Guillaume d'Amiens
Encyclopedia
Guillaume d'Amiens or Guillaume le Peigneur (floruit
late 13th century) was a trouvère
and painter
from Amiens
. All his music is contained in one chansonnier
(songbook) of Arras
, now Latin 1490 in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana. In it the rubric
s accompanying the songs identify him as a paigneur, "painter", and he may have added the large illumination
which precedes his songs himself. The preservation of his works in this manner is comparable to the cases of fellow trouvères Adam de la Halle
and Jehannot de l'Escurel. The only reference to Guillaume (the French form of William) outside of the chansonnier is a list of taxpayers in Amiens in 1301, which mentions a "William the Painter" (Willelmi pictoris).
Guillaume musical corpus consists in eight monophonic
rondeaux, two chansons d'amour, and one virelai
. He also wrote four other lyric poems which do not survive with music. Guillaume's rondeaux and the virelai are standard, although with slight variations in the refrains, perhaps representing how they were naturally performed. In Prendés i garde an irregularity in the prosody is reflected in an irregularity in the music. His melodies usually emphasise the perfect fifth
from D to A.
Rondeaux
Virelai
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
late 13th century) was a trouvère
Trouvère
Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
from 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...
. All his music is contained in one chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
(songbook) of Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
, now Latin 1490 in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana. In it the rubric
Rubric
A rubric is a word or section of text which is traditionally written or printed in red ink to highlight it. The word derives from the , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or earlier...
s accompanying the songs identify him as a paigneur, "painter", and he may have added the large illumination
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
which precedes his songs himself. The preservation of his works in this manner is comparable to the cases of fellow trouvères Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle, also known as Adam le Bossu was a French-born trouvère, poet and musician, whose literary and musical works include chansons and jeux-partis in the style of the trouveres, polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony, and a musical play, "The Play of...
and Jehannot de l'Escurel. The only reference to Guillaume (the French form of William) outside of the chansonnier is a list of taxpayers in Amiens in 1301, which mentions a "William the Painter" (Willelmi pictoris).
Guillaume musical corpus consists in eight monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
rondeaux, two chansons d'amour, and one virelai
Virelai
A virelai is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three formes fixes and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the late thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.A virelai is similar to a rondeau...
. He also wrote four other lyric poems which do not survive with music. Guillaume's rondeaux and the virelai are standard, although with slight variations in the refrains, perhaps representing how they were naturally performed. In Prendés i garde an irregularity in the prosody is reflected in an irregularity in the music. His melodies usually emphasise the perfect fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
from D to A.
List of songs
Chansons- Amours me fait par mon veuil
- Puisque chanters onques nul home aida
Rondeaux
- Amours me maint u cueur
- Dame, pour men lonc sejour
- De ma dame vient
- Hareu! Coument mi manterrai
- Jamais ne serai saous
- Je canterai, faire le doi
- Prendés i garde
- Ses tres dous regers
Virelai
- C'est la fin quoi que nus die, j'amerai