View source for Gilles Binchois

{{short description|Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer (c. 1400–1460)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
[[File:DufayBinchois.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Binchois (right) holding a small harp and [[Guillaume Du Fay]] (left) beside a [[portative organ]] in a {{circa|1440}} [[Illuminated manuscript]] copy of [[Martin le Franc]]'s ''Le champion des dames''{{sfn|Rossi|2008|p=II}}{{refn|This illustration is the only certain depiction of Binchois, and may not even be an accurate likeness.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§2 "Portraits"}}|group=n}}]]
{{Renaissance music sidebar|expanded=figures}}

'''Gilles de Bins dit Binchois''' (also '''Binchoys'''; {{circa|1400}} – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early [[Renaissance music]]. A central figure of the [[Burgundian School]], Binchois is renowned a melodist and miniaturist; he generally avoided large scale works, and is most admired for his shorter secular [[chanson]]s. Contemporary musicologists generally rank his importance below his colleague [[Guillaume Du Fay]] and the English composer [[John Dunstaple]], but together the three were the most celebrated composers of the early European [[Renaissance]].

Binchois was born in [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] (modern-day Belgium) to an upper-class family from [[Binche]]. His youth is largely unknown, although early chorister training is likely; by late 1419 he had obtained a local [[organist]] post. By 1423 he was in [[Lille]] and probably a soldier under the Englishman [[William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk|William de la Pole]], eventually in Paris and [[County of Hainaut|Hainaut]]. Sometime during the 1420s, Binchois settled in the culturally thriving court of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] under [[Philip the Good]], where he became a [[subdeacon]] and was awarded numerous [[prebend]]s. He retired to [[Soignies]] in 1453 amid a substantial courtly pension, dying in 1460.

It is thought that considerably more of his sacred music survives than secular music, creating a "paradoxical image" of the composer.{{sfn|Kirkman|Slavin|2000|p=1}} Reflecting on his style, the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' comments that "Binchois cultivated the gently subtle rhythm, the suavely graceful melody, and the smooth treatment of dissonance of his English contemporaries".{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}}

==Life==
===Early life===
The composer's full name is Gilles de Bins dit Binchois,{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=129}} consisting of the [[byname]] 'Gilles de Binche' (also spelled 'Gilles de Bins') and the [[Dit name|''dit'' name]] Binchois (also spelled 'Binchoys').{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 1}}{{refn|The composers [[Dit name|''dit'' name]] is usually spelled Binchois or Binchoys; however, early manuscripts trasmit a variety of alternative spellings. These include Binchis, Binchoy, Bincoys, Bynczoys, Bynzoys, Prachoys, Vinczois and Wintzois.{{sfn|Korth|2016}}|group=n}} Obituary records from St Vincent, [[Soignies]] name his parents as Johannes and Johanna de Binche, usually identified with Jean de Binch ({{Died in|1425}}?) and his wife Jeanne, [[née]] Paulouche ({{Died in|1426}}?).{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} His parents were of the upper class in [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] and probably from the town of [[Binche]]; his father was a councillor to Duke [[William II, Duke of Bavaria|William IV of Hainault]] and later [[Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} The elder Binchois was also a councillor for the Ste Waudru church of Mons, and built a chapel for the St Germain church.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} Their son Gilles Binchois was probably born in Mons, then in the [[County of Hainaut]], the same city in which the composer [[Orlande de Lassus]] would be born a century later.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} There is no documentary evidence that Binchois was born in the town of [[Binche]], a few miles from Mons, as is sometimes assumed.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}}

Nothing for certain is known about Binchois until 8 December 1419, when he is known to have been the [[organist]] at Ste Waudru in Mons.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} It is possible that Gilles Binchois received an early musical education near the court of Mons, and like other composers of his time, he probably trained as a chorister in his youth, perhaps at St Germain.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", paras 1–2}} An account from {{ill|Jules Houdoy|fr}} (1880) which refers to the chorister Jean de Binche at [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|Cambrai Cathedral]] has often been misinterpreted as referring to Binchois.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 2}} There is no evidence that Binchois was a chorister at Cambrai in his youth.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 2}} As is known, he never received an academic degree of any kind.{{sfn|Korth|2016}}

Records from 28 July 1423 indicates that he soon moved to [[Lille]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 1}} Around this time he may have been a soldier, as indicated by a line in the funeral motet ''Deploration for Binchois'', composed in his memory by the composer [[Johannes Ockeghem]].{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 5}}{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 3}} Binchois might have served under the Englishman [[William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk]], who was in France for the [[Hundred Years' War]];{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 3}} Binchois is assumed to have been in Paris, alongside the composer [[Estienne Grossin]].{{sfn|Korth|2016}} This association is evidenced by a 1426 document which records that the Duke of Suffolk commissioned the otherwise unknown [[Rondel (poem)|rondel]] ''Ainsi que a la foiz m’y souvient'' from a 'Binchoiz'.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 3}} At some point Binchois went with William to Hainaut.{{sfn|Korth|2016}}

===Burgundian court===
[[File:Eyck, Jan van - Portrait of a Young Man (Tymotheos) - National Gallery, London.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''[[Léal Souvenir]]'' by [[Jan van Eyck]] (1432). According to [[Erwin Panofsky]], this could be the likeness of Binchois, though this is disputed{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§2 "Portraits"}}]]

Sometime during the late 1420s Binchois joined the court chapel choir of [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]]; the exact date is unknown due to chapel's lost employment records from 1419 to 1436.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 4}} A 1427 disposition from Guillaume Benoit which includes Binchois' name suggests he was there by then, though this is uncertain.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 4}} He was certainly in the chapel when he wrote the motet ''Nove cantum melodie''—one of his only datable compositions—on the 18th of January 1431, as it was for the baptism of [[Anthony, bastard of Burgundy]]; the motet's text names Binchois alongside the composer [[Pierre Fontaine (composer)|Pierre Fontaine]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 4}}{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 2}} The musicologist [[David Fallows]] notes that "he must have been there some years earlier since the list of 1436 places him as fifth chaplain in order of seniority within the choir".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 4}} The Burgundian court under [[Philip the Good]] was perhaps the most lively and prominent court of the area; its members compared it to that of [[Alexander The Great]].{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 2}} The musicologist [[Reinhard Strohm]] commented that Philip's court of "eclectic and flamboyant culture typified the feudal aspirations of the age".{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=129}} This golden age was not from any specific innovations by Philip specifically, but his continued patronage after a long-line of monarchial support for the arts.{{sfn|Wright|1979|p=163}}

Among the residents of the court was the painter [[Jan van Eyck]], who, according to the art historian [[Erwin Panofsky]], may have portrayed Binchois in the ''[[Léal Souvenir]]'' portrait, though there is no widespread agreement for this.{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 2}}{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§2 "Portraits"}} Binchois was associated with the leading composer of his day, [[Guillaume Du Fay]].{{sfn|Planchart|2004|loc=§ "Introduction"}}{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 2}} They likely met, alongside the poet [[Martin le Franc]], during a meeting at Chambéry of the Burgundian and Savoy courts in February 1434.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 6}} It was probably here that Le Franc wrote his famous ''Le champion des dames'' poem, which depicts the two composers and blind Burgundian [[vielle]] players.{{sfn|Planchart|2004|loc=§1 "Life"}} The only certain meeting of the composers was in March 1449, when Du Fay resided with Binchois in Mons for a convocation of canons.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 6}}{{refn|Fallows has noted that Du Fay's employer Jehan Hubert was associated with Binchois' father in numerous documents, suggesting that "there is therefore a possibility that the two composers knew one another from an early age.".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 6}}|group=n}} Aside from Du Fay, important composer contemporaries of the region included [[Hugo de Lantins]] and [[Arnold de Lantins]].{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=129}}{{refn|See a more complete list of Binchois' contemporaries in {{harvtxt|Brown|1976|pp=59–65}}. See [[List of Renaissance composers]] for a broader list of the entire period|group=n}}

The Burgundian chapel choir was unique in allowing its members to become clergy without being ordained as a priest;{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 5}} in 1437 Binchois became a [[subdeacon]].{{sfn|Strohm|1985|p=153}} Probably due to Philip's favor, he held [[prebend]]s for at least four churches until his death: St Donatian, Bruges (from 7 January 1430); Ste Waudru, Mons (from 17 May 1437); St Vincent, Soignies (from 1452); and St Pierre, Cassel (from 21 May 1459).{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 5}} He was also made honorary court secretary in 1437 by Philip, who paid for a now-lost work by him on 29 May 1438, ''Passions en nouvelle maniere''.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 5}} It is possible that Binchois had some experience in medicine, since he attended to a duchess's toothache in July 1437, {{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 5}} receiving 30 [[French sol|sous]].{{sfn|Korth|2016}} The choir's attendance records are fairly thorough, and indicate that Binchois did not travel much on his own.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 6}}

===Final Soignies years===
He eventually retired in [[Soignies]] by February 1453, receiving a substantial pension until his death, presumably for his long years of exemplary service to the Burgundian court.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 7}} In 1452 he became [[Provost (religion)|provost]] of the collegiate church of St Vincent.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 2}} Around this time Soignies grew its reputation for musical excellence; [[Guillaume Malbecque]] and [[Johannes Regis]] were active there, while the contemporary writers [[Jacobus Lessabaeus]] and [[Lodovico Guicciardini]] praised the town's musical standard.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 7}} Binchois may have been involved in the well known 1454 [[Feast of the Pheasant]] in Lille, as the motet ''[[Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae]]'' was performed, which may be by Binchois, but is usually ascribed to Du Fay.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 2}}

On 20 September 1460 Binchois died in Soignies;{{sfn|Schuler|1976|p=69}} his will mentions otherwise unknown family members, including his brothers Andri de Binch and Ernoul de Binch.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§1 "Life", para. 7}} He was buried in St. Vincent's collegiate church.{{sfn|Korth|2016}} Upon his death Ockeghem wrote a deploration, ''Mort, tu as navré de ton dart''; its opening appears to [[musical quotation|quote]] an otherwise unknown chanson by Binchois.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 5}} Fallows has suggested that Du Fay composed the rondeau ''En triumphant'' in 1460 for his colleague's death,{{sfn|Planchart|2004|loc=§1 "Life"}} since it seemingly references two songs by Binchois.{{sfn|Campbell|2005}}{{refn|Composers writing laments for fellow composers was a long-standing tradition in [[Medieval music|medieval]] and Renaissance music.{{sfn|Reese|1940|p=358}}{{sfn|Leach|2014|p=304}} Other examples include [[F. Andrieu]]'s ''Armes, amours/O flour des flours'' (1377) for [[Guillaume de Machaut]], [[Josquin des Prez]]'s ''Nymphes des bois'' (1497) for Ockeghem, and [[William Byrd]]'s ''[[Ye Sacred Muses]]'' (1585) for [[Thomas Tallis]].{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=31}} See {{harvtxt|Rice|1999|p=31}} for a complete list of extant medieval and Renaissance laments.|group=n}}

==Music==
<!--{{see also|List of compositions by Gilles Binchois}}-->
{{external media
| topic  = ''Triste plaisir et douleureuse joye'' performed by the [[Sollazzo Ensemble]]
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCmHd5QZlJE ''Triste plaisir et douleureuse joye'']
}}

The ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' characterizes Binchois' musical style as emphasizing "gently subtle [[rhythm]], the [[:wikt:suavely|suavely]] graceful [[melody]], and the smooth treatment of dissonance [found in the music] of his English contemporaries".{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}} As a melodist, he is often considered among the finest of the 15th century;{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}} Fallows argues that in this regard, he had no contemporary equal.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§8 "Style", para. 1}} Binchois' composed exclusively [[vocal music]]; [[List of compositions by Gilles Binchois|his compositions]] include 28 [[Mass (music)|mass]] movements, 32 [[psalms]], 28 smaller sacred works, 54 [[chanson]]s, and a variety of [[motet]]s.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 3}} Most are written for three voices, although some have four.{{sfn|Korth|2016}}

Most commentators agree that Binchois was not a [[Progressive music|progressive]] composer.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=342}} The musicologist [[Reinhard Strohm]] concludes that although he "earned his enormous reputation in the one genre in which he excelled as a composer [...] this master of melody and courtly performer apparently does not explore the depths of the art".{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}} Binchois utilized a limited range of techniques, favoring older melodic styles that echoed the 12th-century ''[[courtly love|amour courtois]]'' ({{lit.|courtly love}}) tradition of the [[troubadour]]s and ''[[trouvère]]s''.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=342}} His genre preference was equally conservative, favoring small-scale works over more fashionable [[cyclic mass]]es and ''[[cantus firmus]]'' masses based on secular tunes.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=342}} This preference led to musicologist Anthony Pryer to describe him as a "supreme miniaturist".{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 4}} Indeed only a single large-scale work of his survives, the incomplete [[isorhythmic motet]] ''Nove cantum melodie'' (1481).{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 3}}{{refn|Binchois' disdain for large-scale genres may be a reflection of the Burgundian court culture, which Fallows presumes was "less festive and ambitious than its emulators in the south and less longwinded in its devotions than the more pretentious English establishments".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 5}}|group=n}}

Binchois' treatment of [[cadence]]s was more forward-looking; he occasionally approached the [[Dominant (music)|dominant]] scale-degree and [[leading-tone]] with a [[tonality|tonal sensibilities]] of the later [[common practice period]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§8 "Style", para. 4}}{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=342}} His progressive use of [[Consonance and dissonance|dissonance]] has also incited much discussion—he often embraced moments of dissonant [[Part (music)|part writing]], even when it was "easily avoided".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§8 "Style", para. 4}} Joan A. Boucher also noted that Binchois' wide range use of the bass voice was unique for his time.{{sfn|Boucher|1963|p=187}}

Like Du Fay, Binchois was deeply influenced by the ''[[contenance angloise]]'' style of [[John Dunstaple]] and [[Lionel Power]], which uniquely emphasized the [[Interval (music)|third and sixth]] intervals and often highlighted duets within larger [[Texture (music)|textures]].{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}}{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§4 "Binchois and England", para. 2}} Although Binchois probably never visited England,{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 1}} the Burgundian court had good relations with the English, with whom they established both diplomatic and cultural links;{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=243}} the Renaissance scholar [[Gordon Campbell (scholar)|Gordon Campbell]] notes that Binchois was "ideally placed to absorb and reflect styles from across the [[English Channel|channel]]".{{sfn|Campbell|2005}}{{refn|This proximity probably permitted Binchois an earlier English-contact than Du Fay, whose main career was spent in the further south Italy.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§4 "Binchois and England", para. 2}} Some compositions by Binchois set the English [[Use of Sarum]] liturgy and some of his songs can be found in English manuscripts.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 1}} The English composer [[John Bedyngham]] based a mass setting on Binchois' ballade "Dueil angoisseus".{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 1}}|group=n}} The English influence was such that three settings of [[antiphon]]s by Power and Dunstable, along with a motet by [[Standley (composer)|Standley]], were long-misattributed to Binchois.{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=245}} Strohm cautions that this influence was not prevalent enough to consider any of Binchois' works to be English in style or imitating an English model:{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}} "he followed his own, aural version of ''contenance angloise''".{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=247}}

===Secular===
[[File:Gilles Binchois.jpg|thumb|Watercolor of Binchois from ''Le Champion des dames'']]

Binchois is best known for his lyric-driven secular French songs, known as chansons, which were widely transmitted and imitated by fellow composers.{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}}  During Binchois' lifetime, the [[rondeau (music)|rondeau]] became the dominant chanson-type of the three ''[[formes fixes]]''.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 1}} This was reflected in Binchois' body of work: of his 54 chansons, the vast majority (47) are rondeaux and seven are [[Ballade (forme fixe)|ballades]].{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 3}} His songs are almost exclusively in [[Triple metre|triple time]], save for the rondeau "Seule esgaree" in [[Duple and quadruple metre|duple meter]].{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 4}} Other stylistic tropes include the use of [[under-third cadence]]s (Landini cadences), the favoring of short [[Phrase (music)|phrases]] and material [[Repetition (music)|repetition]].{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 4}} Pryer explains that "these superficial repetitions serve to demonstrate Binchois' flexibility, since it is rare for two phrases to have exactly the same rhythmic or melodic contour, and consecutive phrases rarely end on the same pitch or note-value."{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 4}} His melodies value simplicity, economy of material and, outside of the codas, minimal rhythmic activity.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 4}} The musicologist [[Hans-Otto Korth]] has noted a resemblance between the melodic character and simplicity of Binchois' music and that of [[folk music]], emphasizing it is a similarity in effect, not necessarily an influence.{{sfn|Korth|2016}} Fallows highlights these sentiments in numerous works: the "unforgettable grace" of "De plus en plus"; "restrained elegance" of "Mon cuer chante"; and "carefully balanced phrases" of "Adieu jusques je vous revoye".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 4}} 

The lyrics Binchois set were often by prominent French poet contemporaries, such as [[Charles, Duke of Orléans]], [[Alain Chartier]] and [[Christine de Pizan]].{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}}{{sfn|Fallows|2000|p=204}}{{refn|Fallows has doubted the apparent neatness of his exclusive setting the texts of major French poets, pointing out many of the authors have only been tentatively identified or unidentified.{{sfn|Fallows|2000|pp=204–206}} A text by his patron, [[William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk|William de la Pole]] was set by Binchois.{{sfn|Korth|2016}}|group=n}} He chiefly prioritized serious courtly subjects, unlike his contemporaries who wrote spoof songs and celebratory songs for [[May Day]] and [[New Year's Day]]; the combinative chanson "Filles a marier/Se tu t’en marias", which cautions against marriage, is an exception.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 2}} Binchois' method of [[Prosody (music)|text setting]] was often unique from his peers;{{sfn|Slavin|1992|pp=346–347}} his melodies are generally independent of the poem's [[rhyme scheme]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 5}} Scholars note that his tendency to favor [[Musical form|musical structure]] over [[poetic form]] has made their combination unpredictable in his works.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|pp=346–347}} This is a stark departure from the careful music-text balance of [[Guillaume_Du_Fay#Music|Guillaume Du Fay's compositions]].{{sfn|Slavin|1992|pp=347–348}} Fallows suggests that this approach is an attempt to counter the strict structural rules of the ''formes fixes'',{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", paras 5–6}} while Slavin describes this attitude as more medieval than [[Humanism|Humanistic]]-Renaissance.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=342}}

In addition to not prioritizing poetic structure, Binchois heavily emphasized musical [[symmetry]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 5}} The musicologist [[Wolfgang Rehm]] was the first to note that numerous Binchois songs, particularly early works, are symmetrically constructed in their length and the location of their middle cadence.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 5}} Rehm also observed that in five-line rondeaux, Binchois added a sixth non-texted musical line, so that the music remained symmetrical.{{sfn|Slavin|1992|p=347}} In works such as the rondeau "Amours et souvenir", abba poems are offset by an abab musical passage.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 5}} As such, Binchois stands out from other [[List of Renaissance composers|Renaissance composers]] in that "poetic form of a song cannot always be deduced correctly from the music alone".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§6 "Secular works", para. 5}}

===Sacred===
Most of Binchois' sacred output is individual mass movements, alongside [[psalm]] and [[canticle]] settings (particularly [[magnificat]]s) and a variety of smaller sacred works.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Works"}} No complete [[cyclic mass]] is extant and although scholars such as {{ill|Laurence Feininger|de}} and Arthur Parris have attempted to combine movements into a complete work, Fallows considers these nowhere near the coherency of other Renaissance masses.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para 3}} Although a few pairs of movements are known, their unification comes from overarching stylistic similarities, not specific musical material.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 3}} These mass movements are based around chant; unlike his contemporaries, the chant is used in a forward-looking manner: a starting point, not a strict foundation, allowing for more creative liberty.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 4}} Conversely the overall mass movement structure is relatively conservative.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 4}}

It is generally assumed that considerably more of Binchois' total [[sacred music]] survives than secular, creating a "paradoxical image" of a composer best known for the latter.{{sfn|Kirkman|Slavin|2000|p=1}}{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=244}} Regardless, the ease at which his secular output can be analyzed—both stylistically and chronologically—does not transfer here.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 1}} The various church forms are treated distinctly, often without stylistic parallels.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 1}} There are also departures from Binchois' secular characteristics: very few [[Burgundian cadence]]s (octave-leap cadences), less major [[prolation]], more selective ''[[Mensural notation#Mensural canons|tempus perfectum diminutum]]'' and less regular symmetry.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 1}}

[[Counterpoint]] was not a priority to Binchois, who instead emphasized [[text declamation]] and musical contour.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 6}} Thus his sacred output is often considered comparatively uninspired and routine; "severely practical" in the opinion of Pryer.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 3}} Oftentimes the work's chant source is harmonized in a basic, "note-against-note" manner, with such harmony in the top voice, akin to the continental standard then.{{sfn|Pryer|2011|loc=§ para. 3}} [[Homophony]] is his sacred texture of choice, typically in the [[fauxbourdon]] style, with melodies based on the Parisian rite—a then-fashionable approach in Burgundy.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 6}} Fallows notes that even the simplistic counterpoint in his magnificats is more extreme in unremarkability than routine magnificats by Du Fay and Dunstaple.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 6}} From these characteristics, Fallows considers Binchois' sacred works most similar to those of [[Johannes Brassart]] and [[Johannes de Limburgia]].{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§7 "Sacred works", para. 6}}

==Legacy==
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=22em|align=right|quote="He had taught Dea and Gwynplaine to sing, according to the method of [[Orpheus]] and of Egide Binchois. Frequently he interrupted the lessons with cries of enthusiasm, such as 'Orpheus, musician of Greece! Binchois, musician of Picardy!'"|source=''[[The Man Who Laughs]]'' chp. 6, by [[Victor Hugo]]{{sfn|Hugo|1888|p=391}}}}

Modern musicologists generally hold Binchois, along with Du Fay and [[John Dunstable]] as the three major European composers of the early 15th-century.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Introduction"}} Binchois, however, is usually ranked below the other two.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Introduction"}} Although Du Fay and Binchois have been grouped together since their lifetimes, the musicologist [[Reinhard Strohm]] considers this misleading, noting that while Binchois "earned his enormous reputation in the one genre in which he excelled as a composer, performer and possibly even poet, Du Fay's creativity unfolded along many more musical lines".{{sfn|Strohm|2005|p=182}} In general Du Fay is often considered the leading European composer of his lifetime,{{sfn|Planchart|2004|loc=§ "Introduction"}} and his career was both lengthier and more prolific than Binchois.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Introduction"}} While Dunstaple was described by the musicologist [[Margaret Bent]] as "probably the most influential English composer of all time."{{sfn|Bent|1981|p=9}} Reflecting on this, Fallows contends that regardless, "the extent to which [Binchois'] works were borrowed, cited, parodied and intabulated in the later 15th century implies that he had more direct influence than either [Du Fay or Dunstaple]".{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Introduction"}}

His tunes appeared in copies decades after his death, and were often used as sources for [[Mass (music)|Mass]] composition by later composers.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§2 "Reputation and influence", para. 3}} About half of his extant secular music is found in the manuscript Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Canon. misc. 213.{{sfn|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Works"}}

==Editions==
:''The standard editions for Binchois' sacred and secular music are {{harvnb|Rehm|1957}} and {{harvnb|Kaye|1991}} respectively''{{sfn|''Britannica''|2021|loc=§ para. 3}}
;Historical editions
* {{cite book |editor-last=Riemann |editor-first=Hugo |editor-link=Hugo Riemann |year=1892 |title=Sechs bisher nicht gedruckte dreistimmige Chansons … von Gilles Binchois (ca. 1425) aus dem Codex Mus. Ms. 3192 der Münchener Hof- und Staatsbibl. in moderne Notierung übertragen, mit neuem (deutschem) Text |trans-title=Six previously unpublished three-voice chansons … by Gilles Binchois (c. 1425) from Codex Mus. Ms. 3192 of the Munich Court and State Library, transcribed into modern notation with a new (German) text |language=German |publisher=Wiesbaden |location= |oclc=17704139 |ref=no }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Stainer |editor-first1=John Frederick Randall |editor-link1=John Stainer |editor-last2=Stainer |editor-first2=Cecie |others=Introduction by [[Edward Nicholson (librarian)|Edward Nicholson]]; musical analysis by [[John Stainer]] |year=1898 |title=Dufay and his Contemporaries: Fifty Compositions (Ranging from about A.D. 1400 to 1440) |edition=1 |publisher=[[Novello & Co]] |location=London |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Dufay_and_his_Contemporaries_(Various) |oclc=1120811734 |ref=no }} [https://archive.org/details/dufayandhiscont00nichgoog Archive.org]
** {{cite book |editor-last1=Stainer |editor-first1=John Frederick Randall |editor-link1=John Stainer |editor-last2=Stainer |editor-first2=Cecie |others=Introduction by [[Edward Nicholson (librarian)|Edward Nicholson]]; musical analysis by [[John Stainer]] |year=1963 |title=Dufay and his Contemporaries: Fifty Compositions (Ranging from about A.D. 1400 to 1440) |edition=2 |publisher=Frits A.M. Knuf |location=Amsterdam |oclc=21452928 |ref=no }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=von Ficker |editor-first=Rudolf |editor-link=Rudolf von Ficker |year=1924 |title=Sieben Trienter Codices |publisher=[[Universal Edition]] |location=Vienna |series=[[Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich]] |volume=XXXI |number=60 |oclc=20376641 |ref=no }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Droz |editor-first1=Eugénie |editor-link1=Eugénie Droz |editor-last2=Thibault |editor-first2=Geneviève |editor-link2=Geneviève Thibault |year=1924 |title=Poètes et musiciens du XVe siècle |trans-title=Poets and Musicians of the 15th Century |language=French |publisher=Paris |location= |oclc=3865780 |ref=no }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Van den Borren |editor-first=Charles |editor-link=:fr:Charles Van den Borren |year=1932 |title=Polyphonia Sacra |publisher=[[Plainsong and Medieval Music Society]] |location=Nashdom |oclc=663506936 |ref=no }} 2nd edition, 1962
* {{cite book |editor-last=Marix |editor-first=Jeanne |year=1937 |title=Les musiciens de la cour de Bourgogne au XVe siècle |trans-title=Musicians of the Burgundy court in the 15th century |publisher=[[American Musicological Society|AMS]] Press |location=New York |oclc=1312495580 |ref=no }}

;Modern editions
* {{cite book |editor-last=Rehm |editor-first=Wolfgang |editor-link=Wolfgang Rehm |year=1957 |title=Die Chansons von Gilles Binchois (1400–1460) |series={{ill|Musikalische Denkmäler (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur)|de|lt=Musikalische Denkmäler}} 2 |publisher=[[Schott Music]] |location=Mainz |oclc=20617065 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Kaye |editor-first=Philip R. |year=1991 |title=The Sacred Music of Gilles Binchois |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |oclc=23975354 }}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
:'''Books'''
{{refbegin|32em}}
* {{cite book |last=Bent |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Bent |year=1981 |title=Dunstaple |series=Oxford Studies of Composer |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-315225-0 }}
* {{cite thesis |last=Boucher |first=Joan A. |date=1963 |title=The Religious Music of Gilles Binchois |type=PhD thesis |publisher=[[Boston University]] |oclc=603465003 |url=https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/29055 |hdl=2144/29055 }}<!--LC 64–373; DA XXIV, 6, 2509-->
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Howard Mayer |year=1976 |title=Music in the Renaissance |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |location=Englewood Cliffs |isbn=978-0-13-608497-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/musicinrenaissan0000brow_f9v8 |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Kirkman |editor-first1=Andrew |editor-last2=Slavin |editor-first2=Dennis |year=2000 |title=Binchois Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-816668-9 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=fEkuuoZ1eDcC}} }}
** {{harvc |last=Fallows |first=David |author-link=David Fallows |in1=Kirkman |in2=Slavin |year=2000 |chapter=Binchois and the Poets |pages=119–220 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hugo |first=Victor |author-link=Victor Hugo |year=1888 |orig-year=1869 |title=[[The Man Who Laughs]] |series=The Works of Victor Hugo |publisher=The Athenaeum Society |location=New York |oclc=6737657 }}
* {{cite book |last=Leach |first=Elizabeth Eva |author-link=Elizabeth Eva Leach |year=2014 |title=Guillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |location=Ithaca |isbn=978-1-5017-0486-4 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=AvWDDwAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Reese |first=Gustave |author-link=Gustave Reese |year=1940 |title=Music in the Middle Ages: With an Introduction on the Music of Ancient Times |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |location=Lanham |oclc=398158 }}
* {{cite book |last=Rossi |first=Francesco Rocco |year=2008 |title=Guillaume Du Fay |language=Italian |series=Constellatio Musica 18 |publisher=L'Epos |location=Palermo |isbn=978-88-8302-360-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Strohm |first=Reinhard |author-link=Reinhard Strohm |year=1985 |title=Music in Late Medieval Bruges |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-316418-5 |edition=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/musicinlatemedie0000stro/mode/2up |url-access=limited }}
* {{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 |isbn=978-0-521-61934-9 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=8gwToY1HEoIC}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Craig M. |author-link=Craig M. Wright |year=1979 |title=Music at the Court of Burgundy, 1364-1419 |publisher=Institute of Medieval Music |location=Henryville |isbn=978-0-912024-25-7 }}
{{refend}}

:'''Journal and encyclopedia articles'''
{{refbegin|32em}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Campbell |first=Gordon |author-link=Gordon Campbell (scholar) |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance |title=Binchois, Gilles de Bins |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-860175-3 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198601753.001.0001/acref-9780198601753-e-446 }} {{subscription required}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Fallows |first=David |author-link=David Fallows |year=2001 |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |title=Binchois [Binchoys], Gilles de Bins [Binch, Binche] dit |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.03094 |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-0000003094 }} {{Grove Music subscription}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Korth |first=Hans-Otto |year=2016 |orig-year=1999 |title=Binchois, Gilles de Bins |encyclopedia=[[MGG Online]] |publisher=[[Bärenreiter]] |location=Kassel |language=German |url=https://www.mgg-online.com/article?id=mgg01559 |url-access=subscription }} {{subscription required}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Planchart |first=Alejandro Enrique |author-link=Alejandro Planchart |year=2004 |orig-year=2001 |encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]] |title=Du Fay [Dufay; Du Fayt], Guillaume |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.08268 |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-0000008268 }} {{Grove Music subscription}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Pryer |first=Anthony |editor-last=Latham |editor-first=Alison |year=2011 |title=Binchois [Gilles de Bins] |encyclopedia=[[The Oxford Companion to Music]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-957903-7 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199579037.001.0001/acref-9780199579037-e-803 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last=Rice |first=Eric |year=1999 |title=Tradition and Imitation in Pierre Certon's Déploration for Claudin de Sermisy |journal=Revue de Musicologie |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=29–62 |doi=10.2307/947006 |jstor=947006 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Schuler |first=Manfred |date=1976 |title=Neues zur Biographie von Gilles Binchois |trans-title=News on the Biography of Gilles Binchois |language=German |journal=[[Archiv für Musikwissenschaft]] |volume=33 |issue=Jahrg., H. 1 |pages=68–78 |jstor=930600 |doi=10.2307/930600 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Slavin |first=Dennis |date=Summer 1992 |title=Some Distinctive Features of Songs by Binchois: Cadential Voice Leading and the Articulation of Form |journal=[[The Journal of Musicology]] |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=342–361 |doi=10.2307/763654 |jstor=763654 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |date=16 September 2021 |title=Binchois &#124; Flemish composer |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=Chicago |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Binchois |ref={{sfnRef|''Britannica''|2021}} }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
''See {{harvtxt|Kirkman|Slavin|2000|pp=331–342}} and {{harvtxt|Fallows|2001|loc=§ "Bibliography"}} for extensive bibliographies''
* {{cite book |last=Dewitte |first=A. |year=1970 |title=De geestelijkheid van de Brugse Lieve-Vrouwkerk in de 16e eeuw |volume=117 |pages=100–135 }}
* {{cite book |last=Fallows |first=David |author-link=David Fallows |year=2002 |title=Musikalische Quellen – Quellen zur Musikgeschichte. Festschrift für Martin Staehelin zum 65. Geburtstag |trans-title=Musical Sources – Sources for Music History. Festschrift for Martin Staehelin on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday |language=German |chapter=Ballades by Dufay, Grenon, and Binchois: 'The Boorman Fragment' |pages=25–35 |publisher=[[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] |location=Göttingen |isbn=978-3-525-27820-8 |oclc=53125722 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kemp |first=Walter H. |year=1990 |title=Burgundian Court Song in the Time of Binchois: The Anonymous Chansons of El Escorial, MS V.III.24 |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |location=Oxford |series=Oxford monographs on music |isbn=978-0-19-816135-6 |oclc=18814790 }}
* {{cite thesis |last=Parris |first=Arthur |year=1964 |title=The Sacred Works of Gilles Binchois |type=<!--Uncertain--> |publisher=[[Bryn Mawr College]] |oclc=30962057 |ref=no }}
* {{cite book |last=Reese |first=Gustave |author-link=Gustave Reese |year=1954 |title=Music in the Renaissance |edition=revised |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |location=New York |isbn=0-393-09530-4 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Wright |first=Craig |author-link=Craig M. Wright |date=1975 |title=Dufay at Cambrai: Discoveries and Revisions |journal=[[Journal of the American Musicological Society]] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=175–229 |doi=10.2307/830766 |jstor=830766 }}

:'''Works of historical interest'''
* {{cite journal |last=Closson |first=Ernest |author-link=:fr:Ernest Closson |date=November 1924 |title=L'origine de Gilles Binchois |journal=Revue de Musicologie |volume=T. 5 |issue=12 |pages=149–151 |jstor=926163 |doi=10.2307/926163 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Fétis |first=François-Joseph |author-link=François-Joseph Fétis |year=1866 |edition=2nd |encyclopedia=[[Biographie universelle des musiciens]] |volume=1  |title=Aaron—Bohrer |pages=417–419 |language=French |publisher=[[Firmin Didot Frères]] |location=Paris |url=https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/3/3b/IMSLP90940-PMLP47766-Fetis_1.pdf |via=[[IMSLP]] }}
* {{cite journal |last=Haberl |first=F.X. |author-link=Franz Xaver Haberl |editor-last1=Chrysander |editor-first1=Friedrich |editor-link1=Friedrich Chrysander |editor-last2=Spitta |editor-first2=Philipp |editor-link2=Philipp Spitta |editor-last3=Adler |editor-first3=Guido |editor-link3=Guido Adler |year=1885 |title=Wilhelm du Fay |journal={{ill|Vierteljahrsschrift für Musikwissenschaft|de|display=Vierteljahrsschrift für musikwissenschaft}} |volume=1 |publisher=[[Breitkopf & Härtel]] |location=Leipzig |oclc=1773229 |issn=0863-6206 |pages=397–530 |url=https://archive.org/details/vierteljahrssch23unkngoog/page/396/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book |last=Pinchart |first=Alexandre |author-link=:fr:Alexandre Pinchart |year=1881 |title=Archives des arts, sciences et lettres: Documents inédits, publiés et annotés |trans-title=Archives of Arts, Sciences and Letters: Unpublished, Published and Annotated Documents |chapter=§ 93. Ménestrels, musiciens, fabricants d'orgues et de trompes, écoles de musique, etc. |trans-chapter=§ 93. Minstrels, Musicians, Organ and Horn Makers, Music Schools, etc. |volume=3 |publisher=[[L. Hebbelynck]] |location=Ghent |oclc=1039989296 |url=https://resources.warburg.sas.ac.uk/pdf/cdh40b2212277C.pdf |pages=136–151 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Stainer |first=John Frederick Randall |editor-last=Maitland |editor-first=John Alexander Fuller |editor-link=John Alexander Fuller Maitland |year=1904 |title=Binchois |encyclopedia=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]] |volume=1 |publisher=[[Macmillan & Co]] |location=London |oclc=407077 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924021782838/page/326/mode/2up 326–327] }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{DIAMM|pid=153|pname=Gilles Binchois}}
* {{ChoralWiki}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Binchois, Gilles}}

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[[Category:1460 deaths]]
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