Châteaux de la Loire: French Renaissance Court music

Featuring

Dominique Visse
Jeremy Barlow
Ensemble Clément Janequin
The Broadside Band
Clément Janequin
Thoinot Arbeau

Jean-François Regnard
Guillaume Boni
Jean De Castro
Albert de Rippe
Philippe de Monte
Orlando di Lasso
Pierre Sandrin
Pierre Certon
Loyset Compère
Pierre de La Rue
Claudin de Sermisy
Nicolas Gombert
Ninot le Petit
Anonymous
Guiard
Pierre Vermont
Adrian Willaert
Jacobus Clemens non Papa
Nicole Des Celliers d'Hesdin
Josquin des Prez
Matthaeus Pipelare
Henri Fresneau
Gabriel Coste

Did you know?

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Historical Context

The French court resided in the Loire Valley for a century, beginning when King Charles VII fled Paris in 1418 during the Hundred Years War.

Composition History

The 'Rabelaisian' revolution in French chanson, featuring humorous and bawdy themes, emerged in the 1490s, four decades before Rabelais's literary debut.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Renaissance music, based on counterpoint, aimed for universal euphony or harmony, representing the heavenly choir of angels.

Composition History

Composers in France even built entire masses on popular song motifs, such as Janequin's Mass 'La Bataille,' which commemorated the victory of Marignano in 1515.

Historical Context

The French court was itinerant, constantly moving between châteaux for political reasons or hunting, often with an entourage of thousands.

Cultural Impact

The Loire Valley châteaux became symbols of a lifestyle combining physical and mental pleasures, fine food and wine, nature, and sociability.

Compositional Technique

By the end of the 15th century, composers like Josquin Desprez developed 'musical rhetoric,' structuring works like a discourse with phrases, paragraphs, and exclamations.