENÉ ANGÉLIL (1942-2016)

By Bernard Bujold (LeStudio1) - 
Two days before his 74th birthday (January 16) the creator and manager of the Quebec singer Céline Dion, René Angélil, died January 14, 2016 in Los Angeles. 
A page of history that turns and ends... 
Personally, if I photographed a dozen times René Angélil and Céline Dion, we do not really know each other. The reason is that my former boss at Quebecor, Pierre Péladeau (father) did not like him even if both men started in the same profession as Péladeau began his career as artist manager and opera concerts organizer. A gig with an Italian singer went wrong financially and Pierre Péladeau had decided to embark on the printing business but with the hope of one day returning to his true love. This never occurred because Péladeau became a media mogul. But he always loved artists. 
I think he was jealous of the success of René Angélil although the reason is perhaps the friendship between Rene and Guy Cloutier. Indeed, Péladeau said that Cloutier owed him money following advances on the production of a music album by Quebecor that would not have covered his expenses... Cloutier disputed this argument and he never wanted repay. 
Anyway, I have always greatly admired Rene Angélil and I have always considered him as the greatest of all artist managers. 
I am very saddened by his death and my pain goes beyond its mere death. For me it is a page of the story of my life that also ends. René Angélil was part of my generation and his departure means in a way the end of this generation. 
Of course,  some would say: "Such is life..."
Photos 1 and 6: René Angélil;
Photo 2, 3, 4 and 5: René Angélil and Celine Dion;
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