Moniot d'Arras
Encyclopedia
Moniot d'Arras was a French
composer and poet of the trouvère
tradition. He was a monk
of the abbey
of Arras
in northern France; the area was at the time a center of trouvère activity, and his contemporaries included Adam de la Halle
and Colin Muset
. His songs were all monophonic
in the tradition of pastoral
romance and courtly love
; he also wrote religious songs. About fifteen of his secular songs, and two religious songs, survive; his most famous song is Ce fut en mai
.
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 and poet of the 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...
tradition. He was a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
of the abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
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...
in northern France; the area was at the time a center of trouvère activity, and his contemporaries included 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 Colin Muset
Colin Muset
Colin Muset was an Old French trouvère and a native of Lorraine. He made his living in the Champagne by travelling from castle to castle singing songs of his own composition and playing the vielle. These are not confined to the praise of courtly love that formed the usual topic of the trouvères,...
. His songs were all 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...
in the tradition of pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
romance and courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
; he also wrote religious songs. About fifteen of his secular songs, and two religious songs, survive; his most famous song is Ce fut en mai
Ce fut en mai
Ce fut en mai is a mid-13th century trouvere song, by Moniot d'Arras. It is a monophonic French song, with improvised accompaniment. The setting of the song is strophic, with 5 verses, each with the internal form of AABB. The rhythm scheme of each internal form is aabaaabccbccb. An instrumental...
.