Air de Cour

An Air de Cour is a French art song form, the end of the 16th century and was widely used at the courts of the nobility in the 17th century. Its name derives from the French or English term for Air song and the French Cour term for yard. There usually are love songs, but there are drinking songs, called Airs à Boire.

History

In the French vocal music beginning of the 16th century were both polyphonic songs spread that represented the musical settings of sophisticated text seals, as well as folk songs ( also voix de ville or abbreviated vaudevilles ), which were characterized by simple shapes and texts. The intricate, polyphonic songs of the Renaissance were gradually pushed into the background and more and more detached from rather simple, unanimous songs with accompaniment. In the second half of the 16th century, these Airs de Cour became more popular and experienced in the reign of Louis XIII. in the 17th century, their heyday.

First, older, polyphonic compositions have been rewritten so that a voice could be accompanied by a keyboard or plucked string instrument. The term Air de Cour first appeared on the cover of the collection of songs with lute accompaniment Livre d' airs de Cours, miz sur le luth, the Parisian publisher, composer and lutenist Adrian Le Roy has published in 1571. This collection contains arrangements of polyphonic songs of the organist Nicolas de la Grotte. It became established but more and more new compositions, which were mainly provided with lute accompaniment. The accompaniment was usually listed in the French lute tablature.

1608 finally appears for the first book in the series airs de différentes autheurs, mis en tabulature de luth par Gabriel Bataille in France. During the first half of the 17th century, the Airs de Cour find ( some even with translated texts ) also in the neighboring countries, such as England, Germany and the Netherlands dissemination.

A selection of Airs de Cour was published in the 1970s in Paris in two anthologies.

Form

The shape of Air de Cour is relatively simple. The unanimous songs are mostly texted in verse form and composed and have some have a chorus. The melodies usually come from without melismas and text repetitions. The verses often have different length, and bar lines are based on the verses and not the tune. Occasionally dive into the compositions on decorations, but were also often improvised on more or less virtuosity of the performers.

Composers

Most composers of airs de cour were born in the last third of the 16th century. Among the most famous composers include:

  • Jean de Cambefort
  • Gabriel Bataille
  • Antoine de Boesset
  • Pierre Guedron
  • Michel Lambert
  • Sébastien Le Camus
  • Étienne Moulinié

Discography

  • Airs de Cour, airs à boire, Chants sous le Règne de Louis XIII, Nigel Rogers Tenor, Anthony Bailes lute, reflexes, stations of European Music, EMI Electrola, 1977
  • Song genus
  • Early Music
Lied#History Strophe Verse (poetry) Musical interpretation
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