Chanson (French for "song") refers to any song with French words, but more specifically classic, lyric-driven French songs, European songs in the cabaret style, or a diverse range of songs interpreted in this style. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other A singer specializing in chansons is known as a chansonnier; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere A chansonnier (cançoner cançonièr Galician and cancioneiro canzoniere or canzoniéro cancionero is a Manuscript or printed book which contains a
In a more specialised usage, the word 'chanson' refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony Early chansons tended to be in one of the formes fixes, ballade, rondeau or virelai, though some composers later set popular poetry in a variety of forms. Formes fixes (English fixed forms) are French poetic forms of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries which were translated into musical forms A ballade (French for "ballad' pronounced bah-LAHD refers to a one-movement musical piece with lyrical and dramatic narrative qualities This article is about the poetry form For other uses see Rondeau. A virelai is a form of Medieval French verse used often in Poetry and Music.
The earliest chansons were for two, three or four voices, with first three becoming the norm, expanding to four voices by the 16th century. Sometimes, the singers were accompanied by instruments. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music.
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Early chansons
The first important composer of chansons was Guillaume de Machaut, who composed three-voice works in the formes fixes during the 14th century. Guillaume de Machaut, sometimes spelled Machault (c 1300 – April 1377 was an important Medieval French Poet and Composer. Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois, who wrote so-called Burgundian chansons (because they were from the area known as Burgundy), were the most important chanson composers of the next generation (c. Guillaume Dufay ( Du Fay, Du Fayt) ( August 5, 1397 ? &ndash November 27, 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer Gilles Binchois, also known as Gilles de Binche or Gilles de Bins (c Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) 1420-1470). Their chansons somewhat simple in style, are also generally in three voices with a structural tenor. Later 15th- and early 16th-century figures in the genre included Johannes Ockeghem and Josquin Desprez, whose works cease to be constrained by formes fixes and begin to feature a similar pervading imitation to that found in contemporary motets and liturgical music. Johannes Ockeghem (also Jean de; surname Okeghem, Ogkegum, Okchem, Hocquegam, Ockegham; other variant spellings are also Josquin des Prez (c 1450 to 1455 &ndash August 27 1521 often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions At mid-century, Claudin de Sermisy and Clément Janequin were composers of so-called Parisian chansons, which also abandoned the formes fixes and were in a simpler, more homophonic style, sometimes featuring music that was meant to be evocative of certain imagery. Claudin de Sermisy (c 1490 &ndash October 13, 1562) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Clément Janequin (c 1485 in Châtellerault, near Poitiers &ndash 1558 in Paris) was a French composer of the Renaissance. In Music, homophony (hoʊˈmɒfəni from Greek "homófonos" where ομοιο = the same and φωνή = a sound tone is a texture in which two or more Many of these Parisian works were published by Pierre Attaingnant. Pierre Attaingnant (c 1494 &ndash late 1551 or 1552 was a French music printer active in Paris. Composers of their generation, as well as later composers, such as Orlando de Lassus, were influenced by the Italian madrigal. Orlande de Lassus (also Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, or Roland Delattre) (1532 (possibly 1530 &ndash June A madrigal is a type of Secular vocal music composition written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras Many early instrumental works were ornamented variations (diminutions) on chansons, with this genre becoming the canzone, a progenitor of the sonata. Literally "song" in Italian, a canzone (plural canzoni) (cognate with English to Chant) is an Italian or Provençal Usage of sonata The Baroque applied the term sonata to a variety of works though most works in the Baroque Period were fugues and toccatas
The first book of sheet music printed from movable type was Harmonice Musices Odhecaton, a collection of 96 chansons by many composers, published in Venice in 1501 by Ottaviano Petrucci. The Harmonice Musices Odhecaton (also known simply as the Odhecaton) was an anthology of secular Songs published by Ottaviano Petrucci Ottaviano Petrucci ( June 18, 1466 – May 7 1539) was an Italian printer
Later chansons
French solo song developed in the late 16th century, probably from the aforementioned Parisian works. During the 17th century, the air de cour, chanson pour boire, and other like genres, generally accompanied by lute or keyboard, flourished, with contributions by such composers as Antoine Boesset, Denis Gaultier, Michel Lambert, and Michel-Richard de Lalande. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The Air de cour was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the very late Renaissance and early Baroque period from about 1570 until Chanson pour boire is a term for a French Drinking song, frequently coupled with chanson pour danser (or "song for dancing" Denis Gaultier (1603 &ndash January 1672 was a French Lutenist and Composer. Michel Richard Delalande Lalande (1657 &ndash June 18, 1726) was a prolific French Baroque Composer and Organist who was one
During the 18th century, vocal music in France was dominated by Opera, but solo song underwent a Renaissance in the 19th, first with salon melodies, but by mid-century with highly sophisticated works influenced by the German Lieder which had been introduced into the country. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Salon music was a popular Music genre in Europe during the 19th century In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or de Lied (plural de Lieder) (liːt plural) is a German word meaning literally " Song " among English speakers however the word Louis Niedermeyer, under the particular spell of Schubert was a pivotal figure in this movement, followed by Édouard Lalo, Felicien David, and many others. Abraham Louis Niedermeyer ( 27 April 1802 &ndash 14 March 1861) was a Composer chiefly of Church music but also of Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo ( 27 January 1823 &ndash 22 April 1892) was a French Composer of Spanish descent Félicien-César David, b April 13, 1810 in Caudenet ( Vaucluse &ndash d Later 19th-century composers of French song, called either melodie or chanson, included Ernest Chausson, Emmanuel Chabrier, Gabriel Fauré, and Claude Debussy, while many 20th-century French composers have continued this strong tradition. Amédée-Ernest Chausson ( January 20, 1855 &ndash June 10, 1899) was a French romantic Composer who died just ( Alexis-) Emmanuel Chabrier ( January 18, 1841 – September 13, 1894) was a French Romantic Composer Gabriel Urbain Fauré ( 12 May 1845 &ndash 4 November 1924) was a French Composer, Organist, Pianist Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on
See also the early medieval heroic lays called Chansons de geste, which were declaimed (from memory) rather than actually being sung. The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of Heroic deeds lineages" are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature
Popular Chanson
In France today "chanson" often refers to the work of more popular singers like Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Édith Piaf, Camille, etc. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Georges Brassens (ʒɔʁʒ bʁaˈsɛ̃s in French (22 October 1921 - 29 October 1981 was a French Singer-songwriter. Jacques Romain Georges Brel (ʒak bʀɛl in French (8 April 1929 &ndash 9 October 1978 was a Belgian Singer-songwriter. Édith Piaf (December 19 1915&mdashOctober 10 1963 was a French singer and cultural icon who "is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer Camille Dalmais, better known as Camille (born in 1978 in Paris, France) is a French Singer, Songwriter and occasional Chanson is distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music by following the rhythm of the French language, rather than that of English, and thus is identifiable as specifically French.
See also
External links
- ABC of Chansons including lyrics (French)
- French Chansons selection (French)
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