View source for Chanson

{{Short description|Lyric-driven French song}}
{{about|the musical term|the song genre|Nouvelle Chanson|other uses|Chanson (disambiguation)}}
{{About|the English-language use of the term Chanson|the French-language use of the term|Song}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2011}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Chanson
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| stylistic_origins = [[Poetry]]
| cultural_origins  = Late [[medieval]] era, [[France]]
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Grand chant|Chanson courtoise]]|[[Chanson de geste]]|[[Motet-chanson]]}}
| subgenres         =
| subgenrelist      =
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}}

A {{lang|fr|'''chanson'''}} ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|ʃ|ɒ̃|s|ɒ̃}},<ref name="OB">{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/chanson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202100/https://www.lexico.com/definition/chanson |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |title=chanson |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ʃ|ɑː|n|ˈ|s|ɔː|n}};<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/en/definition/chanson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200940/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/chanson |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |title=chanson |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary US English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{langx|fr|chanson française|link=no}} {{IPA|fr|ʃɑ̃sɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz||LL-Q150 (fra)-Poslovitch-chanson.wav}}, {{literal translation|French [[song]]}}) is generally any [[Lyrics|lyric]]-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular [[polyphonic]] French songs of late [[medieval music|medieval]] and [[Renaissance music]] or to a specific style of [[French pop music]] which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="OED">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |title=chanson, n. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/30506 |access-date=20 June 2021 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=Introduction}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |date=18 December 2017 |title=Chanson &#124; Biography, Paper & Facts &#124; Britannica |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=Chicago |access-date=18 May 2020 |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/chanson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412030625/https://www.britannica.com/art/chanson |archive-date=12 April 2020 |url-status=dead |ref={{sfnRef|''Britannica''|2020}} }}{{subscription required}}</ref> The [[genre]] had origins in the [[monophony|monophonic]] songs of [[troubadour]]s and [[trouvère]]s, though the only polyphonic precedents were 16 works by [[Adam de la Halle]] and one by [[Jehan de Lescurel]].{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=1. Origins to about 1430}} Not until the ''[[ars nova]]'' composer [[Guillaume de Machaut]] did any composer write a significant number of polyphonic chansons.{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=1. Origins to about 1430}}

A broad term, the word ''chanson'' literally means "'''song'''" in French and can thus less commonly refer to a variety of (usually [[secular]]) French genres throughout history. This includes the songs of [[chansonnier]], ''[[chanson de geste]]'' and [[Grand chant]]; court songs of the late Renaissance and early [[Baroque music]] periods, ''[[air de cour]]''; popular songs from the 17th to 19th century, ''[[bergerette]]'', ''[[brunette (song form)|brunette]]'', ''[[chanson pour boire]]'', ''[[pastourelle]]'', and [[vaudeville]]; [[art song]] of the [[romantic music|romantic]] era, ''[[mélodie]]''; and folk music, ''{{ill|Chanson populaire (chanson)|fr|lt=chanson populaire}}''.{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=Introduction}} Since the 1990s, the term may be used for '''[[Nouvelle Chanson]]''', a French song that often contains poetic or political content.<ref name="OED"/>

== High medieval precedents ==
=== ''Chanson de geste'' ===
{{main|Chanson de geste}}
The earliest ''chansons'' were the [[epic poem]]s performed to simple [[Monophony|monophonic]] melodies by a professional class of ''[[jongleur]]s'' or ''[[Minstrel|ménestrels]]''. These usually recounted the famous deeds (''geste'') of past heroes, legendary and semi-historical. The ''[[Song of Roland]]'' is the most famous of these, but in general the ''chansons de geste'' are studied as literature since very little of their music survives.

=== ''Chanson courtoise'' ===
{{main|Grand chant}}
The ''chanson courtoise'' or ''grand chant'' was an early form of monophonic ''chanson'', the chief lyric poetic genre of the [[trouvère]]s. It was an adaptation to [[Old French]] of the [[Occitania|Occitan]] ''[[Canso (song)|canso]]''. It was practised in the 12th and 13th centuries. Thematically, as its name implies, it was a song of [[courtly love]], written usually by a man to his noble lover. Some later ''chansons'' were polyphonic and some had [[refrain]]s and were called ''chansons avec des refrains''.

==Late medieval and early Renaissance==
=== ''Formes fixes'' ===
{{see also|Motet-chanson}}
In its typical specialized usage, the word ''chanson'' refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=Introduction}} Early ''chansons'' tended to be in one of the ''[[formes fixes]]''—[[ballade (forme fixe)|ballade]], [[Rondeau (forme fixe)|rondeau]] or [[virelai]] (formerly the ''chanson baladée'')—though some composers later set popular poetry in a variety of forms. The earliest chansons were for two, three or four voices, with first three becoming the norm, expanding to four voices by the 16th century. Sometimes, the singers were accompanied by [[musical instrument|instruments]].

The first important composer of ''chansons'' was [[Guillaume de Machaut]], who composed three-voice works in the ''formes fixes'' during the 14th century.{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|loc=1. Origins to about 1430}}

=== Burgundian ''chanson'' ===
Two composers from [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]], [[Guillaume Du Fay]] and [[Gilles Binchois]], who wrote so-called Burgundian ''chansons'',{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=181}} dominated the subsequent generation of chanson composers ({{circa|1420–1470}}).{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}} Their chansons, while somewhat simple in style, are also generally in three voices with a structural tenor. These works are typically still 3 voices, with an active upper voice (discantus) pitched above two lower voices (tenor and altus) usually sharing the same range.{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}} Musicologist [[David Fallows]] includes the Burgundian repertoire in ''A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs 1415–1480.''

==Mid-late Renaissance ''chanson''==
Later 15th- and early 16th-century figures in the genre included [[Johannes Ockeghem]] and [[Josquin des Prez]], whose works cease to be constrained by ''formes fixes'' and begin to feature a pervading imitation (all voices sharing material and moving at similar speeds), similar to that found in contemporary [[motet]]s and liturgical music. The first book of music printed from movable type was ''[[Harmonice Musices Odhecaton]]'', a collection of ninety-six chansons by many composers, published in Venice in 1501 by [[Ottaviano Petrucci]].

=== Parisian ''chanson'' ===
Beginning in the late 1520s through mid-century, [[Claudin de Sermisy]], [[Pierre Certon]], [[Clément Janequin]], and [[Philippe Verdelot]] were composers of so-called Parisian ''chansons'', which also abandoned the ''formes fixes'',{{clarify|date=July 2017}}<!--What else did they abandon besides the "formes fixes", and what are these things, anyway?--> often featured four voices, and were in a simpler, more [[Homophony|homophonic]] style. This genre sometimes featured music that was meant to be evocative of certain imagery such as birds or the marketplace. Many of these Parisian works were published by [[Pierre Attaingnant]]. Composers of their generation, as well as later composers, such as [[Orlando de Lassus]],{{clarify|date=July 2017}}<!--Did this Orlande de Lassus write Parisian chansons, or what?--> were influenced by the Italian [[madrigal (music)|madrigal]].

==Modern ''chanson''==
French solo song developed in the late 16th century, probably from the aforementioned Parisian works. During the 17th century, the ''[[air de cour]]'', ''[[chanson pour boire]]'' and other like genres, generally accompanied by lute or keyboard, flourished, with contributions by such composers as [[Antoine Boesset]], [[Denis Gaultier]], [[Michel Lambert]] and [[Michel-Richard de Lalande]]. This still affects today's chanson as many French musicians still employ harp and keyboard.

During the 18th century, vocal music in France was dominated by [[opera]], but solo song underwent a renaissance in the 19th century, first with [[salon music|salon]] [[melodies]] and then by mid-century with highly sophisticated works influenced by the German [[Lied]]er, which had been introduced into the country. [[Louis Niedermeyer]], under the particular spell of [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]], was a pivotal figure in this movement, followed by [[Édouard Lalo]], [[Felicien David]] and many others.

Another offshoot of ''chanson'', called ''[[chanson réaliste]]'' (realist song), was a popular musical genre in France, primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II.<ref name=VICTORY>Sweeney, Regina M. (2001). ''Singing Our Way to Victory: French Cultural Politics and Music During the Great War'', Wesleyan University Press. p. 23. {{ISBN|0-8195-6473-7}}.</ref><ref name=MONTREAL>Fagot, Sylvain & Uzel, Jean-Philippe (2006). ''Énonciation artistique et socialité: actes du colloque international de Montréal des 3 et 4 mars 2005'', L'Harmattan. pp. 200–203. {{ISBN|2-296-00176-9}}. (French text)</ref>  Born of the ''[[Café-chantant|cafés-concerts]]'' and [[cabarets]] of the [[Montmartre]] district of [[Paris]] and influenced by literary realism and the naturalist movements in literature and theatre, ''chanson réaliste'' was a musical style which was mainly performed by women and dealt with the lives of Paris's poor and working class.<ref name=VICTORY/><ref name=SPHINX>Wilson, Elizabeth (1992). ''The Sphinx in the City: Urban Life, the Control of Disorder, and Women'', University of California Press. p. 62. {{ISBN|0-520-07864-0}}</ref><ref name=CHANTEUSE>Conway, Kelly (2004). ''Chanteuse in the City: The Realist Singer in French Film''. University of California Press. p. 6. {{ISBN|0-520-24407-9}}
</ref> Among the better-known performers of the genre are [[Marie-Louise Damien|Damia]], [[Fréhel]], and [[Édith Piaf]].

Later 19th-century composers of French [[art song]]s, known as [[mélodie]] and not chanson, included [[Ernest Chausson]], [[Emmanuel Chabrier]], [[Gabriel Fauré]], and [[Claude Debussy]], while many 20th-century and current French composers have continued this strong tradition.

=== Revival ===
In the 20th century, French composers revived the genre. [[Claude Debussy]] composed [[Trois Chansons (Debussy)|Trois Chansons]] for choir [[a capella]], completed in 1908. [[Maurice Ravel]] wrote ''[[Trois Chansons (Ravel)|Trois Chansons]]'' for choir a cappella after the outbreak of [[World War I]] as a return to French tradition, published in 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maurice Ravel: "Trois Chansons" and World War I - ProQuest |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1652500530 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=www.proquest.com | id={{ProQuest|1652500530}} |language=en}}</ref>

=== ''Nouvelle chanson'' ===
{{Main|Nouvelle Chanson}}
In modern-day [[France]], ''chanson'' or ''chanson française'' is distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music by following the rhythms of the French language rather than those of English and having a higher standard for lyrics.

=== Museum ===
In [[La Planche]], [[Loire-Atlantique]], the [[Musée de la chanson française]] was established in 1992. The museum has the goal to remember the artists that have established the heritage of the ''chanson''.<ref>Danièle Clermontel and Jean-Claude Clermontel, Chronologie scientifique, technologique et économique de la France], [https://books.google.com/books?id=LQ4hwJPYdoIC&pg=PA321 page 321], {{ISBN|9782748346824}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Music|France}}
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* {{Annotated link |Canzone}}
* {{Annotated link |Russian chanson}}
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==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Strohm |first=Reinhard |author-link=Reinhard Strohm |year=2005 |title=The Rise of European Music, 1380-1500 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=978-0-521-61934-9 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=8gwToY1HEoIC}} }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Wilkins |first=Nigel |others=Revised by [[David Fallows]], [[Howard Mayer Brown]] and Richard Freedman |year=2001 |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |title=Chanson |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40032 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040032 |access-date=20 June 2021 }} {{Grove Music subscription}}

==Further reading==
*Dobbins, Frank. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e1284 "Chanson."] In ''The Oxford Companion to Music'', edited by Alison Latham. ''Oxford Music Online''.
*Michail Scherbakov. Russian Сhanson. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140112104719/http://rusversion.far.ru/scherbakov.htm "Deja."]
* {{cite book |last1=Burkholder |first1=J. Peter |author-link1=J. Peter Burkholder |last2=Grout |first2=Donald Jay |author-link2=Donald Jay Grout |last3=Palisca |first3=Claude V. |author-link3=Claude V. Palisca |year=2014 |title=A History of Western Music |edition=9th |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-91829-8 }}

==External links==
* [http://education.lehall.com/on_ne_connait_pas_la_chanson/site.php French historical chanson panorama (French education minister)]

{{Medieval music|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chanson| ]]
[[Category:Music of France]]
[[Category:Medieval music genres]]
[[Category:16th-century music genres]]
[[Category:17th-century music genres]]
[[Category:18th-century music genres]]
[[Category:19th-century music genres]]
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:21st-century music genres]]
[[Category:Renaissance music]]
[[Category:Song forms]]
[[Category:Songs in classical music]]
[[Category:Choral music genres]]