A (, ; , ) is generally any lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

French songs of late

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century ''ars nova'', the mus ...

or to a specific style of French pop music which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. The

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

had origins in the monophonic songs of troubadours and trouvères, though the only polyphonic precedents were 16 works by Adam de la Halle and one by

Jehan de Lescurel Jehan de Lescurel (; also Jehannot de l'Escurel) was a composer-poet of late medieval music. Jehan's extensive surviving ''oeuvre'' is an important and rare examples of the ''formes fixes'' before the time of Guillaume de Machaut; it consists of ...

. Not until the ''

ars nova ''Ars nova'' ()Fallows, David. (2001). "Ars nova". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan. refers to a musical style which flourished in the Kingdom of ...

'' composer

Guillaume de Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...

did any composer write a significant number of polyphonic chansons. A broad term, the word ''chanson'' literally means "song" in French and can thus less commonly refer to a variety of (usually

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

) French genres throughout history. This includes the songs of

chansonnier A chansonnier (, , Galician and , or ''canzoniéro'', ) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally " song-books"; however, some manuscripts are call ...

, ''

chanson de geste The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poetry, epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly ...

'' and Grand chant; court songs of the late Renaissance and early

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

periods, ''

air de cour The ''air de cour'' was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant ...

''; popular songs from the 17th to 19th century, ''

bergerette A bergerette, or shepherdess' air, is a form of early rustic French song. The bergerette, developed by Burgundian composers, is a virelai with only one stanza. It is one of the "fixed forms" of early French song and related to the rondeau. Exam ...

'', '' brunette'', '' chanson pour boire'', '' pastourelle'', and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

;

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

of the romantic era, '' mélodie''; and folk music, '. Since the 1990s, the term may be used for Nouvelle Chanson, a French song that often contains poetic or political content.

High medieval precedents

''Chanson de geste''

The earliest ''chansons'' were the

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

s performed to simple monophonic melodies by a professional class of '' jongleurs'' or '' ménestrels''. These usually recounted the famous deeds (''geste'') of past heroes, legendary and semi-historical. The '' Song of Roland'' is the most famous of these, but in general the ''chansons de geste'' are studied as literature since very little of their music survives.

''Chanson courtoise''

The ''chanson courtoise'' or ''grand chant'' was an early form of monophonic ''chanson'', the chief lyric poetic genre of the trouvères. It was an adaptation to

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Occitan ''Canso (song)">canso''. It was practised in the 12th and 13th centuries. Thematically, as its name implies, it was a song of courtly love">Canso_(song).html" ;"title="Occitania">Occitan ''Canso (song)">canso''. It was practised in the 12th and 13th centuries. Thematically, as its name implies, it was a song of courtly love, written usually by a man to his noble lover. Some later ''chansons'' were polyphonic and some had refrains and were called ''chansons avec des refrains''.

Late medieval and early Renaissance

''Formes fixes''

In its typical specialized usage, the word ''chanson'' refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Early ''chansons'' tended to be in one of the '' formes fixes''— ballade, rondeau or virelai (formerly the ''chanson 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 by instruments. The first important composer of ''chansons'' was

, who composed three-voice works in the ''formes fixes'' during the 14th century.

Burgundian ''chanson''

Two composers from

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, Guillaume Du Fay and Gilles Binchois, who wrote so-called Burgundian ''chansons'', dominated the subsequent generation of chanson composers (). 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. Musicologist David Fallows includes the Burgundian repertoire in ''A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs 1415–1480.''

Mid-late Renaissance ''chanson''

Later 15th- and early 16th-century figures in the genre included Johannes Ockeghem and

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

, whose works cease to be constrained by ''formes fixes'' and begin to feature a pervading imitation (all voices sharing material and moving at similar speeds), similar to that found in contemporary

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s and liturgical music. The first book of music printed from movable type was '' Harmonice Musices Odhecaton'', a collection of ninety-six chansons by many composers, published in Venice in 1501 by Ottaviano Petrucci.

Parisian ''chanson''

Beginning in the late 1520s through mid-century, Claudin de Sermisy, Pierre Certon, Clément Janequin, and Philippe Verdelot were composers of so-called Parisian ''chansons'', which also abandoned the ''formes fixes'', often featured four voices, and were in a simpler, more

homophonic Homophony and Homophonic are from the Greek language, Greek ὁμόφωνος (''homóphōnos''), literally 'same sounding,' from ὁμός (''homós''), "same" and φωνή (''phōnē''), "sound". It may refer to: *Homophones − words with the s ...

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 by Pierre Attaingnant. Composers of their generation, as well as later composers, such as Orlando de Lassus, were influenced by the Italian madrigal.

Modern ''chanson''

French solo song developed in the late 16th century, probably from the aforementioned Parisian works. During the 17th century, the ''

'', '' 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. 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 by

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, but solo song underwent a renaissance in the 19th century, first with

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

melodies and then by mid-century with highly sophisticated works influenced by the German Lieder, which had been introduced into the country. Louis Niedermeyer, under the particular spell of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, was a pivotal figure in this movement, followed by Édouard Lalo, Felicien David and many others. Another offshoot of ''chanson'', called '' chanson réaliste'' (realist song), was a popular musical genre in France, primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II.Sweeney, Regina M. (2001). ''Singing Our Way to Victory: French Cultural Politics and Music During the Great War'', Wesleyan University Press. p. 23. .Fagot, Sylvain & Uzel, Jean-Philippe (2006). ''Énonciation artistique et socialité: actes du colloque international de Montréal des 3 et 4 mars 2005'', L'Harmattan. pp. 200–203. . (French text) Born of the '' cafés-concerts'' and cabarets of the

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

district of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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.Wilson, Elizabeth (1992). ''The Sphinx in the City: Urban Life, the Control of Disorder, and Women'', University of California Press. p. 62. Conway, Kelly (2004). ''Chanteuse in the City: The Realist Singer in French Film''. University of California Press. p. 6. Among the better-known performers of the genre are Damia, Fréhel, and Édith Piaf. Later 19th-century composers of French

s, known as mélodie and not chanson, included Ernest Chausson, Emmanuel Chabrier, Gabriel Fauré, and

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, while many 20th-century and current French composers have continued this strong tradition.

Revival

In the 20th century, French composers revived the genre.

composed Trois Chansons for choir a capella, completed in 1908.

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

wrote '' Trois Chansons'' for choir a cappella after the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a return to French tradition, published in 1916.

''Nouvelle chanson''

In modern-day

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, ''chanson'' or ''chanson 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.

Museum

In La Planche,

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

, the Musée de la chanson française was established in 1992. The museum has the goal to remember the artists that have established the heritage of the ''chanson''.Danièle Clermontel and Jean-Claude Clermontel, Chronologie scientifique, technologique et économique de la France]
page 321

References

Sources

* *

External links

French historical chanson panorama (French education minister)
{{Authority control Music of France Medieval music genres 16th-century music genres 17th-century music genres 18th-century music genres 19th-century music genres 20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres Renaissance music Song forms Songs in classical music Choral music genres