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| Chanson | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Poetry |
| Cultural origins | Latemedieval era,France |
| Derivative forms | |
Achanson (UK:/ˈʃɒ̃sɒ̃/,[1]US:/ʃɑːnˈsɔːn/;[2] French:chanson française[ʃɑ̃sɔ̃fʁɑ̃sɛːz]ⓘ,lit. 'Frenchsong') is generally anylyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secularpolyphonic French songs of latemedieval andRenaissance music or to a specific style ofFrench pop music which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.[3][4][5] Thegenre had origins in themonophonic songs oftroubadours andtrouvères, though the only polyphonic precedents were 16 works byAdam de la Halle and one byJehan de Lescurel.[6] Not until thears nova composerGuillaume de Machaut did any composer write a significant number of polyphonic chansons.[6]
A broad term, the wordchanson literally means "song" in French and can thus less commonly refer to a variety of (usuallysecular) French genres throughout history. This includes the songs ofchansonnier,chanson de geste andGrand chant; court songs of the late Renaissance and earlyBaroque music periods,air de cour; popular songs from the 17th to 19th century,bergerette,brunette,chanson pour boire,pastourelle, andvaudeville;art song of theromantic era,mélodie; and folk music,chanson populaire [fr].[4] Since the 1990s, the term may be used forNouvelle Chanson, a French song that often contains poetic or political content.[3]
The earliestchansons were theepic poems performed to simplemonophonic melodies by a professional class ofjongleurs orménestrels. These usually recounted the famous deeds (geste) of past heroes, legendary and semi-historical. TheSong of Roland is the most famous of these, but in general thechansons de geste are studied as literature since very little of their music survives.
Thechanson courtoise orgrand chant was an early form of monophonicchanson, the chief lyric poetic genre of thetrouvères. It was an adaptation toOld French of theOccitancanso. It was practised in the 12th and 13th centuries. Thematically, as its name implies, it was a song ofcourtly love, written usually by a man to his noble lover. Some laterchansons were polyphonic and some hadrefrains and were calledchansons avec des refrains.
In its typical specialized usage, the wordchanson refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.[4] Earlychansons tended to be in one of theformes fixes—ballade,rondeau orvirelai (formerly thechanson baladée)—though some composers later set popular poetry in a variety of forms. 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 byinstruments.
The first important composer ofchansons wasGuillaume de Machaut, who composed three-voice works in theformes fixes during the 14th century.[6]
Two composers fromBurgundy,Guillaume Du Fay andGilles Binchois, who wrote so-called Burgundianchansons,[7] dominated the subsequent generation of chanson composers (c. 1420–1470).[8] Their chansons, while somewhat simple in style, are also generally in three voices with a structural tenor. These works are typically still 3 voices, with an active upper voice (discantus) pitched above two lower voices (tenor and altus) usually sharing the same range.[8] MusicologistDavid Fallows includes the Burgundian repertoire inA Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs 1415–1480.
Later 15th- and early 16th-century figures in the genre includedJohannes Ockeghem andJosquin des Prez, whose works cease to be constrained byformes fixes and begin to feature a pervading imitation (all voices sharing material and moving at similar speeds), similar to that found in contemporarymotets and liturgical music. The first book of music printed from movable type wasHarmonice Musices Odhecaton, a collection of ninety-six chansons by many composers, published in Venice in 1501 byOttaviano Petrucci.
Beginning in the late 1520s through mid-century,Claudin de Sermisy,Pierre Certon,Clément Janequin, andPhilippe Verdelot were composers of so-called Parisianchansons, which also abandoned theformes fixes,[clarification needed] often featured four voices, and were in a simpler, morehomophonic style. This genre sometimes featured music that was meant to be evocative of certain imagery such as birds or the marketplace. Many of these Parisian works were published byPierre Attaingnant. Composers of their generation, as well as later composers, such asOrlando de Lassus,[clarification needed] were influenced by the Italianmadrigal.
French solo song developed in the late 16th century, probably from the aforementioned Parisian works. During the 17th century, theair de cour,chanson pour boire and other like genres, generally accompanied by lute or keyboard, flourished, with contributions by such composers asAntoine Boesset,Denis Gaultier,Michel Lambert andMichel-Richard de Lalande. This still affects today's chanson as many French musicians still employ harp and keyboard.
During the 18th century, vocal music in France was dominated byopera, but solo song underwent a renaissance in the 19th century, first withsalonmelodies and then by mid-century with highly sophisticated works influenced by the GermanLieder, which had been introduced into the country.Louis Niedermeyer, under the particular spell ofSchubert, was a pivotal figure in this movement, followed byÉdouard Lalo,Felicien David and many others.
Another offshoot ofchanson, calledchanson réaliste (realist song), was a popular musical genre in France, primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II.[9][10] Born of thecafés-concerts andcabarets of theMontmartre district ofParis and influenced by literary realism and the naturalist movements in literature and theatre,chanson réaliste was a musical style which was mainly performed by women and dealt with the lives of Paris's poor and working class.[9][11][12] Among the better-known performers of the genre areDamia,Fréhel, andÉdith Piaf.
Later 19th-century composers of Frenchart songs, known asmélodie and not chanson, includedErnest Chausson,Emmanuel Chabrier,Gabriel Fauré, andClaude Debussy, while many 20th-century and current French composers have continued this strong tradition.
In the 20th century, French composers revived the genre.Claude Debussy composedTrois Chansons for choira capella, completed in 1908.Maurice Ravel wroteTrois Chansons for choir a cappella after the outbreak ofWorld War I as a return to French tradition, published in 1916.[13]
In modern-dayFrance,chanson orchanson française is distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music by following the rhythms of the French language rather than those of English and having a higher standard for lyrics.
InLa Planche,Loire-Atlantique, theMusée de la chanson française was established in 1992. The museum has the goal to remember the artists that have established the heritage of thechanson.[14]
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