Claudin de Sermisy
Encyclopedia
Claudin de Sermisy was a French
composer of the Renaissance
. Along with Clément Janequin
he was one of the most renowned composers of French chanson
s in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music. His music was both influential on, and influenced by, contemporary Italian
styles.
, Burgundy, or Île-de-France
, based on the similarity of his surname to place names there. Sometime in his early life he may have studied with Josquin des Prez
, if Pierre Ronsard is to be believed, but many musicologists consider the claim unreliable; at any rate he absorbed some of the older composer's musical ideas either early, or later, as he became acquainted with his music. Josquin was possibly at the French court between 1501 and about 1503, though this has never been definitely established, so a master-pupil relationship would have been possible then; Sermisy's whereabouts before 1508 are not known, but presence at the Royal Chapel was certainly possible.
In 1508 the young Sermisy was appointed as a singer in the Royal Chapel of Louis XII
, where he was also a cleric. His birthdate is inferred from the date he joined the royal chapel; 18 was about the right age for such an appointment. In 1515 he went to Italy with Francis I
, and in 1520 he was part of the musical festivities arranged by Francis I and Henry VIII of England
at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
, directed by Jean Mouton
, where he was almost certainly a singer. He may have been a composer of some of the music there as well. In 1532 he also participated in the similar meeting between the kings at Boulogne
, for which he wrote a ceremonial motet.
For a while in the early 1520s Sermisy was a canon at Notre-Dame-de-la-Rotonde in Rouen
, but he left there in 1524 to take a similar position in Amiens
. By 1532 he was music director of the Royal Chapel, still under Francis I, who reigned until 1547. At this post he was expected to teach and care for the boys of the choir, as well as find talented singers to recruit. In 1533, in addition to his post at the Royal Chapel, he became a canon of the Sainte-Chapelle
, which would have required him to live in Paris
. He acquired a large house there, large enough to shelter refugees from the church in St Quentin
when the Spanish sacked their city in 1559. In 1554 he also was given a prebend at Ste Catherine in Troyes
. Few biographical details are available about his last years, but he seems to have been active as a composer up to the end of his life based on publication dates of works. He was buried in the Sainte-Chapelle.
have survived, including a Requiem
mass, as well as approximately 100 motet
s, some magnificat
s and a set of Lamentations
. Unlike many of his contemporaries writing sacred music in France, there is no evidence he had any Huguenot
sympathies; he seemed to remain a faithful Catholic all his life.
His interest in the sacred genres increased steadily throughout his life, corresponding to a decline in interest in secular forms, using the publication dates as a guide (actual dates on compositions are extremely difficult to establish for composers of this period, unless a work happened to be composed for a specific occasion). Since the prevailing style of polyphony
among contemporary composers during his late career was dense, seamless, with pervasive imitation
, as typified in the music of Mouton
and Gombert
, it is significant that he tended to avoid this style, preferring clearer textures and short phrases: a style more akin to the chanson
s he wrote earlier in his career. In addition he varied the texture in his composition by alternating polyphonic
passages with homorhythmic
, chordal ones, much like the texture found in his secular music.
Sermisy wrote one of the few polyphonic settings of the Passion
found in French music of the period; the musical setting is simple, compared to his masses and motets, and he strove to make the words clearly understandable. The gospel chosen is St. Matthew
.
, although less programmatic; his style in these works has also been described as more graceful and polished than that of the rival composer. Typically Sermisy's chansons are chordal and syllabic, shunning the more ostentatious polyphony of composers from the Netherlands, striving for lightness and grace instead. Sermisy was fond of quick repeated notes, which give the texture an overall lightness and dance-like quality. Another stylistic trait seen in many of Sermisy's chansons is an initial rhythmic figure consisting of long-short-short (minim-crotchet-crotchet, or half-quarter-quarter), a figure which was to become the defining characteristic of the canzona
later in the century.
The texts Sermisy chose were usually from contemporary poets, such as Clément Marot
(he set more verse by Marot than any other composer). Typical topics were unrequited love, nature, and drinking. Several of his songs are on the topic of an unhappy young woman stuck with an unattractive and unvirile old man, a sentiment not unique to his age.
Most of his chansons are for four voices, though he wrote some for three early in has career, before four-voice writing became the norm. Influence from the Italian frottola
is evident, and Sermisy's chansons themselves influenced Italian composers, since his music was reprinted numerous times both in France and in other parts of Europe.
(Book 4) along with several other contemporary composers. Sermisy's music was transcribed numerous times for instruments, including viol
s and lute
as well as organ
and other keyboard instruments, by performers from Italy, Germany, and Poland in addition to France. Even though Sermisy was a Catholic, many of his tunes were appropriated by Protestant musicians in the next generation: even a Lutheran chorale tune (Was mein Gott will) is based on a chanson by Sermisy (Il me suffit de tous mes maulx).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer of the Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
. Along with Clément Janequin
Clément Janequin
Clément Janequin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers of popular chansons of the entire Renaissance, and along with Claudin de Sermisy, was hugely influential in the development of the Parisian chanson, especially the programmatic type...
he was one of the most renowned composers of French chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music. His music was both influential on, and influenced by, contemporary Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
styles.
Biography
Sermisy was most likely born either in PicardyPicardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, Burgundy, or Île-de-France
Île-de-France (province)
The province of Île-de-France or Isle de France is an historical province of France, and the one at the centre of power during most of French history...
, based on the similarity of his surname to place names there. Sometime in his early life he may have studied with Josquin des Prez
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, if Pierre Ronsard is to be believed, but many musicologists consider the claim unreliable; at any rate he absorbed some of the older composer's musical ideas either early, or later, as he became acquainted with his music. Josquin was possibly at the French court between 1501 and about 1503, though this has never been definitely established, so a master-pupil relationship would have been possible then; Sermisy's whereabouts before 1508 are not known, but presence at the Royal Chapel was certainly possible.
In 1508 the young Sermisy was appointed as a singer in the Royal Chapel of Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
, where he was also a cleric. His birthdate is inferred from the date he joined the royal chapel; 18 was about the right age for such an appointment. In 1515 he went to Italy with Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, and in 1520 he was part of the musical festivities arranged by Francis I and Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
, directed by Jean Mouton
Jean Mouton
Jean Mouton was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School....
, where he was almost certainly a singer. He may have been a composer of some of the music there as well. In 1532 he also participated in the similar meeting between the kings at Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, for which he wrote a ceremonial motet.
For a while in the early 1520s Sermisy was a canon at Notre-Dame-de-la-Rotonde in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, but he left there in 1524 to take a similar position in Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
. By 1532 he was music director of the Royal Chapel, still under Francis I, who reigned until 1547. At this post he was expected to teach and care for the boys of the choir, as well as find talented singers to recruit. In 1533, in addition to his post at the Royal Chapel, he became a canon of the Sainte-Chapelle
Sainte-Chapelle (choir)
The Sainte-Chapelle was also the name for the chapelle, the men of the clerical and musical institution which attached to the building, the Sainte-Chapelle , in Paris....
, which would have required him to live in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He acquired a large house there, large enough to shelter refugees from the church in St Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
when the Spanish sacked their city in 1559. In 1554 he also was given a prebend at Ste Catherine in Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
. Few biographical details are available about his last years, but he seems to have been active as a composer up to the end of his life based on publication dates of works. He was buried in the Sainte-Chapelle.
Sacred music
Sermisy wrote both sacred music and secular music, and all of it is for voices. Of his sacred music, 12 complete massesMass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
have survived, including a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
mass, as well as approximately 100 motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, some magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
s and a set of Lamentations
Lamentations (music)
The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet have been set by various composers.-England:Thomas Tallis made two famous sets of the Lamentations. Scored for five voices , they show a sophisticated use of imitation, and are noted for their expressiveness. The settings are of the first two lessons for...
. Unlike many of his contemporaries writing sacred music in France, there is no evidence he had any Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
sympathies; he seemed to remain a faithful Catholic all his life.
His interest in the sacred genres increased steadily throughout his life, corresponding to a decline in interest in secular forms, using the publication dates as a guide (actual dates on compositions are extremely difficult to establish for composers of this period, unless a work happened to be composed for a specific occasion). Since the prevailing style of polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
among contemporary composers during his late career was dense, seamless, with pervasive imitation
Imitation (music)
In music, imitation is when a melody in a polyphonic texture is repeated shortly after its first appearance in a different voice, usually at a different pitch. The melody may vary through transposition, inversion, or otherwise, but retain its original character...
, as typified in the music of Mouton
Jean Mouton
Jean Mouton was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School....
and Gombert
Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
, it is significant that he tended to avoid this style, preferring clearer textures and short phrases: a style more akin to the chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s he wrote earlier in his career. In addition he varied the texture in his composition by alternating polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
passages with homorhythmic
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
, chordal ones, much like the texture found in his secular music.
Sermisy wrote one of the few polyphonic settings of the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
found in French music of the period; the musical setting is simple, compared to his masses and motets, and he strove to make the words clearly understandable. The gospel chosen is St. Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
.
Chansons
By far Sermisy's most famous contribution to music literature is his output of chansons, of which there are approximately 175. They are similar to those of JanequinClément Janequin
Clément Janequin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers of popular chansons of the entire Renaissance, and along with Claudin de Sermisy, was hugely influential in the development of the Parisian chanson, especially the programmatic type...
, although less programmatic; his style in these works has also been described as more graceful and polished than that of the rival composer. Typically Sermisy's chansons are chordal and syllabic, shunning the more ostentatious polyphony of composers from the Netherlands, striving for lightness and grace instead. Sermisy was fond of quick repeated notes, which give the texture an overall lightness and dance-like quality. Another stylistic trait seen in many of Sermisy's chansons is an initial rhythmic figure consisting of long-short-short (minim-crotchet-crotchet, or half-quarter-quarter), a figure which was to become the defining characteristic of the canzona
Canzona
In the 16th century an instrumental chanson; later, a piece for ensemble in several sections or tempos...
later in the century.
The texts Sermisy chose were usually from contemporary poets, such as Clément Marot
Clément Marot
Clément Marot was a French poet of the Renaissance period.-Youth:Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot , whose more correct name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman from the Caen...
(he set more verse by Marot than any other composer). Typical topics were unrequited love, nature, and drinking. Several of his songs are on the topic of an unhappy young woman stuck with an unattractive and unvirile old man, a sentiment not unique to his age.
Most of his chansons are for four voices, though he wrote some for three early in has career, before four-voice writing became the norm. Influence from the Italian frottola
Frottola
The frottola was the predominant type of Italian popular, secular song of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It was the most important and widespread predecessor to the madrigal...
is evident, and Sermisy's chansons themselves influenced Italian composers, since his music was reprinted numerous times both in France and in other parts of Europe.
Influence
Sermisy was well-known throughout western Europe, and copies of his music are found in Italy, Spain, Portugal, England and elsewhere. Rabelais mentioned him in Gargantua and PantagruelGargantua and Pantagruel
The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...
(Book 4) along with several other contemporary composers. Sermisy's music was transcribed numerous times for instruments, including viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
s and lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
as well as organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and other keyboard instruments, by performers from Italy, Germany, and Poland in addition to France. Even though Sermisy was a Catholic, many of his tunes were appropriated by Protestant musicians in the next generation: even a Lutheran chorale tune (Was mein Gott will) is based on a chanson by Sermisy (Il me suffit de tous mes maulx).
Chansons
- Au joly boys
- Aupres de vous secretement (two parts)
- C'est une dure departie
- Changeons propos, c'est trop chante d'amours
- Content desir, qui cause ma douleur
- En entrant en ung jardin (publ. 1529)
- Languir me fais
- Si mon malheur my continue
- Si vous m'aimez
- Tant que vivray (publ. 1527)
- Tu disais que j'en mourrais
- Vignon, vignon, vignon, vignette
- Vive la serpe
Media
External links
- Tant que vivray midi file
- performances of various choral pieces by Sermisy on Classical Music Archives (including Vignon vignon vignette, Pilons l'orge, Hari Bouriquet and Tant que vivray)
Sources and further reading
- Isabelle Cazeaux, "Claudin de Sermisy", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Gustave ReeseGustave ReeseGustave Reese was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance ; these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras,...
, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4