Jehan le Cuvelier d'Arras (''fl''. ''c''. 1240–70) was a
trouvère
''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French ('' langue d'oïl'') form of the '' langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet ...
associated with the so-called "school of
Arras". He may be the same person as Johannes Cuvellarius from
Bapaume
Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''.
Geography
Bapaume is a far ...
, a suburb of Arras, who is mentioned in documents of 1258. He was the respondent in nine ''
jeux partis'' and judge of six; he also composed six ''
chansons courtoises''. His six ''chansons'' are:
*
*
*
*
*
*
This last one can be approximately dated, since it is dedicated to Wagon Wion, sheriff (''échevin'') of Arras in 1265 and dead by February 1273. Cuvelier's ''chansons'' are predominantly
heptasyllabic, although one (''Pour la meillour'') is
decasyllabic
Decasyllable (Italian: ''decasillabo'', French: ''décasyllabe'', Serbian: ''десетерац'', ''deseterac'') is a poetic meter of ten syllables used in poetic traditions of syllabic verse. In languages with a stress accent (accentual ...
and there are
pentasyllabic lines in the others. All are in
bar form
Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB.
Original use
The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...
with the exception of ''Amours est'', which is AA'BB'CC'DE. The use of
motives in the ''
caudae'' is typical. Unusual for his place and time he favoured
plagal mode
A Gregorian mode (or church mode) is one of the eight systems of pitch organization used in Gregorian chant.
History
The name of Pope Gregory I was attached to the variety of chant that was to become the dominant variety in medieval western and ...
s, save for the
authentic
Authenticity or authentic may refer to:
* Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute
Arts and entertainment
* Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic
Music
* A ...
''J'ai une dame''. In the readings of the music for ''Amours est'', ''Mout me plaisent'', and ''Pour la meillour'' found in the
Chansonnier Cangé (
BnF fr.846), there is evidence of
modal rhythm
In medieval music, the rhythmic modes were set patterns of long and short durations (or rhythms). The value of each note is not determined by the form of the written note (as is the case with more recent European musical notation), but rather by ...
.
Ligatures in ''Anuis et desesperance'' and ''Jolivetés'' also suggest the "free use" of modal rhythm.
Jehan de Grieviler debated Cuvelier in ''Cuvelier, un jugement'' and in ''Cuvelier, j'ain mieus que moi''
Gamart de Vilers addressed Cuvelier as "sire", an indication of his rank. Cuvelier's most popular debating partner was
Jehan Bretel, who initiated six ''juex partis'' with him:
*
* (also addressed to
Lambert Ferri Lambert Ferri (fl. c. 1250–1300) was a trouvère and cleric at the Benedictine monastery at Saint-Léonard, Pas-de-Calais. By 1268 he was a canon and a deacon of the monastery; he is last associated with the monastery in 1282.
He was a popula ...
)
*
*
*
*
Bretel and Ferri joined up to propose a ''jeu'' with Cuvelier and the
Tresorier d'Aire: ''Biaus sire tresorier d'Aire''. Cuvelier also judged a ''jeu parti'' involving
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer '' trouvère''. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and progr ...
.
References
*
Theodore Karp
Theodore Cyrus Karp (17 July 1926 – 5 November 2015) was an American musicologist. His principal area of study was Secular music, mainly mediaeval monophony, especially the music of the trouvères. He was a major contributor in this area to th ...
"Cuvelier d'Arras, Jehan le."''Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.'' Accessed 9 November 2009.
{{Authority control
Trouvères
Male classical composers