Introduction A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually secular. From a popular genre in the 15th century to a serious music form, which all professional composer deal with. The 16th century shows a important change in the esthetics of chanson composing. Audio Naxos 8.550880 Many audio examples can be found with Spotify (spotify.com) French chanson in the 16th century Description First half of the 16th century: motet-chanson Basically the motet-chanson by Flemish-Dutch composers (with Josquin des Prez as source of inspiration) is written such as the contemporary motets and other liturgical music: four part, polyphonic construction and pervading imitation technique. However contrast in texture (polyphony, homophony), depicting of 'Affekt', i.e. communication a mood or state of mind (e.g. fear, joy) can already be found. First half of the 16th century: Parisian chanson The influence of text becomes more and more visible in a new type of chanson: homophony, musical caesuras, repetition of tones and words, speechlike melodies in upper voice, strophic form (composers: Jacques Arcadelt, Pierre Certon, Claudin de Sermisy). It's a similar development as we can see in the madrigal. Of course, the polyfonic chanson still exists (composers: Jacques Arcadelt, Orlando di Lasso)! Second half of the 16th century: vaux de ville, air de cour The influence of the madrigal and the ideas of French poets and humanists (Académie de Poésie et de Musique) results in a new chanson: vaux de ville, later air de cour. The purpose of the Académie (under the direction of Jean-Antoine de Baïf) was to revive Classical Greek and Roman poetry and music and to revitalise and transform French poetry by applying the ancient metres (vers mesurés à l'antique) to it, and combining it with simple music following ancient metres (musique mesurée à l'antique). The help of French musicians was enlisted, the most influential of whom was Claude Le Jeune. The repeating pattern of longs and shorts, following the poetry, was irregular, leading to the perception to a modern ear of irregular meters. Occasional short melismas – decorative passages to ease the monotonous rhythm – appeared in many of the parts, especially in the work of Claude Le Jeune. Le Jeune's experiments influenced musical setting of French poetry, including the use of irregular metres in the air de cour, for several generations. Special case: programmatic chanson Few composers of the Renaissance were more popular in their lifetimes than Clément Janequin (c. 1485 - 1558). His chansons were well-loved and widely sung. The Paris printer Pierre Attaingnant printed five volumes with his chansons. The programmatic chansons for which Janequin is famous were long, sectional pieces, and usually cleverly imitated natural or man-made sounds. Le chant des oiseaux imitates bird-calls; La chasse the sounds of a hunt; and La bataille, probably the most famous, and almost certainly written to celebrate the French victory over the Habsburgs at the Battle of Marignano in 1515, imitates battle noises, including trumpet calls, cannon fire and the cries of the wounded. Influence Effects such as pointed out in Janequins chansons became a commonplace in later 16th century music, and carried over into the Baroque era; indeed 'battle music' was to become a cliché, but it first came into prominence with Janequin. The influence of the Parisian chanson spread far beyond France. In Italian and German publication, the French chanson appears together with the madrigal, villanelle etc. to belong to the high order of international entertainment music of the renaissance. It is no overstatement to say that the chanson is clearly connected to Gastoldi's Balletti, Downloand's Ayres, Monteverdi's Scherzi, Hassler's Lustgarten etc.