chansons de regretz in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
TRANSCRIPT
CHANSONS DE REGRETZ IN THE LATE FIFTEENTHAND EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURIES
by
Ekaterini AkarepiAugust 2009
A dissertation submitted to theFaculty of the Graduate School of
the University at Buffalo, State University of New Yorkin partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Music
UMI Number: 3372017
Copyright 2009 by Akarepi, Ekaterini
All rights reserved
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ii
Copyright by
Ekaterini Akarepi
2009
iii
To my parents, Maria and Athanasios,
With love and gratitude
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While researching and writing this dissertation, I have had the privilege to receive
generous assistance from many people. My first and sincerest thanks go to Professor
Michael Long, who has guided me through the long and frequently challenging path of
dissertation writing with foresight, remarkable patience, and true understanding. I am
grateful to Dr. Long for many years of academic motivation and for being a truly
inspiring model as a teacher and scholar. I also wish to acknowledge the members of my
committee – Professors Charles Smith, Jeffrey Stadelman, and Stephanie Vander Wel –
for their guidance and support in various levels and ways through the years.
Karen Sausner, Graduate Academic Advisor at the Music Department of the State
University of New York at Buffalo, has been extremely helpful in giving advice over
practical and yet essential matters. I also wish to thank the librarians of the Music Library
at the University at Buffalo, and most notably John Bewley, who accommodated my
research needs and requests especially during the last few years when I had moved from
Buffalo. My heartfelt thanks extend to Silke Lambert for her editorial assistance and to
the Graduate Student Association for offering this service; I remain indebted to Silke for
always responding to my editing requests quickly, working beyond her assigned time,
and, most especially, for her kind words of encouragement.
The support of Professor Yianna Liatsos has been indispensable in completing my
dissertation and I remain deeply indebted to her. A dear friend and challenging
communicator, Yianna stood as my good angel and critical eye by offering abundant
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doses of encouragement and sharp questioning. Zeta Giannopoulou and Anne-Vale
Leibundgut generously looked through my English translations of the regretz texts and
provided ample comments and suggestions for improvement; I offer my most special
thanks to Zeta for always responding with generosity to my relentless inquiries.
Above and beyond matters of convention and in a hopefully justifiable tone of
heartfelt appreciation, I wish to thank my parents Maria and Athanasios Akarepis and my
parents in-law Ariadne and Kyriakos Karathanasis for standing alongside me, patiently,
selflessly, and wisely. Lastly and most warmly I want to thank my husband Konstantinos
Karathanasis for his love and constant encouragement; for withstanding my minor (and
some major) crises of confidence; and for never doubting.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION …………………………………………………….……………………iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………...………………………………………………iv
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ……………………………………………………ix
LIST OF TABLES ..…………………………………………………………………..xiii
LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………..……………………xiv
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………xv
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………1
CHAPTER 1. REPERTORY, ISSUES, APPROACHES ………………………….…4
Tracing the Regretz Complex ………………………………………………...…….1
Intertextuality and Early Music ………………………………………………..….15
CHAPTER 2. THE ORBIT OF GHIZEGHEM’S REGRETZ CHANSONS ………39
Echoes of Allez regretz ……………..…..…………………………………………41
Chanson Reworkings ……………..…….…………………………………..41
Allez Regretz and Venés regretz ...…………………………………………..43
Sans regretz as a Descendant ......……………………………………...……50
Calling the “Regretz” “Nuit et jour” ..………………………………………56
La Regretée as an Offspring ...………………………………………………60
Loose Intertextualities in Anon’s Tous les regretz and Mon souvenir.….….68
Echoes and Intersections of Les grans regretz ...……………………………….…72
vii
Concluding Note…………………………………………………………………...84
CHAPTER 3. THE CROSSROADS OF MILLE REGRETZ ………………………86
Dialogues among the Regretz of Josquin ..………………………………………..88
Paths of Connection among Mille, Parfons, and Plus Nulz Regretz ...…...…90
Threads Across Mille Regretz and Plusieurs Regretz ...…………………….99
Veiled Allusions of Mille Regretz in Regretz Sans Fin ...…...…………….101
Resonances with the Regretz of La Rue……………..………..….....……………104
Mille and Plusieurs ………...………………………………………………105
Aprez regretz…………...…………………………………………………..109
Tous les Regretz..…………………………………………………………..113
Textual Echoes Between Mille Regretz and Cent Mille Regretz …...……..119
Mille regretz as the Progenitor of Gombert’s Regretz ...…………………………121
The “Other Way Around” …………...…...………………………………………132
Conclusions. ...…..……………………………………………………………….134
CHAPTER 4. FURTHER MUSICAL ALLIANCES WITHIN THE REGRETZ
COMPLEX .……………………………………………………………136
The Referential Aspect of Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz .....…..…………………..136
Discourses with La Rue’s Tous les regretz ...…...…………………………137
Ties with Secretz regretz ...….……………………………………………..150
Further Subtle Connections .....…………………………………………….154
Josquin’s Regretz à 5 ...…………………………………………………………..157
Graftings and Echoes between La Rue’s Dueil et ennuy and Tous les regretz…..163
viii
Marguerite of Austria and More Musical Threads...……………………………..169
Closing comments ……………………………………………………………….178
CHAPTER 5. THE LITERARY DIMENSION OF THE REGRETZ …….………180
Literary Roots….…………………………………………………………………180
Allez regretz and the Emergence of Regretz..…………………………………….193
Literary Archetypes in the Regretz Topos …...…………………………………..199
Localized Intertextualities within the Regretz Texts .……………………………209
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………….216
APPENDIX. TRANSLATIONS OF REGRETZ TEXTS .………………………….222
WORKS CITED ………………………………………………………………………227
ix
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Ex. 2.1a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 1-6…………………………………………….45
Ex. 2.1b: Compère, Venés regretz, m. 1-5...……………………………………………45
Ex. 2.2a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 31-36.…………………………………………46
Ex. 2.2b: Compère, Venés regretz, m. 16-24 …………………………………………..47
Ex. 2.3: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, m. 1-10..……………………………………………53
Ex. 2.4a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, cantus and tenor, m. 12-22 .…………...…………55
Ex. 2.4b: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, m. 13-22……………………………………………55
Ex. 2.5: Fresneau, Nuit et jour, m. 1-11…...…………………………………………..59
Ex. 2.6: Fresneau, Nuit et jour, m. 18-23…...…………………………………………60
Ex. 2.7: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, m. 1-12……………………………………………62
Ex. 2.8: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, bassus, m. 13-18………….………………………62
Ex. 2.9a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 10-14 …………………………………………63
Ex. 2.9b: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, m. 62-66……………………………….………….64
Ex. 2.10: Anon [Ockeghem], Tous les regretz, superius m. 7-9…..……………………69
Ex. 2.11: Ghizeghem, Mon souvenir, m. 15-21 ………………………………………..71
Ex. 2.12a: Ghizeghem, Les grans regretz, m. 1-4.………………………………………75
Ex. 2.12a: Longueval, Alle regres, superius m. 4-7...……………………………………75
Ex. 2.13a: Longueval, Alle regres, bassus m. 1-5..………………………………………75
Ex. 2.13b: Josquin, Mille regretz, bassus m. 1-5...………………………………………76
Ex. 2.14: Longueval, Alle regres, cantus, tenor, and bassus, m. 27-33...………………77
x
Ex. 2.15a: Ghizeghem, Les grans regretz, superius, m. 1-12……………………………79
Ex. 2.15b: Ghizeghem, Mon souvenir, superius, m. 1-8…………………………………79
Ex. 2.16: Anon, Tous nobles cueurs, superius m. 1-10..……………………………….82
Ex. 3.1a: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 1-7………………………………………………...92
Ex. 3.1b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 1-19...………………………………………92-93
Ex. 3.2a: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 18-24..…………………………………………….94
Ex. 3.2b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 44-67...……………………………………..94-95
Ex. 3.3: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 17-19……..……………………………………....96
Ex. 3.4: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 8-16…………………………………………..97
Ex. 3.5: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 1-7...……..………………………………….100
Ex. 3.6: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 13-18...……...………………………………..103
Ex. 3.7: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 1-8.…..……………………………………….104
Ex. 3.8: La Rue, Plusieurs regretz, m. 1-10..……………………………………106-107
Ex. 3.9: La Rue, Plusieurs regretz, m. 36-40.………………………………………..109
Ex. 3.10: La Rue, Aprez regretz, m. 16-24…………………………………………….110
Ex. 3.11: La Rue, Aprez regretz, m. 1-5……………………………………………….112
Ex. 3.12: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 1-20...…………………………………….114-115
Ex. 3.13: Gombert, Mille regretz, m. 1-14…..……………………………………122-123
Ex. 3.14a: Gombert, Mille regretz, m. 20-24..…………………………………………124
Ex. 3.14b: Gombert, Regret ennuy, m. 19-23...………………………………………...125
Ex. 3.15: Gombert, O doulx regretz, 1-3……………………………………………...127
Ex. 3.16: Gombert, Tous les regretz, m. 1-9…………………………………………..129
xi
Ex. 3.17: Gombert, O doulx regretz, m. 19-29...………………………………………130
Ex. 4.1: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 1-10………………………………………….141
Ex. 4.2a: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 16-25………………………………………...143
Ex. 4.2b: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 21-30………………………………………….144
Ex. 4.3a: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 31-45………………………...…………...145-46
Ex. 4.3b: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 31-40………………………………………….146
Ex. 4.4: La Rue, Secretz regretz, m. 1-6…………………………………………….. 151
Ex. 4.5a: La Rue, Secretz regretz, tenor and bassus, m. 7-18………………………… 152
Ex. 4.5b: La Rue, Secretz regretz, m. 37-42………………………………………….. 153
Ex. 4.5c: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 51-61………………………………………...153
Ex. 4.6: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 32-38………………………………………….155
Ex. 4.7: Prioris, Dueil et ennuy, m. 1-5……………………………………………….156
Ex. 4.8: Prioris, Dueil et ennuy, m. 8-11……………………………………………...155
Ex. 4.9a: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 24-30………………………………………...160
Ex. 4.9b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 28-30………………………………………….161
Ex. 4.10: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 46-60………………………………………...162
Ex. 4.11: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 1-10……………………………………………..164
Ex. 4.12: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 36-40……………………………………………166
Ex. 4.13: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 21-25……………………………………………167
Ex. 4.14a: La Rue, Pour ung jamais, m. 22-33………………………………………...175
Ex. 4.14b: Ghiselin, Le cueur la suyt, m. 20-24………………………………………..175
Ex. 4.15a: La Rue, Pour ung jamais, m. 1-11………………………………………….177
xii
Ex. 4.15b: Ghiselin, Le cueur la suyt, m. 1-9…………………………………………..178
xiii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: List of regretz chansons……………………………………………………...7-8
Table 1.2: Major sources of regretz…………………………………………………..10-11
Table 2.1: Scheme of cadences in Les grans regretz and Mon souvenir………………...78
Table 4.1: Number of measures per verse setting in Parfons regretz and Plusieurs
regretz………………………………………………………………………..159
Table 5.1: Shared vocabulary among J’amasse ung tresor, C’est une dangereuse
espergne, and Allez regretz…………………………………………………..192
Table 5.2: Regretz sharing the “Imperative+regretz” incipit…………………………...193
Table 5.3: Regretz summoned vs. expelled……………………………………………..200
Table 5.4: Prevalent words signifying suffering in the regretz texts …………………..206
xiv
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 2.1: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, superius (FlorC 2439, f. 79v) ….……………………51
Fig. 2.2: Longueval, Alle regres, superius (BolC Q19) …………………………………73
xv
ABSTRACT
Musical allusion and intertextual play, well established practices in the late
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, were especially apparent in the realm of sacred
repertory as well as in settings of particular song models (De tous biens plaine, Fortuna
desperata). Yet one can observe musical networking of a less conspicuous kind among
chansons whose only apparent means of connection are a shared literary theme and/or
word(s) of the incipit. The late 1400s witnessed an abundance of regretz; these chansons
feature the word “regretz” (and/or similar orthographies of the word) in or close to their
incipit. This dissertation deals with the referential world of the regretz on the levels of
music, text, and context, extending the discursive context of the “regretz complex”
beyond the previously discussed reworkings of such popular chansons as Allez regretz
and Mille regretz. Scrutiny of a group of more than forty regretz chansons considered in
the dissertation brings to light intertextual associations of a broad spectrum that ranges
from instances of overt relation (shared incipits, prominent musical motives and gestures)
to non-apparent intersections of broader shared codes (narratives, musical structures and
textures, and alignment of musical material). Prominent literary figures of the fifteenth
century such as Jean II de Bourbon and Charles d’Orléans were essential in initiating the
regretz as a literary theme. The poetic texts of the regretz chansons are composed of a
shared vocabulary of constants (code-words and themes), which embodies a rhetoric of
sorrow and suffering. Speculating upon musical connections within the regretz complex
may help us in gaining insight into the ways such composers as Compère, Fresneau,
xvi
Ghiselin, Ghizeghem, Josquin, La Rue, Longueval, and the later Gombert, among others,
acknowledged the regretz as a literary topos and shaped them into a cult musical
tradition. Regretz chansons discussed at length include, among others, Ghizeghem’s Allez
regretz and La Regretée, Compère’s Venés regretz, Josquin’s Mille regretz, Parfons
regretz, and Plus nulz regretz, and La Rue’s Tous les regretz. A non-inclusive list of
other pieces considered includes Fresneau’s Nuit et jour, Ghiselin’s Le cueur la suyt,
Josquin’s Plusieurs regretz and Regretz sans fin, La Rue’s Dueil et ennuy, Plusieurs
regretz and Pour ung jamais, Longueval’s Alle regres, and Weerbeke’s Sans regretz.
1
INTRODUCTION
The late 1400s witnessed a large number of chansons, which featured the word
“regretz” in their incipit or close to their opening verse. Most of these regretz chansons
appear in manuscript sources that originated from the Burgundian/Habsburg scriptorium,
often placed in adjacent folios within prominent chansonniers of the early 1500s, and set
by such well-known composers as Alexander Agricola, Hayne van Ghizeghem, Pierre de
la Rue, and Josquin des Prez.
The meaning of the word “regretz” during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
was associated with narratives conveying the kind of sorrow associated with suffering,
anguish, and lament over death or parting. Although “sorrow” is a close synonym of
“regretz,” it is not adequate to communicate the broad range of significations and nuances
of the latter.
Notable literary figures of the fifteenth century such as Alain Chartier, Jean II de
Bourbon, and Charles d’Orléans wrote poems that conveyed the word “regretz” as a
means of engaging in dialogic exchanges and initiating the “regretz” as a literary topos.
The regretz chansons that flourished later in the century must have originated as an
outcome of the initial regretz exchanges of the aforementioned poets.
This dissertation focuses on a specific set of regretz chansons and delineates their
distinct textual, musical, and contextual connections. The texts of the regretz chansons
feature shared narratives and code-words. Specifically, I argue that they are marked by a
plural form and a multi-faceted quality; they are either summoned (“Revenez tous
2
regretz,” “Sourdez regretz,” “Venés regretz”) or expelled (“Allez regretz,” “Va t’en
regretz,” “Fuyés regretz”); they do not simply convey feelings, but come across as
personified partners; and they feature an extensive vocabulary of suffering and continuity
through such constants as “mort,” “dueil” (mourning), “tourmenter,” and “cueur.”
Scrutiny among the regretz of La Rue and Josquin has led me to speculate on
historical tracks of influence between the two composers – an issue of debate in current
music scholarship. Contrary to the more popular idea of La Rue imitating Josquin, I argue
that the associations among the regretz of the two composers suggest a path of influence
from La Rue to Josquin.
Within groups of regretz chansons of particular composers, I have observed
threads of connection that hint to cases of self-reference. I have thus drawn lines among
the regretz of such composers as Ghizeghem, La Rue, Josquin, and Nicolas Gombert. In
particular, the associations between Ghizeghem’s well-known Allez regretz and his later
rondeau La Regretée (very intriguing as they involve apart from similarities in their
incipits, the shared presence of a four-measure polyphonic block in parallel structural
points) suggest that Ghizeghem looks back to his earlier work to compose a sophisticated
response.
I also observe musical gestures specifically associated with particular subgroups
of regretz – such as a shared musical gesture found in the regretz of both Josquin and La
Rue, featuring a rising step and falling sixth, set on a fixed rhythmic pattern, and
presented in duets and in repetition. I view this gesture as a musical distinctive pattern
within the regretz complex.
3
While the application of “intertextuality” in music scholarship has been
controversial, I find the concept enormously useful for addressing associations that occur
on several levels – such as musical versus poetic text, sources of transmission, and other
contextual facets. My use of the concept has been particularly influenced by Kevin
Brownlee’s idea that situates early music scholarship within a gamut of intertextuality
(intertextual approaches conveying specificity and intentionality versus others engaging
in discourses on the level of broader shared practices such as a literary topos or elements
of musical structure).1
Through drawing intertextual associations, I suggest that the regretz chansons
must have communicated in a larger or lesser degree; late fifteenth-century composers
acknowledged the regretz as a compositional complex; and, apart from their individual
value and meaning, the chansons can be viewed for their significance in sharing and
shaping the regretz topos.
1 Kevin Brownlee, “Literary Intertextualities in 14th-Century French Song,” in Musik als Text: Bericht überden Internationalen Kongreß der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung, ed. Hermann Danuser & TobiasPlebuch (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1998), 295-9.
4
CHAPTER 1
REPERTORY, ISSUES, APPROACHES
Tracing the Regretz Complex
Leafing through the opening folios of the early sixteenth-century Savoyard
chansonnier BrusBR 11239, one cannot fail to observe the string of chansons on the
theme of regretz, an undoubtedly appropriate topic for a manuscript whose repertory is
especially permeated with sadness. As unique as MS 11239 can be considered in
featuring a series of seven regretz chansons within its opening folios, the representation
of regretz in central sources of Habsburg-Burgundian origin is equally significant
(BrusBR 228 and VienNB Mus. 18746). As a matter of fact, the profusion of regretz
chansons in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries is most remarkable. Apart from
the more widely known Allez regretz and Mille regretz, composed by Hayne van
Ghizeghem and Josquin des Prez respectively, various chansons de regretz composed at
the time call on “le grans,” “plusieurs,” “cent mille,” and “tous les” regretz, as well as
addressing the regretz with such commands as “venez,” “revenez,” “sourdez,” “va t’en,”
and “fuyés.” Several regretz texts were set by such celebrated Franco-Flemish composers
as Alexander Agricola and Pierre de la Rue, while regretz by composers of a relatively
lesser stature such as Richafort, Fresneau, Longueval, Févin, and Weerbeke, among
others, have also survived.
This dissertation deals with chansons of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth
centuries that feature the word “regretz” (and its variants) in or close to their opening
5
verse(s). It aims to explore the intertextual dimension of the regretz chansons and, in the
course of this discussion, to develop the idea that the regretz, apart from their individual
significance, can also be viewed as virtually linked together to a compositional family
which I call the “regretz complex.”
It is the abundance of regretz chansons in various manuscripts dating from around
the early 1500s, as well as the status of Allez regretz as a cult chanson, which prompted
the sprouting of an “Allez regretz” compositional family, which intrigued me, in the first
place, to consider the regretz chansons as a “chanson complex” and to investigate threads
of interrelation within it. Indeed, the discursive world of the regretz extends, as I will
clarify, beyond previously discussed instances of intentional borrowing in chanson
reworkings modeled after Allez regretz and Mille regretz. Intertextual threads within the
regretz network will be observed on the levels of music, literary text, and context
(sources, authorial discourses, historical events), and in a spectrum that ranges from
instances of overt relation (shared incipits, prominent musical motives and gestures,
shared vocabulary) to non-apparent intersections of broader shared codes (themes,
narratives, comparable musical structures and textures, alignment of musical material,
etc.). During the course of my discussion, I will develop the idea that on the level of
poetry, the regretz must have been viewed as an established literary topos with a well-
defined panoply of conceptual archetypes; their musical settings, complemented by both
apparent and subtle weavings of musical material, stimulate and expand the referential
world of the regretz. Lastly, while the issue of influence is not central in my discussion –
it is not my purpose to establish authorial intention among regretz chansons of individual
6
composers – in certain instances, I have found it appropriate to speculate on possible
threads of communication that may have prompted musical and/or textual cross-
fertilizations.
The repertory under consideration concerns regretz chansons that were composed,
broadly speaking, from around the 1460s to the 1540s. Yet, apart from a small number of
regretz chansons, which stand, chronologically, on the boundaries of this time span –
namely, Jean Delahaye’s Pour les regretz and the regretz of Nicolas Gombert – the core
regretz repertory I primarily consider dates from the 1470s up to the 1520s. A group of
forty-eight regretz (see table below1) has formed the starting point of my investigation.
Scrutiny of this stock-repertory led me to discover threads of musical and/or textual
interconnection among the majority of these chansons; it is thus those chansons that
exhibit some degree of intertextual association with others that I selectively discuss.2
A considerable number of regretz chansons feature the word “regretz” in their
opening hemistich. It was this consistency in the opening line of their poetic texts,
certainly not surprising for fifteenth-century audiences that were familiar with the
tradition of poetic contests on designated refrains,3 that initially intrigued me to explore
the intertextual dimension of the regretz network. These regretz whose incipits carry the
1 As all anonymous regretz chansons are unica, I include their sources as a further means of identification. The symbol * in the table stands for works that circulate without ascription and are attributed to a composer on the basis of stylistic evidence. The symbol ** stands for works of debatable attribution. 2 As the volume of the repertory under consideration is quite substantial, it is not feasible to deal with all regretz chansons at length. Thus, a number of intertextual instances are briefly touched on in the footnotes. I have not, so far, noticed any hint of musical and or textual associations for the following chansons: Vides regret, J’ay ung regretz, Je n’ay regretz, and Plain de regret. 3 On poetic contests upon a set incipit / refrain in the fifteenth century, see Yolanda Plumley, “Playing the Citation Game in the Late Fourteenth-Century Chanson,” Early Music 31/1 (2003): 20-39, esp. 21-22;
Jean Delahaye Pour les regretz
7
Table 1.1: List of regretz chansons.
Honey Meconi, “Art Song Reworkings: An Overview,” Journal of the Royal Musical Association 119/1 (1994): 23.
Hayne van Ghizeghem Allez regretz La Regretée Les grans regretz Mon souvenir
Johannes Ockeghem Tous les regretz* Alexander Agricola Allez regretz
Va t'en regret Revenez tous regretz
Loyset Compère Sourdez regretz Va t'en regret Venés regretz
Jehan Fresneau Nuit et jour Pierre de la Rue Cent mille regretz**
Dueil et ennuy* Secretz regretz Tous les regretz Aprez regretz* Je n'ay regretz* Plusieurs regretz* Pour ung jamais Tous nobles cuers
Josquin des Prez Parfons regretz Plus nulz regretz Mille regretz** Regretz sans fin Plusieurs regretz
Gaspar Weerbeke Sans regretz Antoine Brumel Tous les regretz Antoine de Févin Fuyes regretz Johannes Prioris Dueil et ennuy (soucy) Johannes Ghiselin Le cueur la suyt Antoine de Longueval Alle regres Anon. Tous nobles cuers ParisBNF 1596 (late 1490s) Anon. Allez regretz Bologna Q 17 (1490s) Anon. Dueil et ennuy (soucy) ParisBNF 1597 (c. 1500) Anon. Venez regretz (sourdez) ParisBNF1597 (c. 1500) Anon. Vides regret FlorBN Magl. XIX. 107 bis (c. 1510-3) Anon. J’ay ung regretz VienNB Mus.18746 (c. 1523) Anon. Plain de regret MS Ny kgl.Samling 1848 2o (c. 1525)
8
Table 1.1 (cont.): List of regretz chansons.
word “regretz” can be divided into two subgroups: in the first, the word “regretz”
occupies the third and fourth syllable of the opening four-syllable hemistich and is
preceded by the imperative of a verb as an apostrophe demanding action (“allez,”
“sourdez,” “venés,” etc.); in the second, the “regretz” are preceded by either an adjective,
most often of quantity (“mille,” “cent mille,” “tous les,” “plusieurs,” “les grans,”
“parfons” etc.), or a preposition (“aprez,” “sans”) and are, for the most part, addressed in
the third person. In a few chansons, the regretz appear either at a later position of the
opening line (Pour ung jamais, Tous nobles cuers, Le cueur la suyt) or in the opening of
the second line (Mon souvenir, Nuit et jour).
The majority of the regretz were composed by Franco-Flemish composers;
composers of French origin rate second in number, yet a few of them, namely Compère
and Josquin, are represented by several regretz.4 La Rue stands as the most productive
composer of regretz with nine chansons, followed by Josquin, of whom five regretz have
survived. Ghizeghem, Agricola, and Compère, composers of the same generation, as well
as the later Gombert, have each set three to four regretz. The status of La Rue as the most
prominent composer of regretz chansons has been discussed in relevant scholarship in
4 Ludwig Senfl and Bartolomeo degli Organi, who both composed cantus-firmus settings based on Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz, are the only non-French/Franco-Flemish composers.
Jean Richafort Sur tous regretz Bartolomeo degli Organi Allez regretz Ludwig Senfl Allez Regretz Nicolas Gombert Mille regretz
O doulx regretz Regret ennuy traveil Tous les regretz
9
association with his employment in the service of Marguerite of Austria.5 In their
majority, the regretz composers were active in the last two decades of the fifteenth and
the first two decades of the sixteenth centuries and had ties with the French and/or the
Habsburg-Burgundian courts. During the late 1480s and up to the late 1490s, several of
these composers were employed as singers and/or composers of the French court (for
instance, Agricola, Compère, Brumel, Fevin, Fresneau, Prioris, and Ghiselin), while
others were linked with the court of Burgundy, earlier under Charles the Bold
(Ghizeghem), later Philip the Fair (Agricola, La Rue, Weerbeke) and, subsequently,
Marguerite of Austria.
Five manuscript collections, all dating from the first quarter of the sixteenth
century, feature a considerable number of regretz chansons. (Several sources of the time
host a small number of regretz.) Of these five sources, three are major court
chansonniers, originating from the Habsburg-Burgundian scriptorium: FlorC 2439,
known as the Basevi Codex and compiled in c. 1505-08 for a member of the Agostini-
Ciardi family in Siena; BrusBR 228, written for Marguerite of Austria sometime between
1508 and 1516; and VienNB Mus. 18746, compiled as a set of partbooks of five-voice
works and dated from 1523.6 The two remaining regretz sources are the chansonnnier
5 Several of La Rue’s regretz bear evidence of association with Marguerite (to be discussed in Chapters 3 and 4). See also Meconi, Pierre de la Rue and Musical Life at the Habsburg-Burgundian Court (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 86-88, 135, 137, 142, 147-48. Yet, the La Rue-Marguerite connection, and especially the claim that La Rue was Marguerite’s favorite composer, a view enshrined in the scholarly literature for more than a century, “is something that we will never be able to uncover” as Meconi notes (ibid., 84). 6 For more information pertaining to the Habsburg-Burgundian scriptorium, see the various writings in the edited anthology The Burgundian-Habsburg Court Complex of Music Manuscripts (1500-1535) and the Workshop of Petrus Alamire, eds. B. Bouckaert & E. Schreurs (Leuven-Neerpelt: Alamire Foundation, 2003). For scholarly discussions on the aforementioned sources, see: Martin Picker, The Chanson Albums
10
BrusBR 11239, dated from c. 1500 and most likely stemming from North France or
Savoy, and ParisBNF 1597, copied also c. 1500 or shortly after and possibly originated at
the court of René II de Vaudémont, Duke of Lorraine (thus known as the Lorraine
chansonnier).7 It is worth mentioning that two chansonniers, BrusBR 11239 and VienNB
Mus. 18746, open with a series of regretz, grouped together in their opening folios.
BrusBR 228, on the other hand, stands out as the source containing the greatest volume
of regretz. Table 1.2 lists the regretz chansons that are included in each of the five major
sources.
BrusBR 11239 Allez regretz*
Venés regretz* Va t'en regret* (Compère) Les grans regretz* Tous les regretz* (Brumel) Tous les regretz* (La Rue) Revenez tous regretz*
ParisBNF 1597 Dueil et ennuy (soucy) (anon.) Allez regretz Les grans regretz* Va t'en regret* (Compère) Mon souvenir Venez regretz (sourdez) La regretée
Table 1.2: Major sources of regretz. FlorC 2439 Dueil et ennuy (La Rue)
Sourdez regretz
of Marguerite of Austria (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965); the Introduction in Meconi, Basevi Codex: Florence, Biblioteca del Conservatorio, MS 2439 (Peer: Alamire, 1990); on VienNB Mus. 18746, Herbert Kellman, ed. The Treasury of Petrus Alamire. Music and Art in Flemish Court Manuscripts 1500-1535 (Leuven: Alamire Foundation, 1999). 7 For a critical discussion of ParisBNF 1597 and transcriptions of its repertory, see Clifford Marion Shipp, “A Chansonnier of the Dukes of Lorraine: The Paris Manuscript Fonds Français 1597” (PhD diss., North Texas State College, 1960).
11
BrusBR 228 Tous les regretz (La Rue) Secretz regretz* Dueil et ennuy* Revenez tous, regretz Dueil et ennuy (Prioris) Plus nulz regretz Plusieurs regretz (La Rue) Aprez regretz Pour ung jamais* Tous nobles cuers* (La Rue) Va t'en regret* (Compère) Sourdez regretz*
VienNB Mus. 18746 Cent mille regretz* Plusieurs regretz* (La Rue) Dueil et ennuy* (La Rue) Je n’ay regretz* J’ay ung regretz Parfons regretz
Table 1.2 (cont.): Major sources of regretz. The regretz are listed in order of appearance within each source; * marks regretz in adjacent folios.
Early music scholarship has variously dealt with specific regretz chansons,8 yet
only a handful of studies have viewed regretz as a compositional family that extends
beyond the much cited cantus firmus settings of Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz.9 Otto
Gombosi, quite early, was the first to notice musical links between two regretz chansons,
8 See David Fallows, “Who composed Mille regretz?” in Essays on music and culture in honor of Herbert Kellman, ed. Barbara Haggh (Paris: Minerva, 2001), 241-252; and Christopher Reynolds, “Musical Evidence of Compositional Planning in the Renaissance: Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz” JAMS 40 (1987): 53-81. On connections among the two Mille regretz by Josquin and Gombert and Gombert’s Tous les regretz, see Ignace Bossuyt, “Nicolas Gombert and Parody,” Tijdschrift voor Muziektheorie 8/2 (2003): 112-122. 9 Besides Irena Cholij’s work on the subject, mentioned later on, Meconi has included settings of Allez regretz in her “Art Song Reworkings,” a study of the most important polyphonic models and compositional complexes.
Revenez tous regretz Va t'en regret (Agricola) Sans regretz Le cueur la suylt Tous nobles cuers (La Rue)
12
namely Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz and Compère’s Venes regretz.10 Martin Picker’s
doctoral research and ensuing edition of the celebrated Marguerite of Austria’s
chansonniers (BrusBR 11239 and BrusBR 228) brought to attention the special role of
Mechelen court as a leading center for the production and dissemination of regretz.11 The
two chansonniers are noted for the unusual number of regretz chansons they host,
compelling scholars to see in them a reflection of Marguerite’s misfortunes and conjure
up an image of Marguerite as the ultimate pitiable creature of the early 1500s. Picker’s
edition and critical study has been indispensable, for, apart from gathering together
transcriptions of the largest group of regretz chansons, it offers a glimpse into the artistic
circle of Marguerite’s court. Picker paints Marguerite as a dedicated patroness of arts,
pointing out her literary heritage and her contacts with Jean Lemaire and Octovien de
Saint-Gelais, rhétoriquers who were imperative in the production of regretz.12
A review of musical settings stemming from Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz is the
subject of discussion in Irena Cholij’s scholarly work.13 Cholij mainly deals with cantus
firmus and mass reworkings as well as lute arrangements stemming from direct quotation
10 “Ghizeghem und Compère: zur Stilgeschichte der burgundischen Chanson,” in Studien zur Musikgeschichte: Festschrift für Guido Adler zum 75. Geburtstag (Wien: Universal-Edition, 1930), 100-106. 11 Picker, The Chanson Albums. 12 Picker, in a later regretz study, brought to light additional regretz chansons unpublished at that time. He further speculated on the role of the three regretz rondeaux by the court poet Saint-Gelais as farewell songs composed to be performed on the eve of Marguerite’s departure from France after her broken engagement to Charles VIII; see Picker, “More ‘regret’ chansons for Marguerite d’Autriche,” in Musique naturelle et musique artificielle: in memoriam Gustave Reese, ed. Mary Beth Winn (Montreal: Editions CERES, 1980), 81-101. 13 Irena Cholij, “Borrowed Music: ‘Allez regrets’ and the Use of Pre-existent Material,” in Companion to Medieval and Renaissance music, ed. Tess Knighton and David Fallows (London: Dent; New York: Schirmer, 1992), 165-172. See also Cholij, “Fifteenth-and Sixteenth-Century Settings of ‘Allez regretz,’” (M.M. diss., King’s College, London University, 1984).
13
of one or more voices of the model chanson and avoids discussion on wider musical
cross-fertilizations among regretz.14
The emergence of regretz as a major literary and musical topos of the late 1400s
has been the outcome of the research of two scholars, the literary historian Mary Beth
Marvin and the German musicologist Clemens Goldberg.15 Both Marvin’s and
Goldberg’s studies have been indispensable for the progress of my research, serving as
valuable sources of thought and model. Marvin was the first scholar to address regretz
chansons as texts bound together in a larger literary family. Shaped out of literary
discourses exchanged between the French court poets Alain Chartier and Jean II de
Bourbon, poetic regretz celebrated a parallel popularity to their musical counterparts. In
her pioneering study, Marvin traces the literary roots of regretz, investigates contextual
relationships within the literary and musical regretz networks, suggests a genealogy of
the regretz chansons, and speculates about the centers of their production. Furthermore,
she attempts to classify regretz into two subgroups according to their incipit syntax, and
observe correlations among these subgroups, the centers of production of regretz
chansons, and their projected sentiments.
14 Howard Mayer Brown has previously listed Allez regretz settings in his copious study on chansons in French popular theater (Music in the French Secular Theater, 1400-1550 [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963]), yet Cholij, quite regrettably, fails to cite Brown’s contribution. There is also no reference in Cholij’s article of Gombosi’s early discussion, mentioned above, on the regretz of Ghizeghem and Compère. The article is remarkably void of references. 15 Marvin, “Regrets in French Chanson Texts of the Late XVth Century,” in Fifteenth Century Studies 1 (1978): 193-215; Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère? Topos, Zitat und Paraphrase in den Regrets-Chansons von Hayne van Ghizeghem und Loyset Compère,” in Studien zur Musikgeschichte: Eine Festschrift für Ludwig Finscher, ed. A. Laubenthal & K. Kusan-Windweh (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1995), 88-99. See also Goldberg’s monograph Das Chansonnier Laborde: Studien zur Intertextualität einer Liederhandschrift des 15. Jahrhunderts (Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 1997).
14
Goldberg’s “Was zitiert Compère?” has been the single most thoughtful study on
the regretz chansons. Carrying on Marvin’s arguments, Goldberg looks into a group of
musically related regretz chansons (Ghizeghem’s La Regretée and Les grans regretz,
Compère’s Venés regretz, Va t’en regret, and Sourdez regretz) which, headed by
Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz, share in a tradition molded by literary and contextual
associations. He traces the source of regretz as a popular, versatile late fifteenth century
topos in Allez regretz. He also discusses earlier regretz, such as Delahaye’s Pour les
regrets among others, chansons that conveyed a static, linear meaning related to the topos
of departir. Reading Compère’s Venés regretz against Allez regretz, Goldberg explores
musical interrelations, but mostly suggests ways in which Allez enhances the meaning of
Venés and originates the complexity of the topos of regretz. The discursive context of
Allez vis à vis Venés brings forth regretz as texts that are non-linear but governed by
shared principles of time, movement, and space and also carrying specific structural
caesuras and stereotypes (death, cuer, fin, tourmenter, dueil). Goldberg’s arguments are
highly thought-provoking, and define a context of reference for my work. Seeing the
group of late fifteenth and early sixteenth century regretz I examine through the lens of
his methodology has been of particular influence in establishing intertextually the
complexity of the regretz topos.
Furthermore, Goldberg’s use of the concept of “intertextuality” has served as a
point of departure for the theoretical foundation of my work. The following discussion
aims to illustrate my sense of the “concept ” by presenting its major critical voices,
definitions, and uses. I also plan to review the emergence of the term in musicological
15
scholarship and, most specifically, its use in scholarly writings on early music. The last
part of this chapter revolves around “musical synonyms” of intertextuality – “allusion”
and “musical borrowing” – and their implementation in recent and influential discourses
on the fifteenth-century chanson.
Intertextuality and Early Music
As John Milsom has remarked, musicological studies of early music are
unquestionably spiced up with neologisms, either coined anew or appropriated from other
disciplines.16 Quite a few of these neologisms have induced debates in scholarly circles in
regard to their appropriateness and efficiency of use,17 intertextuality being a recent yet
celebrated addition not bereft of either popularity or polemics.
The theory of intertextuality joined the terrain of early music studies in the early
1990s, employed to complement discussions of borrowing, allusion, influence, and
16 Milsom, “‘Imitatio,’ ‘Intertextuality,’ and Early Music” in Citation and Authority in Medieval and Renaissance Musical Culture: Learning from the Learned, ed. Suzannah Clark & Elizabeth Eva Leach (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005), 141. 17 The most striking example is “Renaissance,” a word long adopted in music historiography (August Wilhelm Ambros, Geschichte der Musik, 1868), widely used, equally debated and in part avoided, in favor of phrasings less susceptible to Burkhardtian, and, in particularly, Italocentric and Hegelian connotations [such as “early/late fifteenth/sixteenth century music.”]. “Imitation Mass” is yet another word whose use and subsequent meaning have been crowned with confusion. Applied interchangeably with “Parody Mass” to describe a distinct type of sixteenth century mass based on a pre-existing polyphonic model, the word has also been used to characterize late fifteenth century tenor masses, which, although drawing from a polyphonic model, single out one voice as a cantus firmus; see, Lewis Lockwood, “On ‘Parody’ as Term and Concept in 16th-Century Music,” in Aspects of Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese, ed. J. LaRue et al. (New York: Norton, 1966), 560-75; and Peter Burkholder, “Johannes Martini and the Imitation Mass of the Late Fifteenth Century,” JAMS 38/3 (1985): 470-523. Musicologists have also been recently cautious about the use of “Isorhythm,” a term nearly as old as modern musicology itself. Margaret Bent, for instance, has criticized the use of the term for being invariably applied and thus acquiring conflicting meanings, and also for reaching the status of a blueprint, a “rule bound monolith” defining the genre; see Bent, “Isorhythm,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (2001), 12: 618-23.
16
quotation. Its emergence in the vocabulary of early musicology has not been thoroughly
‘innocent.’ Despite its growing application in the last decade, quite a few scholars have
been critical of its variable meanings and uses. As Milsom puts it “authors have used it to
convey a variety of meanings, to the extent that one might wonder whether, in
musicological circles at least, it now possesses any single agreed definition.”18
Intertextuality was introduced to musicology roughly at the same time it made its
way into other non-literary studies.19 Two writings pioneered the adoption of
intertextuality in discussions of early music. David Crook’s dissertation on the
Magnificats of Orlando di Lasso was the first to employ the term. Crook justifies his
adoption of the term for “its broad and non-specific nature: it allows us to analyze
relationships between pairs of works, or entire complexes of works without the
terminological difficulties inherent in works such as ‘parody,’ ‘imitation’ (or imitatio), or
even ‘borrowing.’”20 In his dissertation-turned-book, Crook acknowledges the broadness
and non-intentionality inherent in the theory of intertextuality, yet he clearly defines the
18 Milsom, “Imitatio,” 141. 19 Graham Allen, in his introductory guide to “Intertextuality” (Intertextuality, London and New York: Routledge, 2000), discusses the following, among other representative writings, as examples of non-literary studies that first adopted an intertextual approach, intertextuality apparently being the term du jour of the scholarly thought of early nineties: Keith A. Reader, “Literature/cinema/television: intertextuality in Jean Renoir’s Le Testament du docteur Cordelier” in Intertextuality: theories and practices, ed. Worton and Still (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990), 176-89; T. Jefferson Kline, Screening the Text: Intertextuality and the New Wave French Cinema (Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press, 1992); James Goodwin, Akira Kurosawa and Intertextual Cinema (Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press, 1994); Marvin Carlson, “Invisible presences, performance intertextuality,” Theatre Research International 9/2 (1994): 111-17. 20 David Crook, “Orlando di Lasso’s Magnificats ad imitationem” (PhD diss., Princeton University, 1991), 138-140. In the subsequent monograph following his dissertation, Crook justifies his use of the term “prompted, in the first place, by the need for a more purely descriptive term devoid of previous meaning in music-historical writings (in contrast to imitation) and unencumbered by undesirable connotations in general usage (in contrast to parody)”; see Crook, Orlando di Lasso’s Imitation Magnificats for Counter-Reformation Munich (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), 155.
17
limiting boundaries of his own approach: to employ intertextuality as a means of
highlighting relationships among composition complexes (i.e. pieces related by common
incipits) that go beyond “descriptions of ‘parody technique.’”21 Michael Allsen, in his
“Intertextuality and Compositional Process in two Cantilena Motets by Hugo de Lantins,”
the second study to employ the term, defends his use of intertextuality to signify “all
forms of material – melodic, contrapuntal, structural, and textual – shared by musical
works.”22 Intertextuality is prominently featured in the title of Allsen’s study, albeit
without further elaboration apart from the above definition.23 Graham Allen,
distinguished authority on intertextuality, has reviewed Allsen’s handling of the concept
rather unfavorably. Intertextuality, Allen says, taking the opportunity from Allsen’s
essay, “is, frequently, an empty signifier when used.”24
While Allsen and Crook were the first musicologists to apply the concept of
intertextuality in their research, the adoption of the term had been first suggested by Rob
Wegman.25 Following a critical discussion of the theory of musical imitatio and its
21 Crook, Orlando di Lasso’s Imitation Magnificats, 156. “Parody technique” is used, I assume, to describe the derivation and transformation of material from a model composition into a newly composed work. Crook, though, has previously argued against the adoption of the term parody following scholarly debates and objections over its use (Ibid., 151-155). Crook discerns three elements of intertextuality: “the derived composition; its model […]; and its ‘subtext’ (those elements contained in it that signal its relationship to its model)” (Ibid., 156). 22 The Journal of Musicology 11/2 (1993): 174-202, esp. 175. 23 Allsen makes no note to the literary origins and use of intertextuality. Moreover, apart from a short definition and passing reference of the concept in the second page of his essay, Allsen does not further exploit the term. 24 Graham Allen, “Intertextuality,” This Year’s Work in Critical Cultural Theory 3/1 (1993): 48. Allen’s critique of the overuse of the term describes a reality that has been noted by scholars of intertextual theory. The remark of critical theorist Mary Orr sounds parallel to Allen’s: “Intertextuality heralded a catch-all term and methodology for the business of comparison and contrast in cultural production.” (Orr, Intertextuality: Debates and Contexts [Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003], 169.)
25 Rob C. Wegman, “Another ‘Imitation’ of Busnoys’s Missa L’Homme armé - And Some Observations on Imitatio in Renaissance Music,” Journal of Royal Musical Association 114/2 (1989): 189-202.
18
application to address musical borrowing in the fifteenth century, Wegman proposes,
even though with reservation, the adoption of “intertextuality” as more relevant to
discussions of musical borrowing. He also hints to the potential of the concept to
encompass variable aspects of borrowing, in contrast to the more specific and hugely
controversial imitatio.
It is of particular note that intertextuality has proved to be a heavily controversial
concept in the course of its adoption in early music scholarship. Part of the problem lies
with the fact that the meaning of the term has been misread, being treated as a catchy and
all-encompassing word, an alternative for influence and imitation. Yet, intertextuality, at
least as originally developed in literary theory, is not a synonym for borrowing. The
concept, as I will address further on, has broader significations; borrowing is but one of
its possible facets.
Intertextuality has alerted us to the idea that every text is tangled with other texts,
and is a tissue of inevitable references, echoes, codes, and quotations from other texts. A
text is not a closed system, possessing stable and self-contained meaning, but rather an
open-ended, multisignified entity. Any text is involved in a dialogue with other texts, its
meaning generated by the intertextual relations the reader traces in it.
The theory of intertextuality is itself polyphonic. From Julia Kristeva’s coinage in
‘the time of theory,’ as Paris of the late 1960s was labeled, to the subsequent
colonizations of her term, intertextuality proved to be adaptable to contemporary literary
and cultural theories and highly pluralistic in significance and function. Intertextuality is
resistant to a single definition, to an extent that prominent contemporary scholars, such as
19
Allen and Mary Orr, talk about many versions of intertextuality.26 Certainly, the varied
articulations that typify the concept reflect the distinct historical situations and
ideological agendas out of which it has emerged.
Kristeva’s celebrated definition conveys intertextuality as a ‘productive’ process,
and views the text as “a permutation of texts, an intertextuality in the space of a text” in
which “several utterances, taken from other texts, intersect and neutralize one another.”27
Roland Barthes’s entry for ‘Texte’ in Encyclopédie universalis (1973) reverberates
Kristeva’s voice: “Every text is an intertext; other texts are present within it to varying
degrees and in more or less recognizable forms […]. Every text is a new tissue of
recycled citations. Fragments of codes, formulae, model rhythms, bits of social discourse
pass into the text and are redistributed within it.”28 The intertextual in Barthes and
Kristeva does not indicate the concrete presence of specific, palpable intertexts. The idea
of the text being “a tissue of quotations”29 departs from the traditional notion of quotation
by opening up intertexts to cultural codes, systems and discourses. Michael Riffaterre,
26 As Orr characteristically notes, intertextuality “has already been fractured and pulled in different and conflicting directions since it was ‘coined’” (Intertextuality, 59). Orr, in her monograph, attempts to organize a critical study of intertextuality that reconsiders the received version of intertextuality as made up from a closed group of canonized voices (Kristeva, Barthes, Genette, Riffaterre) and highlights “unvoiced modes of intertextual work” (that is, underrepresented voices, ‘shadowland’ terms of cultural recycling). Allen similarly notes that the term has spawned a plethora of definitions and one can only “engage with it as a split, multiple concept, which poses questions […] rather than forcing one to produce definite answers” (Allen, Intertextuality, 59-60). 27 Quoted in Orr, Intertextuality, 27. The term was first mentioned in the context of the quoted definition, in her essay “Le Texte clos” [“The bound text”] in Semeiotikè: recherches pour une sémanalyse (Paris: Points, 1969). The notion that “text is productivity” is fundamental in Kristeva’s theory of intertextuality. By that, she considers texts as always in a process of production, not closed and consumable entities. While the concept of intertextuality was appropriated and variedly transformed in the context of literary criticism and beyond, Kristeva’s ideas remain the most radical. Theorists after Kristeva claimed that intertextuality describes the way a text is either engaged in a conversation with other texts (Eco) or caught up in a network of references (Barthes), yet in Kristeva’s theory, intertextuality is simply the text. 28 Quoted in Orr, Intertextuality, 33. 29 Barthes, Image-Music-Text (Fontana: London, 1977), 146.
20
following the tradition of earlier French poststructuralists, such as Barthes and Kristeva,
renounces the association of intertextual reading with source-hunting and influence and
the equivalence of intertextuality with imitation. An intertext, he states, not to be viewed
in terms of sources, “is a corpus of texts, textual fragments, or text-like segments of the
sociolect that shares a lexicon and, to a lesser extent, a syntax with the text we are
reading (directly or indirectly) in the form of synonyms, or even conversely, in the form
of antonyms.”30
Direct quotation and allusion are deemed taboo terms in intertextual theory,
constituting arch-enemies of intertextuality. Literary theorists exclude direct quotation
and allusion as a part of the intertextual process, yet the concepts are frequently used in
non-literary scholarship dealing with intertextuality. Literary critics such as Gérard
Genette and Umberto Eco have largely embraced quotation and allusion as instances of
determinable intertextual relationships among texts.31 Intertextuality, the first level of
Genette’s transtextuality, embraces the “actual presence of one text within another.”32
Similarly, the intertextual dialogue according to Eco, whose literary works are heavily
loaded with echoes, quotations, and allusions, transpires “the instance where a quotation
is explicit and recognizable.”33 While Genette acknowledges intertextual processes
performed on the semiotic level of cultural signification, a notion that resonates with the
30 Allen, Intertextuality, 121. 31 The literary theorist Lauro Zavala recognizes the following as “intertextual strategies”: “allusion, ekphrasis, quotation, parody, plagiarism, and pastiche as well as irony, hyperbole, metaphor, and paradox” (“A Model for Intertextual Analysis” in Semiotics, ed. C.W. Spinks and John Deely [New York: Peter Lang, 1995], 103-108.) 32 Allen, Intertextuality, 101. 33 Eco, “Innovation and Repetition: Between Modern and Postmodern Aesthetics,” Daedalus 134/4 (2005): 197.
21
theories of Kristeva and Barthes, his own intertextual approach partly functions on the
pragmatic level of concrete and direct relationships among texts. Several other possible
aspects of transtextuality coexist within a text (joined under the collective term
paratextuality), Genette argues, in the form of variable textual transformations,
commentaries, readers’ expectations, marginalia and other material that occupies a text’s
threshold.
Practically every theoretical movement has assimilated intertextuality. Canonized
studies of intertextuality place the ancestral home of the concept in linguistics and
particularly in the theory regarding the differential and relational nature of the linguistic
‘sign’ expressed by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure as early as 1915. While
Kristeva coined the term, it is still debatable in literary critical circles whether she was
the original spearhead behind intertextual theory, or a mediator who brought together
Saussurean and Bakhtinian models and attempted to combine their insights and major
theories.34 Kristeva’s employment of intertextuality is situated in semiotics and
psychoanalysis, whereas Bakhtin’s discussions of the dialogic nature of ‘utterance’ and
the heteroglot ability of language, notions that are at the heart of the intertextual aspect of
language, stem from Eastern-European formalism and cultural studies. Barthes’s
deployment of intertextuality is characteristically poststructuralistic. The intertextual, in
Barthes’s world, provokes the text to be pluralistic in meaning and open-ended, its unity
34 Orr argues that critics of intertextuality have sidelined Kristeva’s contribution, describing her mode of intertextuality as a derivative of the work of the Bakhtin circle. Marginalization of her work, according to Orr, was fueled by poor accessibility (it was partially translated) and a male dominated philosophical establishment (she was viewed as a ‘derivative’ of the male-ruled Tel Quel). See Orr, Intertextuality, 20-23.
22
lying “not in its origin but in its destination,” that is, not in the writer, but in the reader. 35
Intertextuality has been grafted in the work of French structuralist theorists, such as
Genette and Laurent Jenny. Structuralists employ intertextuality to locate and fix literary
meaning, a critical position hardly akin to Kristeva and Barthes. In Genette’s work,
hypertextuality, a renaming of the Kristevan term and an element of the five-branched
transtextuality, charts intended, self-conscious relations among works in the ‘closed’
system of literature.36 Hypertextual reading is closely bound, according to Genette, with
the reader’s literary competence to uncover the hypotext – broadly known as the intertext
– a point that is also emphasized in the work of Jenny and Riffaterre. Nonetheless,
Riffaterre’s version of intertextuality aims to demonstrate critical certainty. That is to say
that, for Riffaterre, intertextual interpretation brings forth unity, rather than disruption of
the text’s structure, as Jenny in a deconstructive gesture argues.
The diversity that characterizes the theoretical stance and affiliation of canonized
writers on intertextuality applies, in addition, to their notion of intentionality in crossing
texts. Such radicals as Kristeva, Barthes, and Harold Bloom argue that textual
interconnectivity is unavoidable, and that “the citations which go to make up a text are
35 Barthes, Image-Music-Text, 148. The reader, quoting from Barthes, “is the space on which all the quotations that make up a writing are inscribed without any of them being lost.” The emphasis on the reader is tied with the Barthian notion of the ‘Death of the author,’ a theory that decapitates the writer as originator and considers his output as ‘the-already-written.’ 36 Genette redefines intertextuality as transtextuality, subdividing it into the five following categories: intertextuality, architextuality, metatextuality, paratextuality, and hypertextuality. The varied manifestations and vagaries of Genette’s intertextuality materialize on various levels, such as among texts, within a single text, between text and reader, between text and genre, as well as in the periphery of texts as material objects. For a synoptic presentation of the five types, see Allen, Intertextuality, 98-109.
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anonymous, untraceable, and yet already read.”37 In Bloom’s terms, intertextuality is a
product of “the anxiety of influence” driven by psychological motivations from the part
of the author to prove her independence from earlier authors, yet unconsciously involved
in a process of creative “misreading”38 (rewriting). Thus, any text is necessarily an
intertext, and any writing a “misreading,” certainly inevitable, but also unintentional. Yet
Genette and Jenny, among other theorists, argue that intertextual penetration can operate
on either an unconscious or a conscious plane.39 Instances of imitation, parody, citation,
montage, and plagiarism, which purists like Kristeva and Barthes, defending shared
semiotic codes, discard from the vocabulary of intertextuality, are embraced by Jenny as
expressions of explicit intertextuality.
A common thread that runs through and unifies the variegated tissues of
intertextual discourse is the rhetoric of disruption. Intertextuality, whether employed in
Bakhtinian, poststructuralist, structuralist, or feminist readings, disturbs subjectivity,
threatening notions of individuality, originality, and unity. Barthes’s vision of
intertextuality, centering on the idea that the origin of a text is a plurality of voices,
cannot but sound demoniacal from a monologic point of view and upset singular and
37 Barthes quoted in Allen, Intertextuality, 69. Barthes’s denial of authorial agency during the intertextual process is further recycled, as for instance in his entry for “texte” in Encyclopédie universalis (1973): “The intertext is a field of anonymous formulae whose origin is rarely recoverable, of unconscious or automatic citations without speech marks” (quoted in Orr, Intertextuality, 33). The writer in Barthes’s oeuvre is also referred to as an orchestrator of what is already written rather than its originator, and, even more interestingly, as a spider weaving the intertextual web of the text. (See Barthes 1974, 21.) Kristeva’s brand of intertextuality denies agency and intention, for the author is ruled out of her discussions. It is the texts that transform previous texts within a semiotic process; the author seems to be eliminated altogether. 38 See Bloom, The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973). It remains Bloom’s most infamous study, delineating the creative misreading that emerges out of the antagonistic struggle with one’s predecessors, as a poetic text delivered from a six-part poetic labour (clinamen, tessera, kenosis, daemonization, askesis, and apophrades). 39 Jenny distinguishes between works that are explicitly intertextual, such as imitations and citations, and those in which the intertextual relation is not foregrounded (see Allen, Intertextuality, 112-113).
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stable meaning endorsed by monologism. 40 In such a context, the reader is transformed
from a ‘consumer’ of stable meaning into a ‘writer,’ and he becomes “the space on which
all the quotations that make up a writing are inscribed without any of them being lost.”41
The idea of intertextual space acting as a terrain of clash between monologism and
plurality vibrates profoundly in the work of Bakhtin. The concept of dialogism,
dominating Bakhtin’s analysis of the polyphonic attributes of the novel, extends to a
generalized theory of intertextuality applicable to the system of language that stresses the
plurality of utterance, its meaning and logic dependent upon what has previously been
said.42 The polyphonic aspect of language entails the social dimension of Bakhtinian
intertextuality; it foregrounds variable ideological positions and class conflicts in society
which threaten to destabilize authority and unity, as these are expressed by canon and
state power.43 A different kind of disruption triggered by the intertextual process, applied
not to expanded social conditions but to formal structures within a text, is discussed in the
work of Jenny. The intertextual dimension, now defined as a ‘mechanism of
40 Allen (Intertextuality, 69) mentions Barthes’s reference to the association of plurality with evil in Christian teaching, when employing the words “My name is Legion: for we are many” of the possessed man in the Gospel according to Mark. 41 Ibid., 75. 42 Bakhtin’s theory about the dialogical character of the novel regards literary voices (heroes) within a novel as having their own discursive consciousnesses, which are, in their turn, responses to and calls to other discourses. The theory was first developed in Bakhtin’s literary study on Dostoyevsky (Problemy Poetiki Dostoevskogo [Moscow, 1963]). 43 The idea of intertextuality as a carrier of disruption, undoubtedly Bakhtin-inspired, is at the heart of Kristeva’s vision. Intertextuality demonstrated in Kristeva’s version of dialogic language, termed ‘poetic language,’ “is meant to designate a kind of language which, because of its embodiment of otherness, is against, beyond and resistant to (mono)logic. Such language is socially disruptive, revolutionary even. Intertextuality encompasses that aspect of text which struggles against and subverts reason, the belief in unity of meaning or of the human subject, and which is therefore subversive to all ideas of the logical and the unquestionable.” Allen, Intertextuality, 45.
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perturbation,’ Jenny argues, shatters the formal and thematic structure of a work.44 The
reader confronts a dithering path too: to either accept the intertextual reference as a
segment “integrated into the syntagmatic structure of the text” or recall the source text,
“carrying out a sort of intellectual anamnesis.”45
Our contemporary understanding of intertextual theory as conveyed in early
music scholarship has been exceedingly limited. Intertextuality seems to have been
confined, for the most part, to addressing intentional borrowing and stabilizing affiliation
among musical works.46 Largely absent from this restricted approach, as Milsom remarks,
“are notions of non-directional, unintentional and (to the listener) essentially meaningless
interconnection,”47 elements that are essentially bound with the roots of intertextual
theory.
44 The problem of intertextuality, Jenny says, “is to bind together several texts in one without their destroying each other and without the intertext […] being torn apart as a structured whole.” See Laurent Jenny, “The strategy of form” in French Literary Theory Today: a Reader, ed. T. Todorov (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1982), 45. 45 Ibid., 44. Jenny argues that these two processes “really operate simultaneously in intertextual reading […] studding the text with bifurcations that gradually expand its semantic space” (Ibid., 44-45). 46 Among early music writings with an intertextual touch, not discussed or cited later on, see: Wulf Arlt, “‘Hellas’/‘Las’ in Liedanfängen des 15. Jahrhunderts” in Musik als Text: Bericht über den Internationalen Kongreß der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung, ed. Hermann Danuser & Tobias Plebuch (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1998), 358-361; Vincenzo Borghetti, “Musikalische Palimpseste: Autoritäten und Vergangenheit im ‘art-song reworking’ des 15. Jahrhunderts,” in Autorität und Autoritäten in musikalischer Theorie, Komposition und Aufführung, ed. Laurenz Lütteken & Nicole Schwindt (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2004), 99-118; Paula Higgins, “Love and death in the 15th-century motet: A reading of Busnoys’s Anima mea liquefacta est/Stirps Jesse,” in Hearing the motet: Essays on the motet of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. Dolores Pesce (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 142-168; Vassiliki Koutsobina, “Readings of poetry–readings of music: Intertextuality in Josquin’s Je me complains de mon amy,” Early Music 36/1 (2008): 67-77; Fritz Reckow, “Sonus pulcher ad aliquid: Notizen zur kompositorischen ‘Intertextualität’ im späten Mittelalter” in Musik als Text, 291-294; Murray Steib, “Ockeghem and intertextuality: A composer interprets himself,” in Early musical borrowing, ed. Honey Meconi (New York: Routledge, 2004), 37-63; and Christina Urchuegula, “Intertextualität und historisches Textverständnis in der Musik der Renaissance: Fors seulement—Zwischen Werk und Thema” in Text und Autor, ed. Christiane Henkes and others (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 2000), 115-151. 47 Milsom, “Imitatio,” 144.
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Kevin Brownlee, responsive to the varied definitions and expansions of
intertextual theory in critical scholarship, considers musicological studies to operate
within a spectrum of intertextualities, with its two extremes ranging from textual
specificity and apparent intentionality to shared practices beyond textual loci and vague
intentionality. In the second extreme, the one less commonly exploited, we cannot easily
identify clear links among the intertexts, but we can identify a context, a “discursive
world.” As Brownlee puts it, “it is now a question of a gamut of (at times overlapping)
types of intertextuality. […] At one end of the spectrum would be the intertextuality most
highly marked by a visible authorial or textual intentionality, coupled with an extreme
specificity with regard to the model text or texts […]. At the other end of the spectrum
would be those kinds of intertextuality in which the model is not a textually specific one.
In these cases the model (or the subtext) could be a topos […] a rhetorical figure or
procedure, a character, a genre […]. In these cases, intentionality is much less clearly
visible.”48
Milsom’s work is among the few scholarly writings that have adopted the second
extreme of Brownlee’s spectrum of intertextuality. In his most recent article, Milsom
employs intertextuality in an attempt to go beyond “reading against the model” in the
sense of surface citations, and confront “deep models” of grammar in fifteenth century
contrapuntal practices shared by musical works that are otherwise not overtly and aurally
48 Kevin Brownlee, “Literary Intertextualities in 14th-Century French Song,” in Musik als Text, 295-9, at 295.
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related.49 Another example of intertextual web bound with shared codes that transcend
textual loci appears in Brownlee’s discussion on the En Attendant complex of the late
fourteenth century.50 Brownlee pinpoints intertextual links, such as shared words as
symbols, and comparable syntax and structure, among the literary texts of the En
attendant chansons. Yet, he views these links as manifestations not of internal and thus
deliberate responses within the complex, but of a sharing in a “general Esperance
tradition.” Thus, a shared discourse based on the common topos of Hope and its status as
courtly ideology (variations emanating among the various voices of the poems) constitute
the core of Brownlee’s intertextual reading.
An attempt to reconcile the hardcore polarized approaches described by
Brownlee’s spectrum of intertextualities can be seen in the intertextual approach of
Clemens Goldberg. As previously mentioned, Goldberg in his “Was zitiert Compère?”
looks beyond straightforward instances of musical quotation and paraphrasing in a
number of late fifteenth century regretz chansons and examines how intertextual links
initiate, transform, and reshape the topos of regretz.51 He constructs an intricate web of
intertexts whose threads extend from musical and textual affiliations within the group of
regretz chansons to links initiated by shared verses and related topoi conveyed in
49 See Milson, “Imitatio,” 146-151. Milsom discusses how musical works of the fifteenth century, not aurally related, may be read intertextually on the basis of shared grammar techniques, and in particular the stretto fuga. 50 Brownlee, “Literary Intertextualities in the Esperance Series: Machaut’s ‘Esperance qui m’asseüre,’ the Anonymous Rondeau ‘Esperance qui en mon cuer s’embat,’ Senleches’ ‘En attendant esperance conforte,’ in Musik als Text, 311-313. Among other writings on the Esperance complex that demonstrate unintentional and generalized intertextuality, see: Wulf Arlt, “Machaut, Senleches und der anonyme Liedsatz ‘Esperance qui mon cuer s’embat,’” in Musik als Text, 300-310; and Susan Rankin, “Observations on Senleches’ ‘En attendant esperance,’” in Musik als Text, 314-318. 51 Clemens Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?. See also the relevant discussion in this chapter, 14.
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‘satellite’ non-regretz chansons. Not interested in proving influence or authorial
intention, Goldberg regards musical connections and other structural resemblances as an
impetus for an interpretation of the evolution of the topos of regretz. The texts of the
regretz chansons, Goldberg observes, enhance one another through ambiguous meanings
and antithetical registers, a process that progressively alters and develops the identity of
the regretz topos from a stereotypical lament over death to a multi-faced state of mind.
Goldberg’s reading questions the identity and message of the regretz, seeing projected in
them not a static feeling but multiple ones, originated and directed towards various
recipients (unapproachable lady, unworthy lady, and rival lover, among others). In point
of fact, the regretz network, under the pen of Goldberg, transforms into a play, with
individual regretz acting as “partners, personified feelings, which come and go.”52 A
polyphonic, à la Bakhtin, dimension of the regretz topos is thus brought forward.
The scholarly debate between David Fallows and Paula Higgins, emerging in the
context of the Freiburg colloquium on “Fourteenth and Fifteenth century Musical
Intertextualities,” touched on variable and to a large extend conflicting aspects of
intertextuality that conform to Brownlee’s spectrum of overlapping intertextualities.53
Fallows and Higgins’s approaches converge at most in regard to textual specificity, both
bringing forth multiple musical and textual puns within a group of fifteenth century songs
related to Dufay’s “Le serviteur hault guerdonnè.” However, Higgins embraces influence,
52 “Sind die regrets Ansprechpartner, personifizierte Gefühle, die kommen und gehen” (Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?,” 93). 53 See Fallows, “Le serviteur of several masters,” in Musik als Text, 337-345; and Higgins, “Servants, mistresses and the fortunes of their families: Influence and intertextuality in the fifteenth-century song,” in Musik als Text, 346-357.
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homage, and emulation as primary topics of her intertextual approach, in contrast to
Fallows, whose notion of “innocent intertexts” negates the idea of motivation behind the
act of borrowing. Somehow heretically to the prevailing Freiburg discourse, Fallows
attacks affiliations within a song network, arguing against intention in the use of a certain
model in preference to another.54 Higgins, on the other hand, influenced by Howard
Mayer Brown’s seminal article on emulation and intention in fifteenth-century
intertextuality,55 argues that the creation of song networks was a localized phenomenon,
originating within the Mundus significans of the fifteenth-century musician, a universe of
highly symbolic connotations that stimulated conscious interconnections in musical
creation and beyond.56 Higgins examines, apart from highly particularized interrelations
(incipits and melodic patterns), various broader, less text-specific threads among pieces
of the serviteur network (topos of fortune as agent of affective states, general musical
elements such as signature and direction of melodic motion) that may relate to
Brownlee’s pole of less explicit intertextual relations. However, it is Fallows’s approach
that is closer to Kristevan and Barthesian notions of intertextuality as non-intentional and
author-dissociated. Acknowledging musical interrelations within the serviteur network,
Fallows suggests that these stem from “modal archetypes”– a notion of Kristevan
origin57– or “from the composers’ tendencies to borrow, whether consciously or not, from
54 Fallows, “Le serviteur,” 337. 55 Howard Mayer Brown, “Emulation, Competition, and Homage: Imitation and Theories of Imitation in the Renaissance,” JAMS 35 (1982): 1-48. 56 Higgins, “Servants, Mistresses,” 347. 57 Fallows’s view relates to that branch of Kristevan theory arguing that the intertextual dimensions of a text cannot be studied as mere ‘sources’ or ‘influences’ stemming from what traditionally has been styled ‘background’ or ‘context,’ which in Higgins’s study identifies with the maitrise.
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other pieces with a particularly distinctive tonal characterization,” a claim that echoes
Barthes and Bloom’s notions of the author’s impossibility of being monologic.58 Yet
Higgins expands the “referential world” of the serviteur network by discussing
intertextual associations among songs not explicitly related but drawn together by the
topos of Fortune. She suggests a “servant/mistress” musical intertextuality in the
“Serviteur/Fortune” family situated within the cultural code of the courtly lyric tradition,
an approach that relates to Barthes’s notion of the intertextual as being author-dissociated
and comprised by the entire cultural code.
Recent intertextual studies on the fourteenth century chanson have brought to
light Machaut’s role as the initiator of an extensive network of literary and musical
citations, further developed by composers of the ars subtilior generation.59 The issue is
significantly explored in a series of articles by Yolanda Plumley, whose scholarship
restores musical networking as a central compositional practice in the late fourteenth
58 Yet Fallows sounds skeptical of appropriating the French literary branch of intertextual theory for the study of musical borrowing: “With the point once made that no work exists without a context […] it remains true that just criticism needs to try to sort out some of the various levels. An equalization of all statements […] has its philosophical value; but the chief difficulty with the study of medieval music today is that we have still not got round to serious value-judgments. In that respect the literary critics live in a different world, inheriting judgments that seem to go back centuries.” (Fallows, “Le serviteur,” 337.) 59 Musicological research is heavily focused on intertextuality in Machaut’s motets. Among recent literature, see Margaret Bent, “Deception, Exegesis and Sounding Number in Machaut’s Motet 15,” Early Music History 10 (1991): 15-27; Jacques Boogaart, “Encompassing past and present: quotations and their function in Machaut’s motet,” Early Music History 20 (2001): 1-86; Kevin Brownlee, “Fire, Desire, Duration, Death: Machaut’s Motet 10,” in Citation and Authority in Medieval and Renaissance Musical Culture: Learning from the Learned, ed. Suzannah Clark and Elizabeth Eva Leach (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005), 79-93; and Alice V. Clark, “Machaut Reading Machaut: Self-Borrowing and Reinterpretation in Motets 8 and 21,” in Citation and Authority, 94-101. For scholarly work on intertextualities in Machaut’s secular music and Ars Subtilior composers, see: Elizabeth Eva Leach, “Fortune’s Demesne: The Interrelation of Text and Music in Machaut’s ‘Il mest avis’ (B22), ‘De fortune’ (B23) and Two Related Anonymous Balades,” Early Music History 19 (2000): 47-79; Arlt, “Machaut, Senleches”; Susan Rankin, “Observations”; L. Welker, “Weitere Beobachtungen zu ‘Esperance,’” Musik als Text, 319-321; and Anne Stone, “A Composer at the Fountain: Homage and Irony in Ciconia’s Sus une fontayne,” Music and Letters 82/3 (2001): 361-390.
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century.60 As Plumley argues, intertextuality in the form of citation and allusion, far from
being a solitary act practiced by a handful of artists for the sake of influence, was a
cultural convention of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, expected to initiate
discourse. Although Plumley’s employment of the term “intertextuality” is not so broad
as to embrace less deliberate kinds of references in the line of those articulated by the
French literary theorists – her use of intertextuality embraces primarily “apparently
intentional references” 61 – her approach is not solely bound with proving influence as the
impetus for intertextuality. Moving beyond identifying musical and textual citations, she
attempts to speculate on how composers apparently communicated their echoes and
responses.
Plumley’s most significant contribution, from my perspective, lies in her
emphasis on the aural aspect of intertextuality and its performative presentation as a
means of encouraging the intertextual competence of the audience. The “citation game,”
an expression of sophistication among members of northern French literary societies
engaged in poetry contests, may have been “played,” Plumley suggests, by composers as
well.62 Intertextuality, a game for the ears as much as for the eyes, was meant to be heard
and be seen outside the material boundaries of the musical manuscript.63 The point was
60 See “Citation and Allusion in the Late-Fourteenth Century: The Case of Esperance and the En attendant Songs,” Early Music History 18 (1999): 287-363; “Intertextuality in the fourteenth-century chanson,” Music and Letters 84/3 (2003): 355-377; and “Playing the citation game.” 61 “Intertextuality in the Fourteenth-Century Chanson,” 356. 62 Ibid., 370. 63 Higgins has also defended musical intertextuality as understood in a primarily aural context, the performance being the agent that brings forth intertextuality. Fallows, on the contrary, defends the view that the written music is the work itself and it contains many vital aspects of the work’s cultural resonance. See Higgins, “Servants, Mistresses,” 350; and Fallows, “Le serviteur,” 338.
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previously laid out by Joyce Coleman, who, in regard to the performance of lyric poetry,
argued that skillful readers facilitated the recognition of points of citation by pointing
those moments through dramatic emphasis and articulation.64 The act of pointoyer, a
rhetoric device praised by celebrated fourteenth century poets such as Christine de Pizan
and Eustache Deschamps, could have been appropriated, Plumley suggests, to highlight
instances of musical citation as well. By using some kind of analogous musical rhetoric,
such as gesturing, grimacing, and emphasizing alluded messages in the lyrics, performers
would have been able to signal and pointoyer moments of intertextual significance, and
the audience would be able to hear as much as see them.
Musical borrowing in the fifteenth century has been a widely discussed and
virtually clichéd subject. Prevalent threads of debate in writings dealing with citation and
allusion engage with issues of genealogy, typology of borrowing techniques, chronology
of models and intertexts, composers’ motives, and the connection of borrowing with the
rhetoric concept of imitatio.
Musicological scholarship has gone to great lengths in addressing borrowing in
the mass and motet of the fifteenth century, genres in which Franco-Flemish composers
demonstrated immense fascination while turning to allusion and quotation as points of
departure for a new work. Earlier literature concentrated on cantus firmus usage, types of
models, and ways these models were incorporated into the fabric of novel sacred
64 Public reading and the reading public in late medieval England and France (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
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compositions.65 Prominent in scholarly discussion on quotation in fifteenth century cyclic
mass stands a string of discourses on mass settings based on the popular L’homme armé
tune. The L’homme armé mass settings, certainly the most prestigious liturgical complex
of the later fifteenth century, have sparked quests on the origin and significance of the
tune, the progenitor of the “family,” the association of the masses with the Burgundian
Court and particularly their use for meetings of the order of the Golden Fleece.66 Recent
discussion has also alerted us to the importance of polyphonic chansons as models for
cantus firmus and imitation masses and the extent of dependence of late fifteenth century
sacred repertory on polyphonic quotation.67 While exhaustive studies have centered on
borrowing techniques in chanson-based mass, few have been notable for engaging
intertextual approaches or offering provocative suggestions about the discursive role of
preexistent texts in diverse musical loci.68
65 Earlier notable scholarship on borrowing in fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries mass and motet includes: Edgar H. Sparks, Cantus Firmus in Mass and Motet, 1420-1520 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963); Philip Gossett, “Techniques of Unification in Early Cyclic Masses and Mass Pairs,” JAMS 14 (1966): 205-31; and Lockwood, “On ‘Parody’” as Term and Concept.” 66 See especially Richard Taruskin, “Antoine Busnoys and the L’homme armé tradition,” JAMS 39 (1986): 255-93; Leeman Perkins, “The L’Homme armé Masses of Busnoys and Okeghem,” JM 3 (1984): 363-96; and Lockwood, “Aspects of the ‘L’Homme armé’ Tradition,” JRMA 100/1 (1974): 97-122. Michael Long has added intertextual interpretations to the discourse, linking the L’homme armé tradition with the crusade propaganda and the role of Church in it. See, Long, “Arma virumque cano: echoes of a golden age,” in Antoine Busnoys: Method, Meaning, and Context in Late Medieval Music, ed. Paula Higgins (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999), 133-54. 67 Notable studies treating polyphonic borrowing practices in “chanson masses” include: Peter Burkholder, “Johannes Martini and the Imitation Mass.”; Cathy Ann Elias, “Imitation, Fragmentation, and Assimilation of Chansons in the Masses of Gombert, Clemens, and Crecquillon: a Kaleidoscopic Process” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 1994); Murray Steib, “A Composer Looks at his Model: Polyphonic Borrowing in Masses from the Late Fifteenth Century,” Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 46/1 (1996): 5-41; and Todd Evan Sullivan, “Chanson to Mass: Polyphonic Borrowing Procedures in Italian and Austro-Italian Sources, ca. 1460-ca. 1480” (PhD diss., Northwestern University, 1994). 68 Paradigmatic among recent literature, M. Jennifer Bloxam’s study on the chanson mass fabricates a cultural framework comprised of sources of theological exegesis, Latin and vernacular religious lyric poetry, and devotional painting, in an attempt to situate the creation of chanson-based mass repertory in the
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However, despite studies focusing on borrowing in the sacred repertory of the
fifteenth century and in particular the function of the polyphonic chanson among the
initiators of this tradition, an assessment of the intertextual within the realm of chanson
itself has yet to be undertaken.69 Relatively few studies have addressed modes of
dialogism within the referential world of the late fifteenth-century chanson. Seminal in
this sense, as well as much quoted, remains Mayer Brown’s article on theories of
imitation in late fifteenth and early sixteenth century chanson. The study proved
influential, judging from the recurrent aspects of borrowing explored in subsequent
scholarship, modeled on Mayer Brown’s central topics of discussion.70 His core argument
is that borrowing, a learning tool for student composers educated in the maitrise, was
governed by close relationships among composers and a desire of novice composers to
imitate the learned ones. Mayer Brown defends the view that borrowing in the fifteenth
century was tied to the Hellenistic practice of learning through imitating, a topic widely
debated in the contemporary French humanistic circles. Imitatio, a practice carrying
rhetorical connotations and an essential element in the development of a mature literary
style, was employed by Burgundian and French rhetoriquers, such as Guillaume Crétin northern courtly environment of the late 15th century and subsequently to seek answers on to how the genre was understood in its cultural context (Bloxam, “A Cultural Context for the Chanson Mass,” in Early Musical Borrowing, 7-35). Christopher Reynolds has recognized that ‘allusive quotations’ may trigger intertextual readings to informed listeners or act as commentaries to mass texts. Fifteenth century masses, Reynolds suggests, incorporated musical allusions to secular songs, whose invisible texts can be understood as glosses on liturgical themes, a practice sparked by humanistic trends that promoted the “worldliness of sacred affairs” (Reynolds, “The Counterpoint of Allusion in Fifteenth-Century Masses,” JAMS 45/2 [1992]: 228-260). 69 As Bossuyt quite recently put it, “Up to now the study of parody technique in the Renaissance has focused primarily on sacred music, in particular Mass and Magnificat […] Less attention has been devoted to the secular repertoire” (see Bossuyt, “Nicolas Gombert and Parody.”). 70 Mayer Brown mentions that, in the early eighties, borrowing was discussed in scholarship on a case by case basis, and that there was never any attempt to consider imitation as a “standard technique of the time” (“Emulation, Competition, and Homage,” 10).
35
and Jean Molinet, influential composers and pedagogists in their own turn. Mayer Brown
mentions the erudite Johannes Tinctoris’s “habit to use composers as models for his own
composition” as an example of conscious engagement with rhetorical imitatio.71
A large part of Mayer Brown’s article is devoted to discussing types of borrowing
techniques composers used to gloss one another. Instances of borrowing techniques
considered include the addition of (canonic) lines beneath the superius or tenor, revisions
to alter the structure of the model, use of common musical and/or textual incipits,
structural allusions (based on common phrase structure, cadences) and reworking of
borrowed textual and/or melodic material. Mayer Brown’s exemplar of a typology of
borrowing techniques has been widely adopted in subsequent scholarship. Honey
Meconi’s study of popular chansons and their compositional glosses surveys modes of
reworking of secular models and discusses the evolution of borrowing techniques in the
secular and sacred realms.72 Meconi, definitely expanding on Mayer Brown’s typology,
adopts instances of overt, deliberate borrowing, while ruling out shadowy intertextualities
such as those not carrying incipit echoes yet based on subtle borrowing of melodic
structure, phrasing, and cadential patterns. Various techniques of borrowing in
subsequent derivative works and genres are thoroughly presented in Meconi’s study,
71 Mayer Brown’s defense of borrowing as a manifestation of imitatio has been influential for several scholars, such as Burkholder, Higgins, and Reynolds. See Higgins, “Servants, Mistresses”; Burkholder, “Johannes Martini”; and Reynolds, “The Counterpoint of Allusion.” Meconi and Wegman have argued against assuming a direct connection between the concept of imitatio and the practice of musical borrowing in the fifteenth century. Meconi claims that the rhetoric connotations of imitatio are not relevant in the music of the fifteenth century. Wegman questions the application of imitatio to the discussion of musical borrowing in the fifteenth century for it runs the risk “of either creating semantic ambiguity or developing an unnecessarily distorted picture of Renaissance music history.” See Meconi, “Does Imitatio Exist,” Journal of Musicology 12/2 (1994): 152-178; and Wegman, “Another ‘Imitation,’” esp. 196-98. 72 Meconi, “Art Song Reworkings.”
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among them variable patterns of addition or removal of one or more voices, duos based
on a cantus firmus line, allusions based on a reworking of a model, combinative works,
quodlibets, and Latin compositions.
Foremost in the literature on reworking in the fifteenth-century chanson is the
question of composers’ motives of borrowing. Unquestionably, borrowing, in the mid to
late fifteenth century, was a cult procedure for composing cantus firmus and cyclic
masses. It has been viewed as a habit established for centuries, evolved from earlier
practices, when composers erected their sacred polyphonic structures over plainchant
foundations. Yet, how does one explain the flood of chansons that engage in conversation
within the secular realm, copiously exchanging adieus, regrets and sorrows, fortunes,
servants, sweet memories, and good virtues, among others at the time?
Meconi has extensively discussed why composers borrowed in the realm of
chanson, her two writings summarizing the speculations commonly encountered in
scholarship.73 Her overview, quite briefly, considers the following motives: intertext
chansons as survivors from lost cantus firmus masses; influence of the contemporary
Italian cultural setting, which welcomed northern composers and encouraged the
abandonment of fixed forms; borrowing as a pedagogical tool; borrowing as a way to
modernize older models; inspired by the composers’ intention to engage in an intellectual
play with the audience; as a conscious play among composers impelled by composition
contests; as a product of homage or emulation of master and/or teacher composers; lastly,
rather mundanely, due to reasons of easiness, and in cases of self-borrowing, triggered by
73 Meconi, “Art Song Reworkings” and Meconi, “Does Imitatio Exist.”
37
compositional curiosity. Meconi discusses various plausible motives of borrowing in
great length, yet she does not refer to the larger cultural and intellectual context that may
have endorsed borrowing as a cult practice and whose manifestations were visible in all
forms of art in the Franco-Flemish courtly environment.74
Lastly, amid the scarcity of writings on intertextuality within the late fifteenth-
century chanson, one may refer en passant to a number of studies that deal with the
networking of particular song models. A series of editions of chanson families, initiated
by “Recent Researches in the Music of the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance,” molded
on fashionable chansons such as De tous biens plaine, Fors Seulement, and Fortuna
Desperata, have gathered together an array of musical responses to the original tunes,
thus showcasing the extent of their diaspora and the kinds of transformation these tunes
underwent within the context of their intertexts.75
The remaining chapters of the dissertation are designed in such a way that the first
three principally center on musical intertextualities while the fourth focuses on
intertextualities on the level of the poetic texts. Each of Chapters 2-4 deals with one or
74 Art scholars have discussed at length about motives for borrowing and the extent of borrowing in art production in the Franco-Flemish culture of the fifteenth century. Borrowing as a widespread practice that pervaded all forms of fifteenth century material culture is an issue that will be addressed below (see Conclusion). 75 See Martin Picker, Fors Seulement: Thirty Compositions for Three to Five Voices or Instruments from the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Recent Researches in the Music of the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance 14 (Madison: A-R Editions, 1981); Cynthia J. Cyrus, De tous bien plaine: Twenty-Eight Settings of Hayne van Ghizeghem’s Chanson, RRMMM 36 ((Madison: A-R Editions, 2000); and Honey Meconi, Fortuna desperata: Thirty-Six Settings of an Italian Song, RRMMM 37 ((Madison: A-R Editions, 2001). Settings of Busnoys’s Fortuna desperata, the most popular Italian song of the fifteenth century, were previously discussed by Julie Cumming, whose study emphasized the symbolic function and transformation of the image of Fortuna; see “The Goddess Fortuna Revisited,” Current Musicology 30 (1980): 7-23. Similarly, the genealogy of Ockeghem’s Fors Seulement, the tune generating the most expansive complex of derivative settings, was considered earlier on by Helen Hewitt; see “Fors seulement and the Cantus Firmus Technique of the Fifteenth Century,” in Essays in Musicology in Honor of Dragan Plamenac, ed. G. Reese and R.J. Snow (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1969), 91-126.
38
more particular regretz subgroups; each subgroup revolves around a central regretz
chanson and/or composer. In particular, Chapter 2 discusses intertextualities stemming
from Ghizeghem’s regretz chansons. Chapter 3 focuses on Josquin’s Mille regretz as a
point of departure. The discussion relies and expands on the work of Owen Rees, which
has previously traced allusions of Mille regretz beyond the regretz complex and within
Josquin’s own output.76 Chapter 4 deals with musical alliances within the regretz
complex which, firstly, have not been previously discussed and, secondly, are to a great
extent non-directional and, most likely, unintentional. The main thread of discussion
centers on Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz, a chanson, that although it enjoyed wide
reputation in the first half of the sixteenth century, does not seem to manifest traces of
influence with others; it is here considered along with La Rue’s Tous les regretz and
Secretz regretz. Chapter 5 considers the literary aspect of the regretz by discussing their
origin in the work of such prominent fifteenth-century poets as Alain Chartier and
Charles d’Orléans, the influence of these poets’ notion of the “regretz” as a theme in the
text of Allez regretz penned by Jean II de Bourbon, and the taxonomy of code-words and
constants of the literary topos of regretz.
76 Owen Rees, “Mille regretz as Model: Possible Allusions to ‘The Emperor’s Song’ in the Chanson Repertory,” JRMA 120/1 (1995): 44-76.
39
CHAPTER 2
THE ORBIT OF GHIZEGHEM’S REGRETZ CHANSONS
Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz was undoubtedly regarded as a chanson à la mode in
the last quarter of the fifteenth century. Not only was it disseminated in an unusually
great number of manuscripts and early printed sources,1 but it was also the archetype for a
considerable group of chansons that arose around the late 1400s and early sixteenth
century. While certain chansons de regretz of Josquin, such as Mille Regretz and Plus
nulz regretz, demonstrate an equal, if not higher, intertextual activity than Allez, as I will
discuss in the following two chapters, the progeny of Allez stands out as involving largely
chansons derived through direct quotation and/or exhibiting signs of deliberate allusion.
The diaspora of Allez regretz within the genre of Franco-Flemish chanson has
been variously discussed, yet neither in extent nor in detail. Scholars, more often that not,
have tended to refer to Allez regretz as a model in passing, pointing to derivative
chansons built up from cantus firmus appropriation, yet failing to address Allez regretz as
a springboard for subtler forms of influence within the regretz complex.2 As I discuss in
1 For a complete list of the over twenty-six manuscripts and tablatures, see Fallows, A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs 1415–1480 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 81-2. Measure numbers in the discussion that follows refer to the edition in Barton Hudson, ed., Hayne van Ghizeghem: Opera omnia, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 74 (n.p.: American Institute of Musicology, 1977), 3-5. 2 The only extensive study on the progeny of Allez regretz was undertaken by Irena Cholij. See Cholij, “Borrowed Music: ‘Allez regrets’ and the Use of Pre-existent Material”; Cholij, “Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Settings of ‘Allez regretz.’” Both writings deal with the strict use of (mainly the tenor of) Allez regretz as cantus firmus in compositions of various genres (lute arrangements, masses, etc.). Otto Gombosi was the first to discuss intertextualities springing from Allez regretz in his “Ghizeghem und Compère: zur Stilgeschichte der burgundischen Chanson.” Instances of Allez regretz as model for later compositions have been identified in Mayer Brown’s seminal study Music in the French Secular Theater, 1440-1550, 186-87. Goldberg’s “Was zitiert Compère?” remains the most thoughtful in its holistic approach of the literary, musical, and cultural aspects of Ghizeghem’s chanson.
40
this chapter, regretz chansons inspired from Ghizeghem’s original were molded upon a
variety of borrowing techniques and demonstrated various levels of intertextual
dependence, ranging from the widely apparent to the less directional. Four cantus firmus
settings by Alexander Agricola, Anonymus, Bartolomeo degli Organi, and Ludwig Senfl
have used one voice of the original Allez regretz, commonly the tenor, as a template and
have variedly drawn on musical elements from the remaining two parts. Chansons such
as Compère’s Venés regretz and Weerbeke’s Sans regretz relate closely to Allez regretz
through direct quotation of melodic incipits and rhythmic gestures rather than complete
cantus firmus lines. Apart from conspicuous associations, further, less apparent
interconnections likely triggered from Allez regretz will be discussed in this chapter.
These intertextualities tend to shift towards the other end of Brownlee’s spectrum of
intentionality. On that other pole of Brownlee’s spectrum, I have observed that Allez
regretz seems to relate, by means of somewhat inconspicuous associations, to
Ghizeghem’s La Regretée and Fresneau’s Nuit et jour, chansons that have not previously
been regarded as belonging to the cycle of regretz.3 Lastly, one may notice even subtler
kinds of intertextual links – cases where intentionality, in Brownlee’s words “is much
less clearly visible” – among Allez regretz, Les grans regretz, and a group of less
celebrated regretz chansons, including Ockeghem’s Tous les regretz, anon’s Tous nobles
cueurs, and Ghizeghem’s own Mon souvenir. 3 Marvin’s “Regrets in French Chanson Texts of the Late XVth Century” was the first study to identify regretz chansons as a group based on their text incipits. Her regretz cycle does not include chansons such as La Regretée, Nuit et jour, and Mon souvenir, since she only considered texts that include the word regret(z) in their first verse. I have embraced these and other chansons (such as Tous nobles cueurs) that feature the regretz in subsequent verses (yet close to the first) as belonging in to the regretz complex on the basis of a shared discursive context. La Regretée is considered as a regretz chanson in Goldberg’s “Was zitiert Compère?” too.
41
Echoes of Allez regretz
Chanson Reworkings
Most likely, Agricola’s Allez regretz was the earliest of the four cantus firmus
chanson settings quoting from Ghizeghem’s prototype.4 Apart from a few negligible
variances, Ghizeghem’s tenor is slavishly quoted in the tenor of Agricola’s intertext. The
incipit of the model is also quoted at the opening of the superius. Agricola’s setting
shares the same number of voices, as well as the Lydian modality and an identical
scheme of cadences with the prototype Allez. Texturally though, the two pieces are
strikingly dissimilar. The original Allez regretz exhibits an open layout of a graceful
superius buttressed by an equally tuneful and balanced tenor, joined together by a discreet
contratenor, in the tradition of the so called Burgundian chanson.5 In contrast to the
clarity and refinement of Ghizeghem’s, Agricola’s Allez regretz projects a higher level of
complexity. The cloned tenor, although maintaining the tessitura of the model, is now
positioned as the lowest voice of a texture that hosts in the two upper parts a densely
convoluted duo of a restless superius and a contratenor of at times unusually high
passages. The serpentine-like weaving of the upper lines obstructs the accentuation of any
4 Surviving sources of the chanson include: Odhecaton A, TourBV 94, VatG XIII.27, and SgallS 461. The transcription to which I refer is in Edward R. Lerner, ed., Alexandri Agricola: Opera Omnia, vol. 5, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 22 (n.p.: American Institute of Musicology, 1970), 20-21. 5 The term “Burgundian chanson,” rather outmoded in present scholarship, has been variously criticized for its inappropriateness, as has its parallel term “Burgundian school.” See, for instance, John Milsom, “Burgundian school,” in The Oxford Companion to Music (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 181-2; and Leeman Perkins, “Toward a Typology of the ‘Renaissance’ Chanson,” The Journal of Musicology 6/4 (1988): 421-47. It has here been used to cover specific attributes of the chanson of the third quarter of the fifteenth century, particularly its transparent texture that structurally relies on a superius-tenor pole and a pronounced superius.
42
part but the tenor, which, owing to its distinct, less winding character and position as the
lowest voice, emerges prominently to signify its descent as a borrowed tune.
Senfl’s setting of Allez regretz, the sole secular work of the composer using a text
in French, is an additional indication of the immense popularity of Ghizeghem’s chanson
that spanned well into the first decades of the sixteenth century.6 Senfl’s four-part
response to the line of Allez regretz settings displays a rather straightforward process: the
tenor of the original is transferred, transposed a fifth upwards yet perfectly intact, into the
altus part of the new setting, the opening of the intertext marked by further short
quotations extracted from the incipit and the tenor of the model. The characteristic incipit
gesture of the rising sixth, apparently a motivic trademark mostly reminiscent of the
progenitor Allez regretz, is quoted in the opening of the superius of Senfl’s setting. It is
complemented by an equally overt presentation of the opening tenor phrase now placed in
the bassus and a subtle reference to the contour of the two opening measures of
Ghizeghem’s contratenor likewise laid in the contratenor. The opening three measures of
Senfl’s setting as a whole mirror the opening of the model Allez regretz, reflecting a
polyphonic quotation of all three voices; the entrance of the complete tenor cantus firmus
quotation in the fourth measure of the altus, a voice previously silent yet resonating with
the opening of the bassus, poses as a striking musical moment. Further echoes of
prominent motives of the prototype regretz chanson, such as the ascending sixth in
measures 22-24 of the bassus that retains the pitch classes as well as the opening rhythm
of Ghizeghem’s incipit, and the three-measure phrase in the bassus following the signum
6 The edition to which I refer is A. Geering & W. Altwegg, eds., Ludwig Senfl: Sämtliche Werke, vol. 4 (Wolfenbüttel and Zürich: Möseler, 1961), 58-9.
43
congruentiae reminiscent of the contratenor line in measures 19-21 of Ghizeghem’s
contratenor, signal Senfl’s reverence to the original Allez regretz and his intention to
celebrate and convey his dependence on it. The textural resemblance of the propagated
Allez regretz to the original, considering the evolution of song writing within the four
decades that separate the two chansons, is a further indication of Senfl’s plan to show
kinship with his model. Texturally, Senf’s reworking appears to be closer to Ghizeghem’s
than that of Compère (see discussion below). Although lacking the well-defined contour
and grace of the individual parts found Ghizeghem’s chanson, the four voices of the
reworking retain their independence, a rhythmic homogeneity, and a sense of clarity as a
whole.7
Allez regretz and Venés regretz
Venés regretz, one of the three regretz chansons composed by Compère,
demonstrates a sophisticated adherence to the model Allez regretz.8 Venés can essentially
be seen as a patchwork made of key melodic, rhythmic, and structural elements of Allez
regretz, quoted or paraphrased, and skillfully interwoven with newly composed material.9
7 The two remaining cantus firmus settings by Bartolomeo and Anonymous, which are included in BolC Q17, exhibit a similar treatment of Ghizeghem’s quoted tenor and part of the superius as those by Agricola and Senfl. The extent of their dependence on Ghizeghem’s prototype is discussed in Cholij, “Borrowed music,” 169-70. 8 Venés regretz survives in ten sources: BolC Q17, BrusBR 228, BrusBR 11239, CopKB 1848, FlorBN Magl. 107bis, FlorBN Magl. 117, ParisBNF1596, ParisBNF1597, ParisBNF22245, and TourBV 94. In BolC Q17, it is preceded by its model Allez regretz. Measure numbers pertaining to Venés regretz during my discussion refer to the edition in Ludwig Finscher, ed., Loyset Compere: Opera Omnia, vol. 5, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 15 (n.p.: American Institute of Musicology, 1972), 59-60. 9 Studies considering intertextual affiliations between the two chansons include Gombosi, “Ghizeghem und Compère”; Cholij, “Borrowed music,” 170-171; Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?,” 93-94 (mostly on the interaction of the poetic texts). Fincher makes a passing reference to Compère’s regretz chansons in Loyset
44
The chansons employ the same mode (Lydian) and quoted material is presented
untransposed, in the original scale degrees. Structurally molded on Allez regretz, Venés
regretz retains the form of rondeau cinquain with a text of decasyllabic verse. Cadential
patterns are also identical. In most instances, Compère also observes the original scale
degrees of the cadences; there is only one divergence that occurs in the penultimate
cadence as Allez cadences on F and Venés on D.
All three voices of Venés regretz are rooted to a certain extent in Allez regretz, yet
the core borrowed phrases are imitatively exchanged between the superius and the tenor.
Venés principally extracts melodic material from the tenor of Allez in a rather intricate,
almost labyrinthine fashion. Extensive quotation mostly occurs in the first part of the
rondeau. In all three phrases of the first section, the tenor first presents quoted material,
imitated by the superius. Although the part of tenor appears to have the lead in launching
the quoted tenor, the superius, at times, extends a borrowed line above newly composed
material in the tenor (see 3rd phrase, esp. m. 13-16). As seen in Ex.2.1a and Ex. 2.1b, the
opening measures of Venés regretz announce their strong dependence on Allez regretz,
with both the tenor and bassus citing Ghizeghem’s opening tenor and superius
respectively. The tenor carries, at first in direct quotation, later in paraphrase, the
complete first phrase of the original tenor. The part of the superius, which opens on the
second half of the second measure in imitation of the tenor an octave higher, appears
Compère (c. 1450-1518): Life and Works, Musicological Studies and Documents 12 (n.p.: American Institute of Musicology, 1964), 235. See also a brief discussion of its poetic text in Gerald Montagna, “Caron, Hayne, Compère: A transmission reassessment,” Early Music History 7 (1987): 107-157, in 149.
45
later, in the caesura of the first phrase, to echo the closing cadential passage of the first
phrase of the superius of Allez.
Ex. 2.1a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 1-6.
Ex. 2.1b: Compère, Venés regretz, m. 1-5.
Similarly, the second phrase commences with an imitative passage citing the
second phrase of the tenor of Allez to eventually cadence by means of a paraphrased line
in the tenor while the superius carries on the quoted tune. In contrast to the first two
phrases, it is only the superius that resonates with the quoted tenor in the third phrase of
the rondeau.
46
The second section of Venés regretz opens with a nearly complete polyphonic
quotation in the two lower lines (see Ex. 2.2a and Ex. 2.2b). Apart from that opening
snippet of Allez, the formerly leading parts of superius and tenor do not introduce further
quoted material. Yet, the second section of Venés does not completely break free from its
close bonds with Allez. The most interesting musical moment following the signum
congruentiae arises in neither of the focal parts, i.e. superius and tenor, but in the bassus.
Indeed, starting on the last semibrevis of measure 21 the bassus initiates a string of
sequential motives, distinctive for their contour of a descending sixth, which in its turn
can be seen as a mirror of the incipit of Allez regretz. The prominent role of the ascending
second–descending sixth sequence in the bassus augments when one observes the
sequential patterns in the upper parts that incorporate a motive of similar contour
(ascending second–descending fourth).
Ex. 2.2a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 31-36.
47
Ex. 2.2b: Compère, Venés regretz, m. 16-24.
Lastly, the sequence brings to mind a short, yet memorable sequential figure of
falling fifths that concludes the second phrase of the superius of Allez. Suggesting that
Compère modeled that particular moment in Venés after the sequential pattern in Allez is
certainly a point hard to prove. Yet, considering that Venés is consciously modeled on
Allez, and having observed that the associations between the chansons move beyond
clear-cut quotations of a cantus firmus routine, one can speculate that Compère,
inconspicuously, but certainly deliberately, drew less elaborate material from the model
chanson, such as the sequential motive discussed above, or the prominent rising and/or
falling scaling fifth figures, discreetly apparent in Allez and prominently dispersed in
Venés.
The sophisticated adherence of Venés regretz on Ghizeghem’s venerated chanson,
observed as a topographical grid of interpolated musical relations, is further magnified
upon a consideration of the literary facets of the chansons. What one observes at first
48
glance, from comparing the incipits of the chansons, is a striking antithesis. Musical
convergence, visible in the opening phrases of the chansons, is fitted to contrasting
imagery, apparent in the opening invocation towards the regretz with the words “Allez”
versus “Venés.” In Ghizeghem’s chanson the regretz are asked to depart, while in that of
Compère they are implored to arrive. Yet, upon comparing the first two verses of the
rondeaux (see complete opening stanzas below), we can clearly see that, apart from the
initial textual counterpoint (“allez”/”venés”), the openings of the refrains share some
striking, mainly formal, similarities.10
10 The following presentation of the resemblances and interaction between the two poetic texts is largely influenced by the relevant discussion in Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?,” 93-94. Goldberg first considers formal resemblances (poetic form, number of syllables, and caesuras in opening verse), which, as he argues, are essential elements in the case of subsequent paraphrases of the model text. He explores the metamorphosis of the regretz topos from a concrete story with a rival in Allez to a stereotyped narrative of mourning over loss. He also unveils a string of archetypal themes shared in both texts (death, heart, and others). Goldberg argues that, taking in consideration the musical bonding between the chansons, we can view the narrative of Compere’s text as enhanced by means of its association with that of Ghizeghem, and interpret it accordingly as a text that concerns not a case of death but an unfortunate love affair. See also the relevant discussion in Chapter 5, pp. 194-99.
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur Remply de dueil pour estre serviteur D’une sans per que j’ay amee d’enfance11
Venés, regretz, venés, il en est heure Venés sur moy faire vostre demeure C’est bien raison qu’à ce je vous enhorte Car aujourd’huy toutte ma joye c’est morte Et si ne voy nulluy qui me sequeure12
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur Remply de dueil pour estre serviteur D’une sans per que j’ay amee d’enfance11
Venés, regretz, venés, il en est heure Venés sur moy faire vostre demeure C’est bien raison qu’à ce je vous enhorte Car aujourd’huy toutte ma joye c’est morte Et si ne voy nulluy qui me sequeure12
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The opening verse in both chansons launches with an imperative verb (“allez”/
“venés”) joined with the word “regretz” and followed by an imperative verb (“vuidiez”/
“venés”). Lines of comparable construction are also employed in the following verses;
they both begin with a repetition of the incipit verb (“allez”/”vénes”) and close with
nouns of similar “topographical” meaning (“acointance”/”demeure”); the words “faire
vostre” are centrally positioned at the opening of the second hemistich. Considering
Compère’s close musical reliance on Ghizeghem’s rondeau, mostly prevalent in its
opening phrases, the textual affiliation of the matching opening verses can be seen as an
auxiliary layer of intertextual signification. Furthermore, an intriguing conceptual
innuendo weaved in text and music radiates from Allez to Venés: the regretz are
poetically set in motion (“allez”/”vénes” – departure/arrival), their passing, more than an
imaginary migration, concretely materialized by means of a musical quotation of the
model chanson’s central part (the tenor) transformed into the nucleus of Compère’s
chanson (in the tenor and complementarily in the superius). The Allez/Venés matrix can
then be seen as a kind of musical response to a poetic pledge.
The remaining verses of both opening stanzas elucidate the preoccupation of the
narrator with the “regretz,” which commonly relates to a suffering state of mind
(“Remply de dueil”/“ma joye c’est morte”). Henceforth, the progression of the narratives
11 “Go sorrows, leave my presence || Go and make acquaintance elsewhere || You have tormented my weary heart enough || I am full of sorrow, being the servant || Of one matchless that I have loved from my childhood.” 12 “Come, sorrows, come, it is time || Come, make your dwelling with me || There is good reason for me to implore you || For today all my joy is dead ||And, alas, I do not see a soul who might succor me.” The present translation is based on the translations by Susan Jackson in Allan Atlas, Anthology of Renaissance Music (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998), 492, and Amanda Zuckerman Wesner, “The Chansons of Loyset Compère: Authenticity and Stylistic Development” (PhD diss., Harvard University, 1992), 400.
50
advances quite differently. In Allez regretz, the male lover confronts a complicated
situation that involves, apart from the commonplace theme of unrequited love, the
presence of a rival against whom he expresses feelings of resentment and vengeance. The
unfolding of the narrative in Venés regretz sinks into poignant expressions of frustration
(“mon cueur sente et pleure”; “L’abit de dueil” [“my heart asks and weeps”/ “the habit of
mourning”]) that culminate in an agonizing imploring of regretz to witness the poet’s
suffering “ains que je meure” (“before I die”) – death being a customary resolution in its
turn. A last point of intersection can be observed in the openings of the final stanzas:
Here, both chansons engage in a gesture of exhortation that, although eventually
developing quite differently (revengeful in Allez, apologetic in Venés), signals a
perceivable caesura in the narrative.
Sans regretz as a descendant
Sans regretz, a relatively obscure chanson by Ghizeghem’s contemporary
Weerbeke, demonstrates a close reliance with Allez regretz that extends to a remarkably
similar layout and cadences along with quoted motives and loose paraphrases. Similarly
to all regretz chansons modeled on or intertextually associated with Allez, I tend to
believe that Sans regretz is also a rondeau; yet its designation as such is debatable. The
N’y tournez plus, car, par ma conscience Se plus vous voy prouchain de ma plaisance [Do not come back, for, by my conscience If I see you near me more]
Mais gardez bien qu’après vous ne demeure L’abit de dueil plus noir que belle meure [But make sure that behind you does not remain The habit of mourning, darker than the mourning clothes]
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text of the chanson, in its single survived source, the Basevi Codex (FlorC 2439), is
incomplete, though all parts are halfway marked with a signum congruentiae.13
Fig. 2.1: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, superius (FlorC 2439, f. 79v).
Labeling of the piece as a rondeau is rather puzzling. It looks to me that the first
section of the chanson consists of four phrases, instead of three. The first three phrases
appear to support decasyllabic lines. The text set to the fourth phrase is corrupt. Judging
from the length of the phrase, which is relatively short in comparison to the previous
ones, I am inclined to think that a hemistich of five syllables may have been used for the
13 A transcription of Sans regretz is included in Paul G. Newton, “Florence, Biblioteca del Conservatorio di Musica Luigi Cherubini, Manuscript Basevi 2439: Critical Edition and Commentary,” vol. 2 (PhD diss., North Texas State University, 1968), 226. Measures numbers in the related discussion refer to this transcription.
52
fourth phrase. In that case, Sans regretz follows the form of an extended poetic rondeau,
similar to a rondeau layé.14
Architectonic similarities between Allez regretz and Sans regretz are significant.
All cadences of Sans regretz, apart from the penultimate, are modeled, and in a few
instances replicated note for note, on those of Allez. The first cadence of both chansons,
for example, employs a leading tone cadence on F; the contratenor moves independently
from the cadential gesture, suspending the impression of a complete caesura and
propelling towards the opening of the second phrase. Sans regretz is similarly written in
the Lydian mode, the only divergence being the omitting of the signature of B flat in the
superius, a disagreement easily mended by the application of musica ficta during the
performance. Texturally, the chansons are mostly comparable. Weerbeke’s chanson, like
its model, is constructed from a balanced superius-tenor duet accompanied by an equally
active contratenor and an absence of imitative entrances among parts. Individual voices
share identical ranges and there is barely any sign of voice crossing. Generally, Sans
regretz illustrates qualities of the conservative facet of the Burgundian chanson as
14 A rondeau layé is an elaborate version of a rondeau cinquain with additional interpolated hemistichs after the second and the fourth lines. Yet, based on the single fragment of the surviving text of Sans regretz, no interjected half verse follows after the second line. Instead, the rhyming scheme of the surviving three lines (a a b) observes the rhyme of the first half of a rondeau cinquain. Most likely, the extra (half) verse placed at the end of the first section may be part of a variant form of the rondeau cinquain. In continuation to my discussion above (measure numbers refer to the transcription in P. Newton), the point of the middle cadence of the second section is slightly confusing. If it takes place on measure 45 – this seems to be the only clearly articulated cadence before the final where all parts are led to a full stop – the opening phrase of the second section appears to be unusually shorter than the closing phrase (eight versus twenty measures). One other possibility in regard to the confusing layout of the rondeau could be that the signum has been misplaced and, instead of at the end of the first section, occurs on the cadence of the third verse (m. 31). In that case, though, the scheme of cadences, previously parallel to that of Allez regretz, is now in conflict.
53
manifested in the work of Ghizeghem; nonetheless, the superius of Sans regretz lacks the
grace of Allez’s leading voice.
Weerbeke, most likely, was particularly eager to call attention to the tight
adherence of his chanson to the widely popular Allez regretz.15 Indeed, Sans regretz
displays its affiliation with Allez regretz at the outset, with a brief but unmissable
quotation of the tenor of Allez in the lower part (see Ex.2.3, m. 1-4). Although the quoted
motive in Sans regretz is transposed, starting from F instead of C, I assume that it was
certainly meant to be aurally caught by the audience, for it is also partially duplicated in
the incipit of the superius. Moreover, the contratenor (m. 5-7), following the quotation of
the tenor of Allez, sings a rising sixth motive reminiscent of the incipit of Allez, starting
from C in accordance with the original pitch classes of Allez.
Ex. 2.3: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, m. 1-10.
15 If there indeed existed a direct line of influence between Allez regretz and Sans regretz, it must have originated from Allez for, apart from its status as an influential chanson, it survives in a number of earlier sources than Weerbeke’s regretz (Basevi Codex dates from c. 1505-08; see this chapter, n. 25 for a discussion of the earliest sources of Allez regretz).
54
Right after the execution of the rising sixth motive, which further resonates in the
superius, I can hardly imagine Weerbeke’s contemporaries missing the reference to Allez
regretz. In fact, the composer signals his kinship with the widely known regretz chanson
in an exceedingly candid manner. The opening verse, “Sans regretz veul entretenir mon
cueur” (“Without sorrows I want to keep my heart”), can be viewed as a reaffirming
response to the appeal of “Allez regretz” to “go away” and “vuidiez de ma presence”
(“leave my presence”). This brief but witty textual interplay echoes in its musical
rendering the two most distinct motives of its model chanson (superius and tenor melodic
incipits), most strikingly in consecutive order. With the second quotation (m. 5-7), an
allusion to the staple melodic gesture of Allez regretz, Weerbeke might have aimed to
insure that the reliance upon Ghizeghem would be obvious even if the audience had
failed to notice it before then.
I have not, so far, located further instances of allusion in Sans regretz, yet the
superius and tenor duet of the complete second phrase strikes me as a free, and rather
loose, paraphrase of the same voices in the second phrase of Allez regretz (see Ex. 2.4a
and Ex. 2.4b). One may also notice that the superius parts of the third phrase in both
chansons begin by using the same pitches.
55
Ex. 2.4a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, cantus and tenor, m. 12-22.
Ex. 2.4b: Weerbeke, Sans regretz, m. 13-22.
Lastly, a consideration of the poetic texts of the chansons can only further
complement their reliance. Although the corrupt status of the text of Sans regretz
prevents a thorough reading of it, the surviving verses suggest parallels with the opening
verses of Allez regretz:
56
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur Remply de dueil
Sans regretz veul entretenir mon cueur Qui long temps a souffert deuil et langueur Remedy n’ay qu’a ma dame Nature Qui nous16
For instance, both texts seem to display a conspicuous resentment towards regretz.
Similarly to Ghizeghem’s chanson, where the regretz are ordered to “leave my presence,”
in Weerbeke’s, the singer announces, equally decisively, that “without regrets I want to
keep my heart.” The heart is specified as the locus where regretz have previously lain,
their siege described in terms of time and intensity (“assez avez” versus “qui long
temps”) and effect (“tourmente” vis-à-vis “a souffert”). “Dueil,” a stereotyped feeling in
courtly love poetry, is also featured in both opening stanzas (“Remply de dueil” at the
beginning of the fourth verse of Allez compared with “a souffert deuil”).
Calling the “Regretz” “Nuit et jour”
The orbit of chanson intertexts revolving around Allez regretz may possibly
include, as I will now attempt to argue, Fresneau’s rondeau Nuit et jour.17 The underlying
resemblances between Allez and Nuit et jour have not been previously considered, in all
probability owing to the fact that the latter has not been recognized as a regretz chanson.
Furthermore, intertextualities are rather veiled beneath a texture unlike that of Allez. The
16 The surviving text is translated as: “Without regrets I want to keep my heart || that for a long time has suffered from grief and weakness || there is no remedy that my lady Nature has || which […].” Unless otherwise noted, the English translations of the regretz texts are mine. 17 It survives in the following sources: WashLC L25 (Laborde Chansonnier), LonBLR 20 A.xvi, FlorR 2794, VatG XIII.27, and twice in CopKB 1848. The transcription I rely on is in Allan Atlas, The Cappella Giulia Chansonnier (Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, C.G.XIII.27), vol.2, Wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen/Musicological Studies 27 (Brooklyn: Institute of Mediaeval Music, 1975), 30. See also the recent critical edition of Fresneau’s oeuvre: Olivier Carrillo & Agostino Magro, eds., Jean Fresneau: Messe et chansons (Turnout, Belgium: Brepols, 2004).
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unusually long silence at the beginning of the tenor in Nuit et jour indicates clearly that
the tenor does not have the same function as in Allez regretz, where it underpinned the
superius, a role that has been taken over by the bassus in Nuit et jour (see Ex. 2.5). The
tenor enters after the completion of the first phrase of the rondeau and moves in longer
values than the other two voices. Judging from the suspended rhythmic activity, held and
repeated notes, and melodic phrases of short range, I suspect that the tenor was probably
not sung to the text. It may likely have originated as a paraphrase of a cantus firmus,
although I have not yet located a tune resonant with the tenor line of Nuit et jour within
the regretz complex.
Yet, regardless of the origins of the tenor, the eight-measure long tacet of the part
may not have been an innocent compositional choice. The text of Fresneau’s chanson
during the first phrase reads “Nuit et jour sans repos avoir” (“Night and day, without
rest”), the key-word “regret” initiating the beginning of the second phrase. The silenced
tenor may have been thought of as a response of contrasting insinuation to “sans repos,” a
hollow filled with visual and aural rests in counterpoint to a text that suggests activity and
duration (“night and day”). Most interestingly, apart from viewing the tacet tenor as a
textual/musical pun, its opening right after the superius sings the word “regret” may also
be suggestive of the composer’s intention to highlight the word as particularly
significant.18
18 Under this light, the labeling of the tenor line in early sources such as Laborde and FlorR 2794 with the single text “regret” (most likely a reference to the beginning of the second verse of Nuit et jour), practically christening the line “regret” (in the fashion of cantus, bassus, contratenor, etc), may not be a scribe’s error. In VatG XIII.27, the textual incipit reads the word “Perget,” and has been interpreted as being derived from the word “regret” (the opening word of the tenor). See Atlas, Cappella Giulia, 1: 124-5.
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A last remark worth making in regard to the second line of Nuit et jour has to do
with its close reliance to the third line of Allez regretz (see lines below). Similarly to the
opening of Sans regretz discussed earlier, expressions of duration and intensity are used
to recount the attack of regretz (“assez avez” versus “nuit et jour” and “sans repos”).
Likewise, the word “tourmente” echoes as the end result of the attack of the regretz.
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur
Nuit et jour sans repos avoir Regret m’atriste et me tourmente
The overall dimensions of the chansons also converge to some extent; Nuit et
jour, a rondeau quatrain, is shorter than Allez, yet repetitions of the text (the text in the
last phrase, for instance, is entirely repeated) stretch its length considerably. Interrelations
of a broader kind exist between the chansons: both are written in the Lydian mode, with F
as the finalis, yet neither the medial nor the remaining internal cadences fall in identical
pitch classes; F (an octave lower than the opening pitch of the superius) is the lowest
pitch and is heard once in the second section of the rondeau.
The most intriguing correlations between Allez regretz and Nuit et jour, as I have
observed, can be tracked down to a couple of melodic and rhythmic motives. The incipit
of Allez regretz (see Ex. 2.1), undoubtedly the imprint of the celebrated chanson, is
variedly featured in Fresneau’s rondeau. The superius of Nuit et jour (Ex. 2.5) opens with
a phrase barely reminiscent of Ghizeghem’s incipit; the first two measures echo the rising
line of Allez, yet the association is rather frail. The rhythmic pattern of the first three
measures in both superius lines is also identical. Starting in measure 6, the opening of the
second phrase in the bassus introduces a rising sixth that could relate to the incipit of
59
Allez. Following the signum, the opening two measures of the bassus are not only
rhythmically suggestive of the incipit but are also identical in intervallic content (Ex.
2.6). A rhythmic quotation of the incipit, reverberant of the rhythmic opening of Nuit et
jour, is featured in the tenor, beginning on measure 25.
Ex. 2.5: Fresneau, Nuit et jour, m. 1-11
The second melodic/rhythmic cell of Allez that discreetly appears in Nuit et jour is
extracted from the third measure of the tenor of Ghizeghem’s chanson. It is composed of
a semibrevis–brevis–two minimas(–brevis) rhythmic gesture and is melodically marked
by a rising third followed by a falling fourth (see Ex. 2.1). The cell emerges twice in Nuit
et jour; measure 9 and later measure 21 carry a nearly unaltered presentation in both the
superius and the bassus (with variation in the opening pitch of the cell). The positions of
60
the cell, I have observed, share parallel features: reiterations of the cell in Nuit et ejour
commence on the third measure of the second and third phrases and are laid out as a duet
of the superius and the bassus. Quite interestingly, the words of the first stanza of Nuit et
jour set to the quoted cell – triste and espoir – are utterly contrasting in meaning. I can
imagine that they could easily initiate a moment of mental playfulness among the
audience who were hearing the echoes of the shared cell sung repetitively according to
the layout of the rondeau. A further, rather minor, point to be noticed is that the second
and third phrases are partly comprised of a joint presentation of the first two measures of
the incipit of Allez regretz followed by the cell (see bassus of phrase 2 and superius-
bassus duet of phrase 3, the latter in Ex. 2.6 below starting on m. 19).
Ex. 2.6: Fresneau, Nuit et jour, m. 18-23.
La Regretée as an offspring
Not only did Allez regretz propagate a considerable network of intertexts within
the work of Franco-Flemish composers, as I have discussed and will later continue to
observe by bringing in further examples, but it held a pivotal place within Ghizeghem’s
cycle of regretz chansons. La Regretée, a later three-part rondeau by Ghizeghem, shares
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some striking links with Allez, not previously considered in scholarship. The piece, I will
argue, was modeled on Allez, most likely under the composer’s intention to compose a
refined and sophisticated response to his earlier piece, which was already fashionable by
the 1490s.19
La Regretée commences with a rising sixth figure in the tenor, reminiscent of the
incipit of Allez Regretz. The association of the figure with Allez is further intensified by
the resounding of the figure an octave higher in the opening of the superius (see Ex.
2.7).20 The second half of the incipit of La Regretée (m. 5-7 in the tenor), although not as
strikingly evocative as the rising sixth figure, brings to mind the beginning of the tenor of
Allez. Especially when one considers the pitch D (top of a rising sixth) attached to the
second phrase (i.e. m. 4-7 in the tenor), the extended line can be seen as rhythmically
identical and a close paraphrase of the tenor incipit of Allez Regretz. What is more, part
of this line echoes in the contratenor (m. 2-3). Observing then the close ties crowded into
the opening of the two chansons, it is important to comment on how noticeable
Ghizeghem’s tight reliance on Allez appears early on in La Regretée.
19 La Regretée circulates in the following manuscript and printed sources: Canti B, Egenolff III, LonBLR 20 A.xvi, ParisBNF 1597, and UppsU 76a. In my discussion, measure numbers refer to the modern edition of La Regretée in Barton Hudson, ed., Hayne van Ghizeghem: Opera omnia, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 74 (n.p.: American Institute of Musicology, 1977), 29-31. 20 This is the only instance of interrelation linking Allez regretz and La Regretée that has, to my knowledge, been discussed in scholarship, specifically in Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?,” 94. Goldberg indicates the opening rhythm and the rising sixth gesture in La Regretée as clear citations stemming from Allez regretz. He notes that the shared opening rhythm is not found in other beginnings of Ghizeghem’s chansons, apart from, additionally, Les grans regretz. He also notes that Ghizeghem’s regretz chansons exhibit extensive motives characterized by intensified sequences, voice motion, and motivic variation, elements that match, in the level of the narrative, with the multiplicity that characterizes the attack of the regretz.
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Ex. 2.7: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, m. 1-12.
The musical fertilization of La Regretée with gestural strands of Allez is carried
out beyond the opening of the chanson. Minor motives, cells, and noticeable melodic
gestures of Allez are interspersed in the body of La Regretée. For instance, the rising sixth
figure at measure 15 of the bassus is a straightforward paraphrase of the opening motive.
Ex. 2.8: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, bassus, m. 13-18.
An abundance of descending fifths and fourths in La Regretée responds to the
presence of the same intervallic gestures in Allez regretz. Furthermore, both chansons
63
employ a short sequential pattern in the superius that leads to the final cadence. Most
strikingly, a four-measure long polyphonic chunk of La Regretée is extracted, note for
note, from Allez (see Ex. 2.9a and Ex. 2.9b). The profile of the polyphonic quotation can
be seen as double-faceted, marked by a cadential–opening phrase pattern in the superius-
tenor pair and a distinctively tuneful bassus that serves as a chain uniting the closing and
opening phrases. It is not merely on account of the presence of a polyphonic block
instead of a single migrated line that I consider this particular instance of appropriation as
utterly revealing. What I view as equally important is that Ghizeghem aligns the quoted
block (itself having a distinct cadential function) in moments of comparable structural
significance in both chansons. In Allez regretz, the block is situated at the end of the first
phrase, and in La Regretée, it appears at the closing of the first phrase following the
signum congruentiae, in both instances acting as an auditory bridge. Although taking into
account that the locus of the block in Allez makes it aurally more prominent due to the
constant repetitions commanded during the performance of the rondeau, the quotation is
still situated in a kind of virtual “pedestal” in La Regretée, the closing of the first phrase
after the signum being topographically parallel to the end of the first phrase in Allez.
Ex. 2.9a: Ghizeghem, Allez regretz, m. 10-14.
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Ex. 2.9b: Ghizeghem, La Regretée, m. 62-66.
The broader layout of La Regretée is also closely modeled after that of Allez
regretz. The chanson is composed in the Lydian mode, transposed a fourth upwards and
with a finalis on B flat. Even if the geography of cadences in La Regretée is not entirely
modeled after that of Allez, various resemblances can be observed. For instance, both the
first as well as the penultimate phrase of both chansons cadence in F. Final cadences are
similarly structured as of the leading-tone type with a descending fifth in the contratenor.
Medial cadences fall in the fifth above the finalis, i.e., C in Allez, F in La Regretée. The
superius of La Regretée shares not only the same lower pitch, A la-mi-re (according to
the gamut), with that of Allez. This pitch is also sung in the same locus in both rondeaux,
in the phrase following the signum.
Based on the dating of the surviving sources of La Regretée, the rondeau must
have been composed sometime in the late 1480s or most likely in the 1490s.21 Even
stylistically it sounds significantly advanced, showing traces of the work of Ghizeghem’s
less conservative contemporary Antoine Busnoys. The texture of the chanson is
21 The Lorraine Chansonnier (ParisBNF 1597), the earliest surviving source of La Regretée, dates from c. 1500.
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considerably more adventurous than that of Allez regretz, featuring frequent imitation
points between the superius and tenor (in the beginning of all phrases but the last) and a
rather rhythmically active and tuneful contratenor. Moreover, La Regretée is significantly
longer than Allez regretz (eighty versus fifty-four measures) due to longer and more
angular phrases and the use of a poetic text following the expanded form of the rondeau
cinquain layé.
When compared in regard to their discursive content, the poetic text of La
Regretée differs considerably from that of Allez regretz. The “regretz” that previously
played a central role through their evocation in the opening verse are now virtually
excluded, their indirect presence implied by means of their recipient, “la regretée.” The
poet, instead of directing his message towards the regretz, engages in a praise of his
beloved one, she being the one afflicted with regretz.
In the opening stanza of La Regretée, the first-person subject adopts a courtly
speech act enumerating the virtues of his lady and imploring her to show sympathy
toward whom “qui vous ame.” The following verses carry on the poet’s attempt to move
his object of desire by an exaggerated reference to her “bon bruit” (“good reputation”)
that is rhetorically measured against the highest standards (“dont je voy France honourée
et emplie”). In the last stanza, the poet addresses a courtly plea for the lady’s love that
involves a split of paths: further attempts to touch the lady through a reminder of his
suffering (“Mais en mon cueur ce mal tais et replie” [“But in my heart this sorrow hides
and folds”]), yet also a threat that, if his love is rejected, he will tarnish her fame. While I
do not see explicit intertextual links between La Regretée and Allez regretz in a verbal
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and discursive context, the endings of the rondeaux are similar in expressing the poet’s
intention, and the progression of the narrative towards resolution:
In Allez regretz, the poet resolves to demand his rival to stay away and warns him
with explicitly threatening remarks (see last three verses).24 Blows, this time against his
lady, are shot in La Regretée (see lines 3-4), although the rondeau concludes with a last
attempt to shame her for his suffering. The key words denoting the shifting intentions of
the poet/malepersona are “meschance” and “tarnit.” To conclude, the courtly erotic
register embodied in the opening stanzas of Ghizeghem’s rondeaux by the image of a
soft-spoken subject suffering from unrequited love is later replaced by one that implies
revenge.
Considering its close reliance on Allez regretz, I tend to believe that La Regretée
was consciously modeled on the former, well-known chanson. By the late 1480s and
during the following decade, when La Regretée was most likely composed, the popularity
22 “Do not come back, for, by my conscience || If I see you near me more || Before everyone I will do you such honour || That they will say that a lord’s hand || Has really hone you mischief.” 23 “If I am set to love you with good heart || I want to beg for love at your pleasure || But if denied || You will see a praise that will tarnish your fame || It is such a pity that nothing touches your heart || to weaken you || But in my heart this sorrow hides and folds up.” 24 The presence of a rival as a third person within the narrative of Allez regretz is suggested in Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère?,” 93. See also the discussion in Chapter 5, pp. 195-96.
N’y tournez plus, car, par ma conscience Se plus vous voy prouchain de ma plaisance Devant chascun vous feray tel honneur Que l’en dira que la main d’un seigneur Vous a bien mis a la malle meschance22
S’à vous aymer de bon cueur je m’emplie Amour le veult bonvouloir luy supplie Mais desamplie Vous voye d’ung los qui tarnit votre fame C’est que pitié vostre cueur point n’entame Qui vous est blame Mais en mon cueur ce mal tais et replie23
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of Allez must have been apparent.25 Ghizeghem incorporated diverse elements from his
successful chanson (incipit, prominent melodic gestures, cadential patterns, and even
polyphonic blocks) to compose his new rondeau, La Regretée, possibly driven by his
intention to create a chanson of elevated complexity while trying out new trends. While
borrowed elements of Allez regretz mark La Regretée, compositional choices such as the
extensive use of imitative entrances, the employment of a longer poetic form, and the
departure from the old-fashioned polarized texture of the Burgundian chanson point to
Ghizeghem’s plan of composing a chanson that follows in the lineage of Allez regretz, yet
it is not a mere copy but a sophisticated descendant. Under this consideration, La
Regretée undoubtedly held a special place in the composer’s oeuvre. A last but
enlightening piece of evidence in that line lies at the beginning of the second phrase of
the rondeau. Here, the superius, starting on measure 19, carries a paraphrase of the
superius of the second phrase of none other than the composer’s celebrated De tous biens
plaine, which alongside Allez regretz was regarded among the most fashionable chansons
during the last quarter of the fifteenth century.26 Quite intriguingly, in both La Regretée
25 The argument for the dissemination of Allez regretz is partially made on the grounds of the inclusion of the chanson in an extensive network of surviving sources. The earliest source of Allez regretz is FlorR 2356 of Florentine origin and dated no later than c. 1480. Three sources copied during the 1480s, FlorR 2794 of Florentine origin, the Laborde chansonnier from the Loire Valley, and the Ferrarese RomeC 2856 (dating argued c.1480s up to 1490), host Allez regretz. It also survives in several manuscripts of the early and mid 1490s: VatG XIII.27, FlorBN Magl. 178, FlorBN BR 229, BolC Q17, and VerBC 757). 26 The network of chanson settings based on Ghizeghem’s De tous biens plaine ranks among the largest group of composition complexes stemming from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On the popularity of De tous biens plaine, mostly as a polyphonic model, and also as a widely disseminated chanson, see the Introduction in Cyrus, De tous bien plaine. See also Meconi, “Art Song Reworkings,” esp. 11-12; and Mayer Brown, Music in the French Secular Theater, 137-38.
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and De tous biens plaine, the word “d’honneur” is employed at or just before the point of
the paraphrase during the first statement of the refrain.27
Loose Intertextualities in Anon’s Tous les regretz and Mon souvenir
Intertextualities sprung from Allez regretz that have been discussed so far are, for
the most part, overt and rather undisputable. They tend to be confined to the side of
Brownlee’s intertextual continuum that embraces direct quotation and intentionality.
However, during my pursuit of intertextualities within the regretz network, I have
observed various instances that would fall at the opposite extreme of the intertextual
continuum.
For instance, a setting of Tous les regretz that survives anonymously in Ottaviano
Petrucci’s Canti B contains motives that, very inconspicuously, allude to melodic
gestures of Allez regretz.28 Specifically, the rising sixth on the second half of the first
phrase in the superius of Tous les regretz is evocative of the staple rising sixth of the
incipit of Allez (see Ex. 2.10). The rhythmic profiles of the shared gestures are also
remotely comparable.
27 A considerable degree of relatedness can be observed in the literary texts of the two Ghizeghem chansons. They both embody a courtly register that deals with praising a certain lady of “de tous biens” and enumerating her virtues. The first couple of verses are particularly alike: “De tous biens plaine est ma maistresse || Chascun luy doibt tribut d’honneur” and “La Regretée en tous biens accomplie || D’honneur, de los, et de grace remplie.” 28 Picker has attributed the chanson to Ockeghem (“More ‘regret’ chansons,” 85-6). Apart from the incipit “Tous les regretz,” no further text is included in its sole source, Canti B, yet, as Picker argues, the chanson was most likely conceived as a setting to the poem “Tous les regretz” by Saint-Gelais (also set to music by la Rue). A transcription can be seen in ibid, 97-101.
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Ex. 2.10: Anon [Ockeghem], Tous les regretz, superius m. 7-9
Later on, the superius opening of the third phrase (m. 30) recalls the tenor opening of the
third phrase in Allez regretz. The two gestures share a similar opening rhythm. Their
melodic contours also evolve comparably, composed of the triple repetition of the
opening pitch followed by a rising minor second and a falling fifth.
Upon considering the literary texts of the two chansons, it is intriguing that they
treat the theme of regretz in conflicting ways. In Allez regretz, the regretz, which “Assez
avez tourmente mon las cueur,” are asked to depart; in Tous les regretz, the poet calls all
regretz “qui les cueurs tourmentez” to gather in his own heart. A playful literary pun can
be observed when the first two verses of the chansons are read against each other.
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance [Go regrets, leave my presence Go and make acquaintance elsewhere]
Tous les regretz qui les cueurs tourmentez Venez au mien et en luy vous boutez [All sorrows which torment hearts Come to mine and place yourself in it]
It is as if the texts engage in a dialogue that takes the form of a literary “bargain.” The
regretz brought up in Allez regretz are not simply expelled; they are directed to “make
acquaintance elsewhere.” Their virtual migration may befall the tormented heart of the
person who appeals upon them to “Venez au mien.”29
Subtle signs of intertextual association seem to exist among Allez regretz and the
rest of Ghizeghem’s surviving regretz, namely Mon souvenir and Les grans regretz. Not
29 A similar metaphorical passage of regretz takes place in the intertextual space of interaction between the texts of Allez regretz and Venés regretz (see the relevant discussion in this chapter, p. 49).
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previously considered as a chanson de regret – the regretz do not appear until the second
line of the stanza – Mon souvenir conveys enough stereotyped literary topoi apparent in
regretz chansons to be identified as such.30 The chanson exhibits traces of a close bond
with Les grans regretz. Yet before exploring the links between these two chansons, I plan
to call attention to rather discreet instance of connection between Mon souvenir and the
celebrated Allez regretz.
Starting on the second half of m. 17, the contratenor of Mon souvenir quotes,
transposed a sixth higher, the contratenor caesura of the first phrase of Allez (see Ex. 2.11
and Ex. 2.9a respectively). The quotation is readily identified on account of its rhythmic
gesture and its distinct arch made up of a tuneful descending sixth followed by an octave
leap. The upper voices move in similar rhythmic values, a consistency that extends to the
opening of the subsequent phrases following the shared contratenor gesture of both Mon
souvenir and Allez regretz. The case in discussion is not a plain quotation of a single
motive in one part, but also of its context that engages the polyphonic orbit of its
surrounding parts (superius and tenor) and a defined structural locus (end of phrase–
opening of new phrase).31
30 Such literary conventions in Mon souvenir refer to death as a result of the regretz that lie in the heart of the narrator (“Mon souvenir me fait mourir pour les regretz que fait mon cueur”) and to the time scale of “langueur” (“nuyt et jour,” “sans cesser”). These and other literary topoi will be extensively discussed in chapter 5. 31 The positioning of the quoted contratenor motive at the closing of the first section of Mon souvenir, the extended contratenor line stretched out on the point of the signum and beyond, entails problems during the performance. The second turn of the rondeau commands the repetition of the first section three times in succession and the contratenor cannot be performed literally as it is written. Two solutions appear feasible to me. One option is for the contratenor to discard the quotation and to cadence on a D in brevis on m. 18. This is the most straightforward option. If it was for the quotation to resound, I suggest the following rhythmic reworking of the closing passage: the finalis of the cadence in the upper voices to change in to a longa, and the three last notes of the descending sixth (m. 19-20) to shift in one measure, diminishing values in half (minima-minima-semibrevis).
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Ex. 2.11: Ghizeghem, Mon souvenir, m. 15-21.
It needs to be noted that the same quotation shared between Mon souvenir and
Allez regretz appears in La Regretée, there also identified by its extended polyphonic
dimension and its distinct locus (see discussion above on p. 63-64). Why would
Ghizeghem choose to propagate an identical polyphonic quotation in three out of his four
regretz rondeaux? La Regretée, I argued earlier, was modeled on Allez regretz; the shared
polyphonic quotation is one among several links between the chansons. Mon souvenir,
though, does not seem to openly relate with either La Regretée or Allez regretz. Thus, the
persistent positioning of the contratenor quotation close to cadential moments leads me to
speculate that the motive was a conventional part of the composer’s grammar.
Ghizeghem was pulling in one of his compositional hallmarks, as a convenience, when it
was needed to bridge separate phrases and to create the illusion of continuation during
moments of cadential break.32
32 A similar compositional trick appears at the end of the third phrase of Mon souvenir.
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Intersections of Les grans regretz
Ghizeghem’s Les grans regretz never enjoyed the unprecedented popularity of
Allez regretz. It survives in ten sources (almost a third of the number for Allez regretz),
one of which (BrusBR 11239) misattributes its authorship to Agricola. It also never
inspired the volume of chanson reworkings that Allez regrets aroused. Intertextualities
springing from Les grans regretz are not as daringly visible as those developed within the
orbit of Allez, with the exception of one chanson, Longueval’s Alle regres. The latter is,
to my knowledge, the only regretz chanson that engaged in a faithful cantus firmus
appropriation of a part of Les grans regretz.
It is highly surprising that Alle regres, although directly citing from Les grans
regretz, carries a title that alludes, rather misleadingly, to Ghizeghem’s other, yet most
venerated, regretz chanson, Allez regretz. The direct link of Alle regres with Les grans
regretz lies in the tenor part of the chansons. The tenor of Alle regres is borrowed note
for note and with minor rhythmic changes, made to accommodate a new text, I suppose,33
from the tenor of Les grans regretz. Even though the finalis of the chanson is different
from that of its model (D versus G; yet the Dorian modality is retained), the tenor, in the
single surviving source of Alle regres, is copied note for note in the original pitches of the
tenor of Les grans regretz. A canonic inscription above the part, which reads “Canon
unus tonus plu ault,” instructs the performer to transpose it a step higher in order to
harmonically match with the surrounding voices (see Fig.2.2 below).
33 Regrettably, the unique surviving source of Longueval’s chanson, the Rusconi Codex (BolC Q19), does not include the text. I assume the poetic rondeau of Longueval’s chanson did not relate with that of Allez regretz. The latter was a rondeau cinquain while Alle regres is set as a rondeau quatrain.
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Fig. 2.2: Longueval, Alle regres, superius (BolC Q19).
Yet, why would the scribe of Rusconi choose to transfer intact the pitches of the
borrowed tenor and rule their transposition to fit in the harmonic context of Alle regres by
means of a canon? The inscription is clearly not confined to the typical use of a canon as
a rule for the implementation of a conventional canonic procedure (such as the addition
of an extra voice at a dictated interval, mensural augmentation/diminution, etc). It is
rather used to illustrate a special aspect of the chanson and, most specifically, to mark off
the pivotal status of the tenor as a part of exceptional significance in comparison to its
surrounding voices. The inscription is to attract the eye and trigger the mind of the
knowledgeable singer to recall the tenor part as a familiar and recognizable tune. The text
incipit is an additional pointer to Ghizeghem’s lineage and to the intertextual association
of Longueval’s chanson with the regretz output of Ghizeghem. Borrowing the words of
the mid-sixteenth century theorist and canon-expert Hermann Finck, the canon in Alle
regres functions as a regula argute revelans secreta cantus.34 Indeed, the inscription
34 I am freely adopting Finch’s quoted phrase in a metaphorical sense. The phrase is discussed in Bonnie J. Blackburn, “Two Treasure Chests of Canonic Antiquities: The Collections of Hermann Finck and Lodovico Zacconi,” in Canons and Canonic Techniques, 14th-16th Centuries, ed. Blackburn & Katelijne Schiltz (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 303. The expression is mentioned in the context of one of Finck’s definitions of canon in the early sixteenth century. His example falling under this definition comes from a Josquin motet, unfortunately not revealed, but the canonic inscription that he discusses is a verse extracted from a psalm and used as a canonic motto. Similarly, in Alle regres, a phrase is used as a key to unlock the canonic puzzle.
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above the tenor part “cleverly reveals the secret of the composition” to those musicians
seeing Longueval’s chanson in the Rusconi Codex.
Apart from the borrowed tenor and the common use of a rondeau quatrain form,
there are no further eye-catching similarities between Les grans regretz and Alle regres.
Les grans regretz is a three-part chanson with independent voices of an ordinary voice
range that virtually do not engage in voice crossing or imitative exchanges. Alle regres, a
four-part chanson, features quite high tessituras (especially in the bassus and also in
superius-altus contrapuntal passages such as the one in the second phrase), imitative
entrances at the beginning of phrases (mostly between superius and bassus), and instances
of voice crossing (see particularly the opening of the chanson). Yet one can observe a few
discreet instances of intertextual association between the chansons. The incipit of Alle
regres (Ex. 2.12b), a gesture that rises to prominence through its double presentation in
both the bassus and the superius, may owe its contour to the opening of Les grans regretz
(Ex. 2.12a). The first two measures of the incipit are designed as a retrograde inversion of
those of the tenor. The following couple of measures feature a descending fourth
similarly to measures 3-4 of the superius of Les grans regretz.
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Ex. 2.12a: Ghizeghem, Les grans regretz, m. 1-4.
Ex. 2.12b: Longueval, Alle regres, superius m. 4-7.
Besides, the incipit of Alle regres is reminiscent of the opening of Josquin’s
celebrated Mille regretz, a chanson that, as I will show in Chapter 3, also coveys a certain
degree of kinship with Les grans regretz. More specifically, the bassus of Mille regretz is
strikingly similar to the incipit of Alle regres. Ex. 2.13a and Ex. 2.13b show the openings
of the bassus parts of Alle regres and Mille regretz and reveals that the lines are identical
both in their rhythmic progression and melodic shape, the only deviation being in the
interval bridging measures 2 and 3.
Ex. 2.13a: Longueval, Alle regres, bassus m. 1-5 (my transcription).
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Ex. 2.13b: Josquin, Mille regretz, bassus m. 1-5.
Viewed more broadly, the interval of fourth can be seen as a dominant building
material in both Alle regres and Les grans regretz (and in Mille regretz too). The opening
of the incipit of Les grans regretz is composed of a rising fourth from G to C and a
falling fourth from B flat to F. Measures 3-4 in the tenor feature a falling fourth that
duplicates the falling gesture of the superius. The figure is also repeated in the
contratenor at the opening of the second section of the rondeau and rhythmically varied in
m. 15-17 of the superius. A falling fourth similarly resonates in m. 2-3 of the contratenor.
In Alle regres, the interval of fourth, apart from its prominence in the closing of the
incipit, is mostly prevalent in the opening gestures of the second section, taking the form
of a sequence of rising fourths in both the superius and bassus (Ex. 2.14). Rising fourths
are also featured at the beginning of the fourth phrase, especially in the superius and
altus. So persistently echoed is the gesture of rising fourth in the first measures of the
second section that it can be viewed as a response to the central falling fourth gesture of
the borrowed tenor, first heard in m. 3 and repeated in m. 37 (right after the sequence of
falling fourths). The gestures are similar in their opening with a characteristic dotted
semibrevis–minima rhythmic pattern and in their closing with a down-step suspension
figure.
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Ex. 2.14: Longueval, Alle regres, cantus, tenor, and bassus (second highest part excluded), starting right after the signum, m. 27-33 (my transcription).
A last instance of linkage worth adding to the net of alliance between Alle regres
and Ghizeghem’s regretz group pertains to the chanson that Longueval’s chanson openly
alludes to by way of its text incipit – Allez regretz. The opening gesture of the second
phrase in Alle regres echoes the opening of the tenor in the second phrase of Allez
regretz. The distinctive traits of the gesture, such as its commencing on the second half of
the measure and its rhythmic stability, are evident in Alle regres. Longueval treats the
gesture with an obvious intention to bring it to the fore, for he showcases it through
imitative entries, beginning in the lowest part, and restated in the superius and the altus
(bassus and superius entries even reproduce the original pitch classes of the Allez regretz
tenor).
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As previously mentioned, I have noticed that Les grans regretz is intertextually
bound with Mon souvenir. Yet, any connections between these two chansons of
Ghizeghem do not show up explicitly. The most direct clue of their relatedness is the
shared Dorian modality and the rondeau form of a four-line refrain. The layouts of the
cadences are similarly devised, apart from the medial cadence.
Les grans regretz Mon souvenir
First cad. G G
Medial G D
Third cad. B flat B flat
Final cad. G G
Table 2.1: Scheme of cadences in Les grans regretz and Mon souvenir.
A few inconspicuous paraphrases of motives are also observed. The superius
openings of the fourth phrase in both chansons have the same descending direction from
D to F and are both four measures long. Furthermore, the complete opening phrase in the
superius of Les grans regretz looks to me as if it was discreetly modeled on that of Mon
souvenir. As seen in Ex. 2.15a and Ex. 2.15b , the first four measures of Les grans
regretz, also corresponding to a complete hemistich, can be considered as an expanded
paraphrase of the compact four-note incipit of Mon souvenir, with a melodic direction
from G to F. The superius of the second hemistich of Les grans regretz can similarly be
seen as an expansion of that of Mon souvenir. The latter involves a concise motive of an
ascending third from G to B flat and a gradual descend of a third cadencing on G. Les
grans regretz follows a similar path from G to B flat to G, yet since the second hemistich
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is longer, the extra syllables (“je porte”) are set to a melismatic passage that leads to the
cadence on G.
Ex. 2.15a: Ghizeghem, Les grans regretz, superius, m. 1-12.
Ex. 2.15b: Ghizeghem, Mon souvenir, superius, m. 1-8.
Les grans regretz and Mon souvenir demonstrate further signs of
interconnectedness through textual allusion. As mentioned above, both chansons feature
the formal structure of a rondeau quatrain. Middle lines of stanzas share common
rhyming syllables – words ending in -(u)eur (cueur-cueur, liqueur-labeur, rigueur-
langueur, etc.). More than that, rhyming words in middle lines are of identical lexical
word class (nouns) and length (two syllables). However, it is in their sharing of concrete
textual material that the chansons openly intersect. Indeed, the two chansons by
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Ghizeghem seem to “interact” by means of an extensive network of shared vocabulary
(see texts below; identical words are highlighted in bold letters, words of identical roots
are underlined and in bold, words of similar meaning are capitalized, and those of
contrasting meaning are identified by strikethrough). It is apparent from comparing the
poems that textual cross-allusions were not meant to materialize in parallel positions
within the layout of the texts, a trend that does not converge with the positioning of
motivic allusions, which, more often than not, occur in equivalent moments of
interrelated chansons. What we observe then, by considering the weaving of textual and
musical associations within the two Ghizeghem chansons, is an interplay of allusions, or
else a contrapuntal intertextuality that materializes in intricate ways beyond an one-to-one
matching. Interestingly, and in contrast to their recurring textual echoes, the poems are
only loosely related in their subject matter. They are certainly related by their general
courtly tone and an emphasis on the regretz as bearers of suffering. However, in contrast
to the narrative of Les grans regretz, centering on the poet’s unending torments as an
impetus for a plea of compassion from his lady, in Mon souvenir, the poet pledges to
recover his memories infected by regretz, here personified as double-faceted (having a
“riguer” and a “doulceur” identity).
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Les grans regretz que sans cesser je porte Et nuyt et jour TOURMENTENT tant mon cueur Que se de vous ne vient quelque liqueur Impossibl’est que plus je m’en deporte Mais j’espere que grace l’on m’aporte Pour remede qu’il me vauldra bonheur Aujourd’huy n’est plaisir que me SUPPORTE le cueur m’estraint et me tient en rigueur Alegez moy et me donnez vigueur Qu je vaulx mort a vous je m’en raporte35
Mon souvenir me fait mourir Pour les regretz que fait mon cueur dont nuyt et jour suis en labeur soubz espoir de le secourir Se sans cesser devoye courir Se sçauray je par quel rigueur Sa doulceur me fault descouvrir Et le mettre hors de LANGUEUR En luy donnant port et faveur Sans plus dire ne SOUSTENIR
36
An anonymous setting of Tous nobles cuers demonstrates clues of a loose
intertextual association with Les grans regretz akin to the instance of free paraphrase
between Mon souvenir and Les grans regretz discussed above. As in Les grans regretz
(refer to Ex. 2.15a), the incipit of Tous nobles cuers (Ex. 2.16) opens with an ascending
fourth from G to C, followed by a descending gesture to F. In this context, it is worth
mentioning that the first couple of measures of the incipit of Tous nobles cuers echo the
opening of Allez regretz. The outline of the second hemistich in Tous nobles cuers (“qui
mes regretz voyez”) follows a broad scheme from B flat to G, composed of a short
sequential descending motive from B flat to G and G to E, then raising to A and
cadencing in G. Les grans regretz tracks a comparable melodic curve. The words “sans
cesser” are set in a descending gesture from B flat to G (the conjunction que is set on
35 Translated as: “The great sorrows that I incessantly bear || And night and day much torment my heart || Unless some sustenance comes from you || It is impossible for me to go on. || But I hope that grace will return back to me || as a remedy that will bring me happiness. || Today there is no pleasure to keep me alive || My heart is torturing me and keeps me in harshness || Relieve me and give me strength || or I want death to take me back to you.” 36 Translated as: “My memories make me die || For all the regrets that are in my heart || Night and day I’m in labor || In hope of rescuing them. || Without ceasing they are led astray || They are known of such harshness. || Their sweetness I must uncover || And place them out of suffering || By giving them harbor and favor || Without saying more but supporting.”
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pitch A leading to the descending gesture), followed by a further descend to D, and a
rising passage to A that cadences on G. Not only the topmost parts but also the two lower
voices of the chansons display a certain level of relatedness.
Ex. 2.16: Anon, Tous nobles cueurs, superius m. 1-10.
The kind of interconnection observed in the opening phrases of the chansons is
rather vague. It involves the outer shaping and melodic direction of sub-phrases, elements
that are not directly audible and easily recognizable. I would not argue that Les grans
regretz and Tous nobles cuers are intentionally affiliated. In fact, since I have not
observed further signs of relatedness, I tend to believe that any similarities are rather
reflective of the common Dorian mode (with final on G) and conventional melodic
patterns governed by the grammar of late fifteenth century chanson.
Fresneau’s Nuit et jour, previously discussed in regard to its musical
intertextualities with Allez regretz, will now be considered for its textual
interconnectedness with Les grans regretz. Both chansons are rondeaux quatrains and
deal with the torturous pain caused by regrets that leads to despairing actions, and in
particular, withdrawal from life and ultimately death – a narrative of prevalent resonance
within the rhetoric of regretz. The opening verses of the rondeaux are strikingly similar:
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Les grans regretz que sans cesser je porte Et nuyt et jour tourmentent tant mon cueur
Nuit et jour sans repos avoir Regret m’atriste et me tourmente
The regretz share attributes related to time, locus, behavior, and effect, the only
divergence being their presence in singular form in Nuit et jour. Thus, their haunting
presence is felt “day and night,” decidedly accentuated by their ceaseless occupation
(“sans cesser,” “sans repos” [“without ceasing,” “without rest”]) of the heart of their
bearer. “Regretz” inflicting torment in the heart of the sufferer is also a conventional
image in the regretz network (see the key-word “tourmente/nt”). Le cueur as the locus of
the “regretz” is visible at the end of the second verse of Les grans regretz rhyming with
the word liqueur of the following verse, a word which, in the context of the first stanza,
conveys the meaning of nourishment for the suffering heart. A further reference to cueur
is present in the last stanza of the chanson, “le cueur m’estraint” (‘my heart is torturing
me”), here also indicating the regretz pinning down the heart as the locus of distress. Le
cueur, in Nuit et jour, is not identified within the opening verses; it appears further on in
the couplet of the second stanza (“Et plus mon cueur s’en malcontente” [“”the more my
heart is unhappy”]). The image of hope is also conveyed in both chansons, but with
slightly conflicting intentions. In Nuit et jour, hope is clearly unobtainable: “n’ay plus
espoir n’atente” (“so that I have no hope to expect”). Hope is invoked in Les grans
regretz (“Mais j’espere que grace l’on m’aporte” [“But I hope that grace will return back
to me”]), yet the closing stanza of the chanson not only renounces the intervention of
hope (“Aujourd’huy n’est plaisir que me supporte” [“Today there is no pleasure to keep
me alive”]) but also implies a fatal ending (“je vaulx mort a vous je m’en raporte” [“or I
want death to take me back to you”]). Nuit et jour does not allude to death in the same
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explicit way as Les grans regretz. The last stanza of the chanson is a poetic invocation of
withdrawal from life illustrated by metaphors of darkness, an imagery that, in my view,
stands for death:
J’en pers le sens et le savoir Au lit de plours soubz noire tente Passant ma vie desplaisente En la chambre de desespoir37
Concluding Note
The regretz chansons of Ghizeghem, most particularly his Allez regretz as well as,
in the second place, his Les grans regretz, proved to be highly influential on the
development of the regretz as a topos and compositional complex. In this chapter, I
argued for the idea that Allez regretz left its imprint on a greater number of regretz
chansons than previously considered. The chanson must have held a special position for
Ghizeghem too, as the rest of his regretz showcase signs of influence from it. More than
that, the fact that all of his regretz interrelate, to a greater or lesser degree, indicates that
by means of this interplay Ghizeghem acknowledged, or, as the earliest regretz composer,
probably consciously shaped, the concept of regretz networking. Furthermore, Allez
regretz influenced a substantial number of later regretz of such composers as Compère,
Weerbeke, and Fresneau, among others. Various non-apparent interconnections among
Les grans regretz, Mon souvenir, Longueval’s Alle regres, anon.’s Tous nobles cuers, and
37 Translated as: “I am losing my mind and my consciousness || on the bed of cries under the black shade || passing my miserable life || in the chamber of despair.”
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others, discussed in this chapter, demonstrate discourses on the levels of music and poetic
texts that further enrich the intertextual dimension of Ghizeghem’s regretz.
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CHAPTER 3
THE INTERTEXTUAL SCOPE OF MILLE REGRETZ
If Mille regretz is nowadays regarded among the most famous chansons of
Josquin, it partially owes it to the reputation of its composer, whether his authorship is
assumed or legitimate. Beyond speculations over the fame of the chanson in the early
sixteenth century as ‘la cancion del Emperador’1 and its popularity as model for masses
and other chansons, it is the debate on the authorship of Mille regretz that has widely
circulated and, at times, divided the musicological circles.2 Among those that reject a
Josquinian parenthood for Mille regretz, Louise Litterick’s voice has been quite
prominent. Her arguments against Josquin’s authorship, echoing those of Joshua Rifkin,
focus on the stylistic simplicity of the chanson that is “without parallel among his secure
four-voice secular works, which are characterized by imitative procedures or melodic
derivation from precompositional material that is popular in style.”3 Part of the confusion
1 The expression is included in Luys de Narváez’s vihuela tablature (Los seys libros del delphin de musica, 1538). Here Narváez credits Mille regretz to Josquin. It is widely assumed that the chanson was written for Charles V. Scholars have related the occasion for the composition of the chanson with a presumable encounter between Josquin and Charles V in Brussels in 1520 when the latter was heading to Cologne for his coronation. See Helmuth Osthoff, Josquin Desprez, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, ed. F. Blume, vol. 7 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1958), col. 197, quoted in Bossuyt, “Nicolas Gombert and Parody,” 112-13. 2 Adopting the “official” view expressed in Macey et al., “Josquin (Lebloitte dit) des Prez,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (2001), 13: 240, I will consider Mille regretz as a legitimate chanson of Josquin. 3 Litterick, “Chansons for Three and Four Voices,” in The Josquin Companion, ed. Sherr (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 374; and Rifkin, “A Singer Named Josquin and Josquin d’Ascanio: Some Problems in the Biography of Josquin des Prez,” unpublished paper, n. 15, quoted in Litterick, “Chansons for Three and Four Voices,” n. 4. It is however on the basis of its style that Picker supports Josquin’s authorship, arguing that its simplicity, although not common in Josquin’s secular oeuvre, is in accord with the overall control and refinement of text/music relationship, motivic economy, and transparent texture (Picker, “Josquin and Jean Lemaire; Four chansons re-examined,” in Essays
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over Josquin’s authorship is due to a conflicting attribution to ‘J. le maire’ in one of the
two earliest publications of the chanson, Pierre Attaingnant’s Vingt et sept chansons
musicales a quatre parties of 1533.4 The most recent scholarly response on the dispute
along with a thorough review of previous scholarship is presented by David Fallows in
his “Who Composed Mille regretz.”5 Fallows’s arguments, in favor of Josquin’s
authorship, center on the attribution of the chanson to Josquin in Tylman Susato’s print of
1549 and the consideration of the source as more reliable in regard to Josquin’s music,
compared with that of Attaingnant.6
No doubt, the popularity of Mille regretz close to the middle of the sixteenth
century was considerable. Not only did it circulate widely in sources of French, Spanish,
presented to Myron P. Gilmore, eds. Bertelli and Ramakus, vol. 2 (Florence: La Nuova Italia, 1978), 447-456, esp. 451-52. Picker’s argument shaped on the basis of aesthetic criteria has recently been questioned by Fallows, whose claim is founded under the light of the composer’s ever changing biography and reconsideration of works previously attributed to him. See Fallows, “Who Composed Mille regretz,” in Essays on Music and Culture in Honor of Herbert Kellman, ed. Barbara Haggh (Paris and Tours: Minerve, 2001), 241-252. “Earlier views on what was ‘Josquinian’ were based,” Fallows indicates, “on works that are probably not his.” (Ibid., 242) For a recent synopsis of scholarly discoveries regarding Josquin’s life, see Richard Sherr, “Chronology of Josquin’s Life and Career,” in The Josquin Companion, 11-20; and Jesse Rodin, ‘“When in Rome…’: What Josquin Learned in the Sistine Chapel,” JAMS 61/2 (2008): 307-372, and esp. 307-313. 4 The other source, also published in 1533 but without ascription, is Hans Gerle’s Tabulatur auff die Laudten. Daniel Heartz has suggested that the ascription “J. le maire” refers to the poet’s name, Lemaire, and may have been used in place of the composer’s; see Pierre Attaingnant, Royal Printer of Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1969), 97. The hypothesis that it indeed meant to indicate the composer, yet an unknown one and not necessarily the reknown poet Lemaire, has also been suggested by Rifkin in his unpublished essay “A Singer Named Josquin,” quoted in Fallows, “Who Composed Mille regretz,” 243. Litterick argues that the ascription to Lemaire was certainly a misattribution resulting from confusion of Mille regretz with the “orthographically and aurally similar” Plus nulz regretz, also by Lemaire and securely attributed to Josquin. On this hypothesis, see Litterick, “Chansons for Three and Four Voices,” 375 and Fallows’s review in “Who Composed,” 243-44. 5 241-52. A detailed synopsis is similarly presented by Fallows in the New Josquin Edition, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 326-329. 6 Susato’s publication, L’unziesme livre contenant vingt et neuf chansons, remains the only source of the chanson to indicate Josquin as its originator, apart from Narváez’s instrumental arrangement.
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Flemish, and German origin,7 but it also sparked explicit responses by esteemed
composers of Josquin’s generation such as Morales and Gombert.8 My objective in this
chapter is to consider the impact of Mille regretz within the network of regretz chansons
and to unveil intertextual traces of explicit as well as of a more obscure nature, beyond
the handful of obvious reworkings of the chanson. My study has been particularly
influenced by the work of Owen Rees, unique in its discussion on allusions of Mille
regretz beyond the regretz complex, most particularly in chansons of Gombert, and also
on self-allusions within the composer’s own output.9 At times, my discussion involves
chansons also addressed by Rees; in those cases, I attempt to extend Rees’s observations
by bringing in additional instances of shared material and speculating about textual
parallels as additional marks of a shared communication.
Dialogues among the Regretz of Josquin
Apart from Mille regretz, Josquin’s regretz output includes the following four
chansons: Parfons regretz, Plus nulz regretz, Plusieurs regretz, and Regretz sans fin.10
Most likely, they all come from the composer’s later years. Yet since they survive only in
7 Sources for Mille regretz include eight manuscripts, the two printed editions by Attaingnant and Susato, and a substantial group of tablatures. For a complete list of sources, see New Josquin Edition, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 307-11. 8 Works explicitly influenced by Mille regretz include: Gombert’s six-part reworking of Mille regretz, Morales’s Missa Mille regretz, Susato’s three-part parody of Mille regretz (printed in his 1544 vol.), two additional settings of the responce to the poem, Les miens aussi (one in three parts after his reworking, and the other in four parts after Josquin’s original, published in his editions of chansons of 1544 and 1549 respectively, and both placed right after Josquin’s chanson), and a setting for five-parts, again by Susato. For a complete list of related settings, see New Josquin Edition, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 333-34. 9 Rees, “Mille regretz as Model: Possible Allusions to ‘The Emperor’s Song’ in the Chanson Repertory,” JRMA 120/1 (1995): 44-76. 10 Cent mille regretz, now thought of as a chanson by La Rue, has in the past been attributed to Josquin (see note 58).
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posthumous sources and are not related to a particular occasion – apart from Plus nulz
regretz – they cannot be securely dated.11 None of the regretz makes use of a forme fixe;
they are all free-composed, and, in their majority, settings of a one-stanza poem reflecting
the rhyme of a rondeau. (However, Regretz sans fin is in two sections, mirroring the two-
stanza poem, and Plus nulz regretz sets a three-stanza poem that resembles a rondeau but
uses a peculiar rhyme scheme. 12) Extensive use of canons is featured in all chansons but
Mille regretz; Plus nulz regretz is the most extravagant in its profusion of canonic lines
(featuring a double canon in the opening musical phrase). In regard to their transmission
in shared sources, Attaingnant’s edition of 1549, Trente sixiesme livre, remains the most
inclusive, featuring four regretz of Josquin.13 All three chansons with more that four parts
(Parfons, Plusieurs, and Regretz sans fin) are included in Susato’s Le septiesme livre
contenant vingt et quatre chansons a cincq et a six parties (1545).
11 All five chansons can be regarded as belonging to the later years of Josquin’s output according to their restrained style; see discussion on Josquin’s secular works in Macey et al., “Josquin (Lebloitte dit) des Prez,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (2001), 13: 240. As Milsom remarks, to think of Josquin’s “late style” similarly to that of other composers, as one “characterized by economy of means, rigour of technique, and a concern with the themes of lamentation and commemoration” is an appealing idea. Yet, he continues, “little evidence exists for the dating of individual works, and any chronology based upon style alone is likely to be hazardous” (Milsom, “Motets for Five or More Voices,” in The Josquin Companion, 306-07). 12 The form of the poem as well as of the music of Plus nulz regretz is not straightforward. It has been argued whether the chanson was meant to be performed as a rondeau. For a summary of the varying views, see New Josquin Edition, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 359. 13 Mille regretz is the only known regretz chanson not included in Attaingnant’s 1549 edition. As mentioned above, it was earlier hosted in Attaingnant’s 1533 edition.
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Paths of Connection among Mille, Parfons, and Plus Nulz Regretz
Parfons regretz does not openly reveal signs of connection with Mille regretz.14
Surface elements of the chansons, such as modality, number and structure of voices, and
motto gestures are widely divergent. Parfons regretz is a five-part chanson, the quintus
featured in canon at the octave with the bassus. Imitative entrances are at times
introduced (see especially the opening of the chanson, where all parts but the contratenor
engage in imitation). Extensive repetition is also at use, especially between lines of the
text that rhyme, undoubtedly an example of Josquin’s endeavor to showcase
musical/textual correspondence.15 For instance, the second poetic line is, for the most
part, set on a polyphonic block of the opening verse (m. 21-28 is a repetition of m. 11-
18). Similarly, the complete fourth line replicates the polyphonic setting of the third line.
Measured against the facade features of Parfons regretz, Mille regretz appears
more ascetic in design and structure,16 featuring a four-part texture, almost no imitative
14 Parfons regretz does not exhibit an extensive network of transmission. Its earliest known source is VienNB Mus.18746 (dated ca. 1523 and compiled at the Netherlands court). For more on the source and Josquin’s representation in it, see Jaap van Benthem, “Einige wiedererkannte Josquins-Chansons im Codex 18746 der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek,” Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 22 (1971): 18-42. The chanson is also included in the following printed editions: Susato’s Le septiesme livre contenant vingt et quatre chansons a cincq et a six parties (1545); Attaingnant’s Trente sixiesme livre (1549); and Mellange de chansons by Roy et Ballard (1572). Measures numbers and musical examples in the following discussion refer to the following editions for Mille regretz and Parfons regretz respectively: Josquin des Prez: Opera Omnia, editio altera, ed. Albert Smijers, vol. 3, 63 and vol. 3, 5-6 (Amsterdam: Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 1957). 15 Indeed, the formal structure of Parfons regretz reflects that of its text. The five-line stanza of the poem has an aabba rhyme scheme; the musical structure can be described as AABBC. A further example of Josquin’s sensitivity to text and syntactic scheme can be observed in his marking of the caesuras within individual lines. As Patrick Macey points out, Josquin, in Parfons regretz and in most of his five-voice chansons, uses a rest after the fourth syllable to observe the caesura of the decasyllabic line; See Macey, “An expressive detail in Josquin’s Nimphes, nappés,” Early Music 31 (2003): 407. 16 Scholarly writings have variously pointed to the stylistic distinctiveness of Mille regretz within Josquin’s oeuvre, a fact that has been used as an argument against its attribution to Josquin. In its uniqueness, as Fallows notes, the chanson “has nothing in common with what is otherwise known of Josquin’s four-voice works.” (New Josquin Edition, vol.28, Critical Commentary, 326) And later on, “as concerns the song’s
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passages, and avoidance of repetition of motives/phrases (the only instance of repetition
occurs at the closing of the chanson, on the words “brief mes jours definer,” yet it
involves a short motive in contrast to the extensive repetition of longer phrases in
Parfons). Finally, in contrast to the Phrygian modality employed in Mille regretz, Parfons
regretz is written in the Dorian mode with finalis in G.17
There are, however, striking parallels between the two regretz chansons.
Their musical incipits follow an almost similar contour, the shape of an arc, composed of
an ascending leap (4th in Mille / 5th in Parfons) and a gradual descent (see Ex. 3.1a and
Ex. 3.1b below).18 The openings of the gestures are rhythmically similar too, featuring a
pattern of brevis–two semibreves–dotted semibrevis.19 Despite their common profiles, the
incipits are articulated quite differently. In Mille regretz, the incipit is plainly stated in the
superius. In Parfons regretz, it bursts in and saturates the opening texture with imitative
entrances in all parts but the contratenor.
A further shared rhythmic motive can be observed during the opening phrases of
the chansons. The motive is made of the iteration of five semibreves followed by a brevis
(dotted brevis in Parfons), and is commonly set on the second hemistichs of the opening musical style […] there is nothing comparable […] in the securely ascribed works of Josquin.” (ibid., 329) On the other hand, Picker observes a compliance with Josquin’s style, related in particular to “union between word and tone”; “economy of motives”; and “simplicity of texts” among others (see “Josquin and Jean Lemaire,” 452). 17 The Phrygian mode, an emblematic feature of the harmonic profile of Mille regretz, is generally used to embody sentiments of melancholy and seriousness. Richard Taruskin points out that it was from Ockeghem, who first consciously employed it, that Josquin emulated the Phrygian mode (The Oxford History of Music, vol.1 [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005], 529.) No further known chansons of Josquin are written in the Phrygian mode. 18 In Mille regretz, the arch-shaped gesture opens with a rising fourth (E to A) and proceeds with a gradually falling line that extends to C, the edge of the curve drawn lower. The incipit of Parfons regretz is shaped in to a perfect arch (G-D-G). 19 The dactylic rhythm is a stereotyped feature in openings of several late fifteenth century chansons and thus cannot be considered as an adequate sign of relatedness; see Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” n. 17.
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S
C
T
B
verses of both chansons. Syllabically enunciated in the words “de vous habandonner” of
Mille regretz, it is comparably pronounced in Parfons, setting the words “et lamentable
joye.” In both chansons, the motive is prominently displayed in the superius (there is a
further statement in the tenor of Mille regretz20) and occurs in parallel structural moments
(i.e., second hemistich of opening verse).21
Ex. 3.1a: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 1-7.
Ex. 3.1b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 1-19.
20 In parallel to the repetition in the tenor of Mille, the motive is stated twice in the superius of Parfons regretz (m. 11-12 and m. 14-15; the repetition further extends the rhythmic motive with a cadential melisma at the closing of the first phrase). 21 The rhythmic motive is reiterated (extended by an additional brevis) in the second phrase of Mille regretz (“vostre fache amoureuse”). It is the superius and later on the tenor that carry the motive, similarly to the rhythmic motive in the opening phrase of Mille.
Cantus Contrat. Quintus Tenor Bassus
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Ex. 3.1b (cont.): Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 1-19.
If the above are only vague instances of allusion, the concluding section of
Parfons regretz is particularly telling in its connectedness with Mille regretz. Starting on
the second half of m. 19 (“et paine douloureuse”) in Mille regretz, the contratenor sings a
gesture prominently marked by a descending minor sixth preceded by a rising step
(labeled ‘sigh’ gesture for the sake of reference; see Ex. 3.2a). A variant of the gesture is
articulated in the superius in duet with the contratenor, here the descending part of the
gesture followed by a rising step. For the most part, the combined gestures move a third
apart. The passage is restated in the two lower voices, two tempora ahead. The sigh
gesture provides the core melodic material for the ending of Parfons regretz, both its
melodic22 and rhythmic profiles faithfully reproduced (see Ex. 3.2b). In fact, this last part
of the chanson is strikingly saturated by multiple statements of the sigh gesture that round
up to nine reiterations occurring in all five voices of Parfons.23 Parfons regretz even
22 It is the first version of the gesture, the one that opens with the rising step followed by the falling sixth, that is mostly used in Parfons regretz. 23 All parts but the tenor, which carries one statement of the gesture, echo the gesture twice.
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S
C
T
B
imitates the presentation of the gesture in duets, set at the interval of the third, as
observed in Mille regretz.24
Ex. 3.2a: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 18-24.
Ex. 3.2b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 44-67.
24 Starting on the second half of m.57, the gesture echoes in three voices simultaneously (superius, contratenor, and quinta pars).
S C
Q T B
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Ex. 3.2b (cont.): Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 44-67.
A consideration of the poetic texts set to the shared sigh gesture is quite revealing
of Josquin’s conscious “self-appropriation.” The gestures in Mille and Parfons carry the
words “et paine douloureuse” and “et larmes il se noye” respectively, semantically related
by their bitter tone.25 Structurally seen, the quoted lines show a number of parallels: they
share an equal number of syllables and occur at the second hemistich of a decasyllabic
line. They are also set syllabically to the shared gesture. Moreover, both hemistichs
commence with the conjunction “et” and, even more telling, the word “dueil” falls just
before the opening of the gestures.
25 They translate as “painful distress” and “it [my heart] may drown in tears.”
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An additional motive of intertextual significance set to the keyword “dueil” is
shared between the two regretz chansons of Josquin. The motivic cell in question draws a
perfect arch, composed of a rising fourth / falling fourth, with its middle note repeated,
and is set in semibrevis values.26 It is anchored in both chansons in the bassus, adjacent to
the articulation of the gesture discussed above. Thus, in Mille regretz, it appears just
before the launching of the prominent gesture discussed above (see Ex. 3.3), and in
Parfons regretz upon the completion of the last repetition of the gesture (m. 60-62 in Ex.
3.2b).27 “Dueil” (“mourning”) is an additional semantic element that further links the
shared motive. It is articulated in both reiterations of the motive as part of the hemistichs
“J’ay si grand dueil” (in Mille) and “Affin qu’en dueil” (in Parfons).
Ex. 3.3: Josquin, Mille regretz, m. 17-19.
The haunting sigh gesture, marking the midpoint of Mille regretz with lamenting
calls of “paine douloureuse” and so profusely echoing in the concluding part of Parfons
26 The motive starts on the second half of the measure in both chansons. In Mille regretz, the last note covers a whole measure. 27 In Parfons regretz, the motive is repeated in paraphrase, right after its statement (m. 62-65 in bassus).
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regretz, occurs in yet another of Josquin’s chansons de regretz, his Plus nulz regretz.28
Starting on the second half of m. 10 (Ex. 3.4), the bassus quotes the gesture following the
exact rhythmic values as well as the pitch classes of the gesture in Mille. In line with the
order of the statements of the gesture in Mille, first in the contratenor, then in the bassus
two tempora ahead, the gesture in Plus nulz is similarly echoed, only now in reverse
order, first in the basssus, then in the contratenor.29 The contratenor response even adopts
the pitch classes of the first statement of the gesture in the bassus of Parfons (Ex. 3.2b, m.
46-49).
Ex. 3.4: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 8-16.
Further intertextual weavings can be observed: the sigh gesture in Plus nulz
regretz is set on the second hemistich of a verse as in Mille and Parfons; the hemistich in 28 The chanson was composed sometime between 1 January 1508 (when Lemaire’s poem on the occasion of the signing of the treaty of Calais, which it sets, was written) and 1511, the date of its earliest transmission in the Brussels/Tournai partbooks (BrusBR IV.90/TourBV 94). For dating/review of the source, see Leon Kessels, “The Brussels/Tournai-Partbooks: Structure, Illumination, and Flemish Repertory,” TVNM 37 (1987): 82-110. If transmission in sources is an indication of popularity, then Plus nulz regretz must have been significantly popular. For a complete list of sources, see The Josquin Companion, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 343-347. Yet, it mostly circulates independently from the other regretz of Josquin. Its only shared transmission is in MunBS 1516 (along with Mille regretz) and in Attaingnant’s edition of 1549. For an analysis of the piece, see Reynolds, “Musical Evidence of Compositional Planning in the Renaissance: Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz,” JAMS 40/1 (1987): 53-81. Plus nulz regretz is heavily canonic. It opens with a double canon that covers the first line of text (up to m. 9). Additional imitative passages are exercised throughout the chanson with a capricious freedom in changing pitch and temporal intervals, breaking free momentarily and resuming. I would thus consider the claim that “in Plus nulz Josquin eschewed canon” mentioned in the “Josquin” entry of the New Grove Dictionary as a careless oversight. For an edition, see Picker, The Chanson Albums, 280-84. 29 It is here echoed three tempora ahead.
C B
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Plus nulz reads “ne soyent ditz n’escriptz,” its subject being “joye,” a feeling that comes
in sharp contrast to “dueil” and “paine douloureuse” of Mille regretz. The intensity of joy
is defined as of a grand scale – it is joy that cannot be described in words (“nothing can
be spoken or written” of it, as the second verse of the opening stanza reads) – that
counterpoises the harshness of “grand dueil.” Josquin’s compositional choice to
musically illustrate this joy with a gesture that in his other two regretz chansons, and
especially in his infamous Mille, was a signifier of immeasurable sorrow must have been
consciously planned. Plus nulz regretz is the only surviving regretz chanson of the late
fifteenth century that coveys a non-amorous narrative.30 In contrast to all other chansons
that invoke the regretz once in their opening verses, the regretz in Lemaire’s poem are
mentioned five times. They are neither appealed to appear nor are they implored to go
away; they are simply banished. Plus nulz regretz expresses optimism of an unparalleled
degree, in part related to the fleeing of the regretz.31 By quoting the aforementioned
gesture that has been so strongly associated with his other regretz chansons, Josquin
seems to recall the notion of regretz, if only briefly. In counterpoint to a regretz poem
that celebrates discharge from sorrow, Josquin’s allusion not only communicates a
conscious act of momentary evocation and skillful instance of punning between text and
music, but most importantly acknowledges his regretz chansons as an independent and
active network.
30 For a transcription and a translation of the poetic text, see The Josquin Companion, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 358. 31 See especially the following verses: “Plus nulz regretz, grans, moyens ne menuz”; “Joinctz et unis n’ayons plus nulz regretz”; Regretz plus nulz ne nous viennent après”; “Dont noz epritz n’auront regretz plus nulz.”
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Threads Across Mille Regretz and Plusieurs Regretz
Similarly to Parfons regretz, Josquin’s Plusieurs regretz bears a great number of
resemblances with Mille regretz that only become visible after focused parallel readings
of the chansons. It is interesting, though, that any allusions between Plusieurs regretz and
Mille regretz are veiled beneath surface-structural features that are much divergent.
Plusieurs regretz à 5 makes use of the Dorian mode, is highly contrapuntal, and features
instances of imitation in openings of phrases that are of longer breath than the concise,
short phrases arranged in syllabic style of homophonic texture in Mille regretz.32
Plusieurs regretz also features canonic voices (the quintus is in canon with the tenor at
the 5th) and extensive repetition of complete phrases (2nd and 4th are exact repetitions of 1st
and 3rd with new verses; the setting of the last verse is also repeated).
Immediate clues of a potential intertextual association between the two regretz of
Josquin are provided in their opening measures. The superius of Plusieurs regretz opens
with a rather unorthodox treatment of its textual incipit introduced in a threefold musical
phrase (Ex. 3.5, m. 1-7). The three statements of “plusieurs regretz” are symmetrically
laid out, with minima rests dividing melodic gestures of almost equal duration (1st
motivic cell expands in 2 1/2 tempora, and 2nd/3rd each lasts for 2 tempora). The three
cells as a whole (m. 1-7) are closely related to the superius opening of Mille regretz
32 On the other hand, intriguing broader parallels are shared between Plusieurs regretz and Parfons regretz. To begin with, the earliest source for both chansons is VienNB Mus.18746 (dated 1523); they also share transmission in two printed sources (Susato’s Le septiesme livre of 1545 and Attaingnant’s Trente sixiesme livre of 1549). Both regarded as of Josquin’s late style, they are written for five voices, in the Dorian mode, are rich in canons, and are structured on an AABBC scheme influenced by the rhyme pattern aabba of their five-stanza poems. Formal and motivic intertextualities between the chansons are discussed in Chapter 5. For more on the formal outline of Josquin’s five-voice chanson, see Macey, “An expressive detail,” 407. Measure numbers refer to the edition in Josquin des Prez: Opera Omnia, vol. 3, 15-16.
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(setting of complete first verse, m. 1-6; see Ex. 3.1a). Both regretz feature an incipit of a
rising contour (4th/5th) that stretches to pitch A, followed by a descending gesture to C,
and further expanded with a characteristic octave leap and a descending line of adjacent
intervals (3rd/4th).33
Ex. 3.5: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 1-7.
If the superius opening of Plusieurs regretz was indeed modeled on that of Mille
regretz, Josquin must have been eager to highlight that association.34 The potential
significance of the related passage is by no means concealed, for Josquin showcases it in
imitative entrances at the canonic parts and also in the bassus of Plusieurs regretz.35 And
to further emphasize the importance of the passage and likely provide an additional hint
33 I need to stress that I am mostly considering the overall contour and key-intervals of the related openings. In a microscopic level, regarding for instance the opening rising gesture to A, a comparison would not show significant visible links (Mille features a leap of a 4th set in longer values and a dactylic rhythm, while the incipit in Plusieurs rises in steps and in a more elaborate rhythmic pattern). 34 Even their text incipits signifying the forcefulness of the regretz by their size (“plusieurs” vs. “mille”) are suggestive of a possible link between the two chansons. 35 It is only the opening rising gesture (cell 1) that is quoted by the canonic voices. The second and third cells are taken over by the bassus. The bassus also partially quotes the opening passage. It opens with the second cell of the threefold phrase of the superius (omits the opening rising gesture) followed by the octave leap (cell 3) that, so definitely, dominates the opening of Mille regretz. Josquin seems to treat the three parts of the phrase as modular cells that can be rearranged and shuffled around in horizontal and vertical arrangements. For instance, during the opening of the two lowest voices, cells 1 and 2 are superimposed.
S Q
C
T
B
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of its lineage, he has chosen to set the second verse of the text as an exact repetition of
the complete opening phrase. Even more, Josquin provides an additional sign to highlight
the association of the opening of Plusieurs with the incipit of Mille. He skillfully distorts
its Dorian modality with a definite Phrygian closure at the end of the third statement of
“plusieurs regretz.”36
Rees has traced down a further striking moment of relatedness between Plusieurs
regretz and Mille regretz. The concluding passage of Plusieurs (see Ex. 3.10) quotes in
its canonic voices (see gesture on the words “ne schavent plus qu’ilz font”) the staple
rising step/falling sixth sigh gesture of Mille regretz (set on the words “et paine
douloureuse”). Similarly to Mille, the gesture is here echoed between voices at a distance
of 2 tempora.37
Veiled Allusions of Mille Regretz in Regretz Sans Fin
Passing moments of cross-fertilization can be observed between Mille regretz and
Josquin’s Regretz sans fin.38 The most remarkable type of association between the
chansons occurs in their poetic texts. Shared words and phrases are used in the contexts
36 This point was first observed in Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” 67. 37 Rees has also observed that the second statement of the shared gesture occurring in the quinta pars even matches the pitch classes of the second statement in the bassus of Mille. He has added further remarks regarding the intertextual significance of the passage in Plusieurs, most notably the presence of a “sudden harmonic shift caused by the contrast between B natural and e natural accompanying its first note and the b flat which forms its second note” (m. 46-47) (ibid., 68-69). What I find particularly telling is that pitch class B occurs once in its flat inflection, right on the point of the shared gesture; if influenced by Mille regretz, Josquin was particularly cautious to follow the intervallic content of the original gesture. Macey has discussed cross-relations in the closing section of Josquin’s five-voice chansons as a potential hallmark of his late music (see Macey, “An expressive detail,” 408). 38 The transmission of Regretz sans fin is exceedingly limited. It circulates in only two printed sources, Susato’s Le septiesme livre (1545) and Attaingnant’s Trente sixiesme livre (1549).
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of the chansons to register suffering states of mind – though Regretz sans fin is
profoundly woeful – which particularly converge in their common determination to
abandon life. The most striking moment of textual interrelatedness can be observed
between the second half of Mille regretz and the first stanza of Regretz sans fin; most
words and expressions of Mille appear to be scattered in the text of the latter chanson (see
especially the expression “brief mes jours definer” and its paraphrased echo “brief finer
ma vie”). Shown below are the texts of the chansons with common expressions
highlighted in bold.
Mille regretz de vous habandonner Et d’eslonger vostre fache amoureuse J’ay si grand dueil et paine douloureuse Qu’on me verra brief mes jours deffiner39
Regretz sans fin il me fault endurer Et en grant dueil mes doulans iours user Par ung rapport meschant dont fuz servie Mieulx me vouldroit de brief finer ma vie Qu’ainsi sans cesse telle douleur muer Tout plaisir doncqs ie veulx habandonner Plus nulx soulas ie ne requirs donner Puis qu’il me fault souffrir par seulle envie40
Cues for instances of musical allusion among chansons are often delivered in their
texts.41 Thus, for instance, the shared expression “grand dueil” bears similarities, if only
vague ones, in its musical settings. The expression in both chansons is part of opening
hemistichs (“J’ay si grand dueil” and “Et en grant dueil”) set in syllabic fashion. In
contrast to its homophonic single statement in Mille regretz (m. 17-19), the textual
39 “A thousand sorrows for abandoning you || And leaving your loving face || I have such great sadness and painful distress || That my days will soon be seen to end.” 40 For a translation, see Chapter 5, n. 53. 41 This is regarded as a generally accepted view. See, for instance, Reynolds, “The Counterpoint of Allusion in Fifteenth-Century Masses,” JAMS 45/2 (1992): 228-260, at 229. Plumley, among others, discusses musical allusions prompted by textual cross-references in the work of Machaut and other composers of the ars subtilior (“Intertextuality in the Fourteenth-Century Chanson,” esp. 363-69). For an edition of Regretz sans fin, see Josquin des Prez: Opera Omnia, vol. 3, 9-12.
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quotation in Regretz sans fin is treated in counterpoint and further repeated (Ex. 3.6, m.
13-19). Yet, most of the statements of “grand dueil” are set on comparable rhythmic
patterns, dominated by the use of semibrevis and brevis values. Superius statements of
the complete hemistich, for example, are rhythmically identical, marked by a dactylic
opening rhythm (see Ex. 3.3, m. 17-19 in Mille regretz and m. 17-19 in Regretz sans fin).
Ex. 3.6: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 13-18.
Inconspicuous rhythmic allusions can also be seen in the openings of the
chansons. The opening of the quintus in Regretz sans fin (see Ex. 3.7, m. 4-6) is
rhythmically reminiscent of the superius opening of Mille regretz (Ex. 3.1a, m. 2-4), the
latter also duplicated in the bassus at the interval of the fifth below. Moreover, the
descending part of the incipit of Mille (m. 2-3) is echoed in the contratenor opening of
Regretz sans fin (m. 1-2). Overall, the openings of the chansons seem to engage in a game
S Sextus C
Q
T
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of rhythmic exchange and shuffling of rhythmic cells. For instance, the opening rhythmic
cell of Mille regretz, composed of a dactylic pattern (brevis–two semibreves) is
transformed in its retrograde form in the openings of the outer voices of Regretz sans fin.
The opening rhythmic pattern (m. 1-3) of the tenor (and subsequently of its canonic
“partner” sexta pars) in Regretz sans fin can be seen as a rearrangement of the rhythmic
values of the contratenor of Mille regretz (m. 1-3).
Ex. 2.3: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 1-8.
Resonances with the Regretz of La Rue
The significance of La Rue as a prominent composer of regretz can hardly be
overestimated. With eight surviving chansons centered on the theme of regretz, the
majority of which relate in some way or another to Marguerite, he can undoubtedly be
regarded as the most prolific composer of regretz chansons. Three of these chansons
(Plusieurs regretz, Aprez regretz, and Tous les regretz) demonstrate traces of intertextual
association with Mille regretz. Taking into consideration the apparently earlier dating of
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la Rue’s chansons, most certainly composed before 1508,42 any potential tangible line of
influence with Josquin’s chanson, if it ever existed, must have been prompted by La Rue.
The possibility that it was Mille regretz that “infected” any of the three regretz of La Rue
is rather obscure, although not entirely dismissible.43
Mille and Plusieurs
The opening of Plusieurs regretz features extensive cross-referencing with the
superius opening of Mille regretz.44 All parts apart from the contratenor open with a
melodic line that closely resembles that of Josquin’s superius (m. 1-6). The tenor for
instance, as well as the superius two tempora ahead in imitation, opens with a rising
fourth from D to G, set in dactylic rhythm as in Mille regretz; it then descends stepwise to
B flat tracking a minor sixth (in fact the order of intervals is identical), and proceeds with
an octave leap and a characteristic repeated-note gesture in semibrevis values (see Ex.
3.8). The resemblance between the opening passages, occurring in the uppermost voices
of the chansons (as well as in the tenor of Plusieurs regretz), is, without any doubt,
42 Both Plusieurs regretz and Aprez regretz are unica and only survive in BrusBR 228 (dated ca. 1508). Tous les regretz belongs among the chansons on texts by Saint-Gelais (1493) that La Rue composed as a gesture of welcome for the young Marguerite shortly after her return from France (ca. 1494). For a discussion on the dating of the chanson and the occasion of this composition, see Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 86. 43 Yet in the following discussion I aim to observe and discuss intertextualities between La Rue and Josquin without attempting to secure immediate ties. 44 The resemblance between the chansons was first pointed out by Rees in his “Mille regretz as model,” 63-64. The opening of the contratenor (m. 1-2), the only part not related to the incipit of Mille regretz, could be seen in connection with the opening of the bassus of Mille (same rhythm and gesture in inversion). Measure numbers in the relevant discussion of Plusieurs regretz, refer to the edition in Picker, The Chanson Albums, 339-42.
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explic.45 If the first complete phrase is clearly dominated by Josquin’s migrated superius
passage, then the fact that the second phrase of Plusieurs regretz is an almost exact
repetition of the first widely celebrates the importance of the passage and La Rue’s
intention to highlight it further. The concluding section of Plusieurs similarly duplicates
note for note its opening phrase, the only changes occurring at the closing of the phrase to
accommodate a cadence in the finalis.46 Even the textual incipits provide an additional
clue so that they drag the eye and mind to contemplate a potential interrelatedness. Both
chansons open up with an expression of quantity. The word “plusieurs” resonates with
“mille”; the “regretz” compete in their manifestation of profusion.
Ex. 3.8: La Rue, Plusieurs regretz, m. 1-10.
45 The bassus of Plusieurs regretz, instead of faithfully following the opening of Mille regretz, partially interrelates with it (the descending sixth as well as the octave leap are omitted). 46 The repetitions of the opening passage and recurring echoes of Josquin’s incipit in essentially three out of the five phrases of Plusieurs is also noted by Rees, ibid., 64. I have also observed, in regard to the concluding section, that the contratenor, previously the only voice that did not carry the opening incipit, now not only quotes it, but is the first to enter with the incipit before further imitative entries in the tenor and the superius. Based on these observations, it is tempting to think of Mille regretz as a model for Plusieurs. It that case, Mille should have been composed sometime in late 1490s, a date that, however, has not been previously suggested in Josquin’s scholarship. In any case, the confusing dating of Mille regretz hinders further speculations about its composition before of after Plusieurs regretz.
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Ex. 3.8 (cont.): La Rue, Plusieurs regretz, m. 1-10.
Additional interrelationships, not as conspicuous as the intersection of a great part
of Plusieurs regretz with the superius opening of Mille regretz, can be observed and
further attest to the intertextual play between the chansons. The second hemistich of
Plusieurs regretz, “Qui sur la terre sont,” first set in quasi-melismatic gestures, is later
sung by the three lower voices syllabically and in strict homophony (Ex. 3.8, m. 8-10).
Here, La Rue’s compositional choice is comparable with the change of texture occurring
in the second hemistich of Mille regretz. “De vous habandonner” in Mille regretz is not
only set syllabically in contrast to its preceding alluring melisma; rhythmic and melodic
elements of the passage are mirrored in that of Plusieurs. Thus, all three lower voices of
the latter chanson (m. 8-10) are set in the rhythmic pattern of the contratenor of Mille (m.
5-7). The tenor and partially the bassus in Plusieurs reproduce the melodic shape of the
contratenor and the superius of Mille regretz respectively.
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One of the most frequently quoted gestures of Mille regretz, the ascending
step/descending sixth occurring on the words “et paine douloureuse” (sigh gesture), is
also detected in Plusieurs regretz (see Ex. 3.9). Yet, it is not only the gesture that seems
to be of importance; Plusieurs regretz shares with Mille regretz the textural scheme of the
presentation of the gesture. As Rees has pointed out, in Mille regretz, the gesture is sung
in duets, first by the two upper voices, then by the two lower ones; a comparable
presentation of the gesture occurs in Plusieurs regretz.47 Starting on m. 36 of the chanson,
the gesture is first sung by the superius, partially duplicated in the contratenor, and later
by the bassus, in part followed a third above by the tenor. The core voices carrying the
gesture in Mille (contratenor and bassus) exchange statements in the same pitch classes, a
compositional choice also followed by La Rue. As for the texts of the shared gesture, they
converge significantly in their semantic dimension. The fourth verse of the opening
stanza of Plusieurs regretz addresses the impact of sorrows (“douleurs”) on the poet: “Me
tourmentant de si piteuse sorte” (“Tormenting me so piteously”). The corresponding
verse in Mille regretz conveys comparable sentiments of suffering: “J’ay si grand dueil et
paine douloureuse.” Besides, the word “douloureuse” resonates with “piteuse” in its
rhyming and shared role as register of the intensity of despair; its link with “douleurs” in
the second verse of Plusieurs regretz should also be noted.
47 Rees, “Mille regretz as model,” 64.
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Ex. 3.9: La Rue, Plusieurs regretz, m. 36-40.
Aprez Regretz
The sigh gesture occurs in La Rue’s Aprez regretz, where it also partially
embraces relevant aspects of its presentation as observed in various instances previously
discussed (repetition in other voices, duets). It is hosted in the second part of the second
phrase and it is first introduced by the contratenor (see Ex. 3.10, m. 19-22) similarly to
Mille regretz.48 This first statement likewise follows the exact pitches and rhythmic
values of that in Mille regretz. Presented mainly by the superius and in duet at the tenor,
the second statement begins at almost the same number of tempora ahead as in Mille
regretz.
48 Measure numbers refer to the edition in Picker, The Chanson Albums, 347-50.
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Ex. 3.10: La Rue, Aprez regretz, m. 16-24.
La Rue’s consistent reliance upon the sigh gesture is undeniably intriguing. What
makes it more fascinating, particularly in the case of Aprez regretz, is the word set to it
and its adjacent text. The word in question is “souvenir,” echoed in a threefold
presentation of the shared gesture. Preceding “souvenir” is the word “dueil” followed by
the conjunction “et” in direct matching with the text of Mille regretz right before the
presentation of the gesture (see opening verses of Aprez vs. 3rd line of Mille below).
S
C
T
B
111
Aprez regretz il se fault resjouyr Chassant tristesse et deuil et souvenir [“After sorrowing, one must rejoice Chasing sadness and mourning and memories”]
J’ay si grand dueil et paine douloureuse
“Souvenir,” in the context of Aprez regretz, is not a word innocent of meaning and
interpretation; the word is the textual embodiment of the migrated gesture, resonating
with the latter by means of its meaning – that is, memories. By virtue of the grafting sigh
gesture, “souvenir” embodies its signified as a bearer of memories. Taking in
consideration the various migrations of gesture within the regretz of Josquin and la Rue,
it can be said that the gesture itself, too, is an embodiment of the past and an aural
signifier of the regretz in particular. And while “souvenir” as a carrier of memories
related to “tristesse et deuil” (beginning of verse) is, in the context of Aprez regretz, to be
chased away, its counterpart, the staple shared gesture, engages in a counterpoint of
contrast: the “regretz” are meant to go away, yet their presence is materialized by means
of the gesture as a musical topos.
In contrast to Plusieurs regretz, whose opening closely resembles that of Mille
regretz, the opening of Aprez regretz does not bear any conspicuous signs to suggest a
connection. It is due to the shared “souvenir / paine douloureuse” gesture discussed above
that I am impelled to compare the opening of Aprez regretz with that of Mille regretz for
possible parallels. Besides, the dactylic rhythm of the two opening measures, sung in
homophony, is notable, as is also the harmonic progression with a semitone rise in the
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lowest voice (A to B flat in Aprez [see Ex. 3.11]; E to F in Mille).49 The harmonic gesture
is particularly striking, more so since the B flat in Aprez Regretz is a signed B-fa, and is
accompanied in the contratenor by a 1-6-7-1 progression similar to 1-6-2-1 in Mille.
Ex. 3.11: La Rue, Aprez regretz, m. 1-5.
Further scrutiny of the openings reveals an additional, albeit subtle, thread of
connection. Following the gesture set on the opening hemistich, all voices of Aprez
regretz but the tenor sing a motive composed by a rising fourth and a conjunct descent.
Although neither rhythmically or textually similar, nor of an intervallically consistent
descent, the underlying shape of the motive brings to mind the opening superius motive
of Mille regretz.
49 The second section of Aprez regretz (m. 35) also opens homophonically and in dactylic rhythm. Parts enter in duets (first the two lower voices, then the two upper voices), a compositional habit frequently employed by Josquin (see “et paine douloureuse” of his Mille regretz).
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Tous les Regretz
Rees, in his study of the referential world of Mille regretz, has called attention to a
possible link with la Rue’s Tous les regretz. The latter, as Rees mentions, uses a motive
that recalls the incipit of Mille regretz.50 He does not, however, provide further specifics
regarding the allusion apart from this observation.
The opening section of Tous les regretz displays an all-pervading imitative
texture, woven out of entries of the initial motive in the intervals of the octave and the
fifth.51 Even though its texture stands in contrast to the concise and mostly homophonic
presentation of the Mille regretz opening, the opening motive of Tous les regretz shares a
comparable contour with the incipit of Josquin’s chanson. In fact, if for a moment we
discard the gesture of the opening fourth in Mille regretz (m. 1), the phrase (m. 2-6)
seems to correspond to a substantial part of the Tous les regretz incipit and even beyond.
As seen in Ex. 3.12, the incipit of La Rue’s chanson tracks a descending sixth filled in
with crotchets; an octave leap leads to the second hemistich, set syllabically in a series of
semibrevis of repetitive pitches and a subsequent descent. Its underlying orbit is
remarkably similar to that of Mille regretz.52 Even more, individual sub-phrases match in
50 Rees, “Mille regretz as model,” 72. For an edition of Tous les regretz, see Picker, The Chanson Albums, 180-83. 51 The part of bassus opens with a paraphrase of the motive. 52 The part of contratenor in Tous les regretz shares an identical opening with the superius, but proceeds differently following the octave leap.
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Ex. 3.12: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 1-20.
115
Ex. 3.12 (cont.): La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 1-20.
their parallel textual positions: e.g., the second gesture (repetitive pitches and falling third
articulated in semibreves) occurs in both chansons at the second hemistich.53
If the opening motive of Tous les regretz, as was just shown, resembles that of
Mille regretz excluding the opening fourth gesture, the virtual omission of the particular
interval is compensated for at the beginning of the second phrase in La Rue’s chanson.
Starting on m .13, the bassus sings the gesture A-D-D-C, unmistakably reminiscent of the
E-A-A-G incipit of Mille regretz. The motive is repeated an octave higher in the tenor (m.
17-19). The second half of the second phrase features in the bassus, in continuation of the
A-D-D-C motive (starting on m. 16), a gesture that is rhythmically identical with the
second half of the opening phrase in Mille regretz. The gestures in both La Rue’s and
Josquin’s chansons are repeated at a distance of two semibreves later. Moreover, the pitch
53 Other obscure similarities between the openings of Tous les regretz and Mille regretz are particularly suggestive of their intertextual association. The opening motive in La Rue’s chanson shares its overall pitches with that of Josquin’s. In addition, the semibrevis gesture in the tenor of Tous les regretz(m. 10-13) echoes the one in the superius of Mille regretz (m.5-6).
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classes of the gesture in Tous les regretz are almost identical with those in the superius of
Mille regretz (excluding the second note).
To summarize, the overall structure of the complete phrases (2nd phrase in the two
lower voices of Tous les regretz and 1st phrase in the superius of Mille regretz) share a
number of attributes: both begin similarly with a rising fourth and a subsequent descent
and also feature similar gestures in their second hemistichs. The kinship between the
phrases is not visibly apparent; it is rather largely obscured due to the elaborate falling
figure and subsequent octave leap in Mille regretz, features that are nonetheless echoed in
the first phrase of Tous les regretz. To put it in other words, when both the first and
second phrases of Tous les regretz are considered against the opening superius phrase of
Mille regretz, they demonstrate a kinship that integrates every motivic element of the
latter. These intertextualities are veiled and would most probably go unnoticed if it were
not for the textual incipits of the chansons referring to regretz that prompted their parallel
scrutiny. Yet, they are not sufficient to prove a direct influence between the chansons.
One the other hand, the texts of the chansons demonstrate signs of correspondence, which
could have prompted either of the two composers to allude, albeit discreetly, to the
regretz chanson of the other.
Tous les regretz conveys the distress of a lover who has parted from his beloved.
The reason of his separation is not explicitly stated (“Car j’ay perdu celle” [“Because I
have lost her”]). It could presumably be death. Yet, it may also be that she abandoned
him, as is the case in Mille regretz (“vous habandonner et d’eslonger”). In any case, the
narrator in both chansons suffers due to a kind of “departure.” In similar fashion, the
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Regretz are invoked in profusion in both poems. “Mille regretz” competes with “tous les
regretz qui les cueurs tourmentez” (“All sorrows which torment hearts”) as they are
summoned to intervene. In fact, in Tous les regretz, the regretz are called upon
persistently: “Venez au mien” (“Come to mine [my heart])“; “Venez doncques et plus
rien ne doubtez” (“Come then and you will no longer doubt anything”); “Venez et vous
diligentez” (“Come and hasten”). It is however in the poets’ resolution and ultimate
desire that the parallel narratives culminate; death is commonly seen in both texts as an
unavoidable path. In Mille regretz, this is stated firmly and concisely in the two
concluding verses. In Tous les regretz, death is implored more that once in both the first
and last stanzas. In both chansons, death as resolution is preceded by an expression of the
narrator’s suffering that serves to justify his state of mind and to portray death as a
natural denouement. Seen below are the two concluding verses of Mille regretz and their
parallel verses in Tous les regretz (3rd verse of 1st stanza, 4th verse of 3rd stanza
respectively).
J’ay si grand dueil et paine douloureuse Qu’on me verra brief mes jours deffiner
Pour abregier le surplus de ma vie J’ay triste soing qui veult que je desvye54
Could we assume, based on their parallel textual segments and overall comparable
narratives, that the texts of Tous les regretz and Mille regretz were consciously related?55
The two poems are among a few regretz whose authors are known. Both were written by
54 The first line translates as “To cut short what’s left of my life” and the second as “I have a sad care so that I want to die.” 55 I have previously emphasized that issues of influence and deliberate modeling are not of primary concern in my current research. Any speculation on the possibility of direct cross-borrowing within the regretz network is meant to raise questions rather than attempt to secure conscious ties.
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famous literary auctoritates; Mille regretz by Jean Lemaire de Belges, court poet and
historiographer of Marguerite of Austria, and Tous les regretz by Octavien de Saint-
Gelais, who, although never employed by her, is also associated with Marguerite by
means of a group of farewell regretz chansons he composed on the occasion of her
departure from France in 1493.56 Since 1504, the time he was appointed as court
historiographer at her Savoy court, Lemaire engaged in writing poetical works dedicated
to his patroness, Marguerite.57 As her court historiographer, he may well have been aware
of the regretz chansons written for her by Saint-Gelais. Such a hypothesis acquires
further merit if we also take into consideration that Lemaire, apart from Mille regretz,
penned additional poems dealing with “regretz,” such as Plus nultz regretz (1508) and
Les Regretz de la Dame Infortunée (1506), the latter in the tradition of associating regretz
with the misfortunes of Marguerite, initiated by Saint-Gelais.
In any case, if a conscious string of influence between the two poems existed, it
must have originated with Lemaire, whose involvement with Marguerite begins after
Saint-Gelais’s death (d. 1502). In the same line, if musical intertextualities between Tous
les regretz and Mille regretz are deliberate, and not intersected by means of a third
intermediary chanson, it must have been Josquin who alluded to La Rue. Based on
stylistic evidence (dependence on the rondeau form, melismas), Tous les regretz belongs
to the earlier chanson output of La Rue. Besides, as Picker has argued, Tous les regretz
56 Picker considers the following rondeaux, Tous nobles cueurs, Le cueur la suy, and Tous les regretz in “More ‘regret’ chansons,” 81-101. 57 During the first couple of years of his employment he wrote for her La Couronne Margaritique, a poetic biography of her, and Premier epître de l’Amant Vert, an imaginary letter from her parrot, the “green lover,” lamenting her absence; a few years later, he wrote Les Regretz de la Dame Infortunée for the death of her brother, Philippe. See Picker, The Chanson Albums, 16.
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was most likely composed around the time Saint-Gelais wrote the poem, to be performed
at a farewell event dedicated to Marguerite.58 Josquin, on the other hand, although never
officially employed by Marguerite, may have come to know La Rue’s chanson by means
of his association with Lemaire,59 who in turn was in Marguerite’s service at the time
Marguerite’s chansonnier MS 11239 was compiled, in which Tous les regretz was
prominently featured.60
Textual Echoes Between Mille Regretz and Cent Mille Regretz
In line with my previous discussion on textual resemblances between Mille
regretz and La Rue’s regretz chansons, a last regretz chanson to be considered is Cent
mille regretz.61 Similarly to Lemaire’s poem, the text of the chanson consists of a single
58 Picker, ibid., 16. Meconi has similarly argued for a date close to the writing of the poem (see this chapter, n. 42). 59 Picker’s claim that Josquin was a friend of Lemaire is perhaps overstated (no evidence provided) (Picker, The Chanson Albums, 16). For certain, there must have been some kind of professional contact (see Picker, “Josquin and Jean Lemaire”). Not only had the artists previously collaborated (e.g. at the creation of Plus nulz regretz written by Lemaire to celebrate the Treaty of Calais, initiated by Marguerite, and set to music by Josquin), but it is seems that Lemaire was thinking very highly of Josquin’s composition skills. For instance, in a later version of his poem La plainte du desiré, written to commemorate the death of Louis of Luxembourg (1503), Lemaire invokes Josquin, along with other composers such as Agricola and Hilaire Penet, to compose a lament, an invitation, it has been suggested, realized in Cueurs desolez, presumably authored by Josquin. For a discussion on the attribution of Cueurs desolez to Josquin, see “Josquin (Lebloitte dit) des Prez,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (2001), 13: 226. Besides, the poet, describing the music of his time in “La Description du Temple de Venus” of his La Concorde des Deux Langages, praises Josquin, among such composers as Agricola, Ockeghem, and Compère, for creating music of “les verbes coulourez” (Picker, The Chanson Albums, 16-17). 60 According to Picker, BrusBR 11239 is of Savoyard origin, most probably compiled before Marguerite’s marriage to Philibert II le Beau, duke of Savoy in 1501, or during her years of residence in Savoy (1501-1507), and passed to her possession after the death of her husband. See Picker, The Chanson Albums, 5-7. 61 The chanson was attributed to Josquin in Attaingnant’s 1550 collection. It is featured as the first piece in VienNB Mus.18746 and transmitted anonymously. Attribution to La Rue comes in its earliest surviving source, the superius partbook VatP 1982 (ca. 1513-23). Stylistic evidence suggests a La Rue authorship. See Bernstein, “Chansons Attributed to Both Josquin des Prez and Pierre de la Rue: A Problem in Establishing Authenticity,” in Proceedings of the International Josquin Symposium, ed. Wilem Elders (Utrecht: Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 1986), 125-52, esp. 131-35.
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stanza, in keeping with the trendy abandonment of the rondeau form in chansons of the
late fifteenth/early sixteenth century.
Cent mille regretz me poursuivent sans cesse Deuil me conduict et plaisir me delaisse Et fortune si tres mal me promene Que ma langueur vault pis que mort soudaine Pouisqu’il est force qu’ainsi je vous delaisse62
Typical of courtly poetry, Cent mille regretz is filled with sadness, registered with
expressions of inconsolable grief, unavoidable parting, and a veiled suggestion of death.
The lyrical self’s state of mind projected in Cent mille regretz is strikingly replicated in
the narrative of Mille regretz and articulated by a shared vocabulary. For instance, the
word “dueil” is reiterated, while expressions such as “je vous delaisse” (used twice),
“mort soudaine,” and “langueur” in Cent mille regretz reverberate with the following in
Mille regretz of parallel meaning: “de vous habandonner,” “brief mes jours deffiner,” and
“paine douloureuse.” Needless to say, the textual incipits of the chansons are so
intriguingly alike that I am tempted to interpret this an obvious signal of allusion from the
part of the poet of Cent mille regretz. “Cent mille regretz” is an explicit paraphrase of
“Mille regretz”; this fact, taken into consideration along with the shared vocabulary and
related narratives of the chansons, suggests that the poems must have engaged in some
kind of communication.63
62 Translated as: “One hundred thousand regrets pursue me without ceasing || Grief governs me and pleasure forsakes me || And fortune so unkindly charts my course || That my debility is worse than sudden death || Since I am thus forced to abandon you” (translation in Meconi, “Style and Authenticity in the Secular Music of Pierre de la Rue” [PhD diss., Harvard University, 1986], 209). 63 During the fourteenth century French literary societies held poetry contests, where poets competed in composing ballades upon a shared refrain. Poetry competitions were organized in particular by the Cour
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Mille regretz as the Progenitor of Gombert’s Regretz
Nicolas Gombert must have been a devout follower of Josquin. For he not only
composed a déploration on the death of the composer, who was presumably his teacher
during the latter’s last years in Condé, but also openly reworked Josquin’s
compositions.64 An expert of the parody technique, with eight out of his ten masses based
on preexisting models, Gombert composed reworkings of his teacher’s chansons Mille
regretz and En l’ombre d’ung buissonet. The latter he worked into a triple canon, most
likely in tribute to Josquin’s preoccupation with canonic structures.65
Gombert’s reworking of Mille regretz resembles an intricate and dense patchwork
largely woven out of motives of Josquin’s model, arranged in quotation and variably
transposed, paraphrased, elongated with short melismas, and rhythmically varied into a
thick texture. All six parts are saturated with melodic snippets of quoted material.
Distribution of migrated fragments within larger sections (corresponding to settings of
individual verses) is clearly deliberate and skillfully planned. Yet, there is an apparent
amoureuse, an aristocratic institution in Paris, in the early fifteenth century where poems were composed on designated refrains. See Plumley, “Playing the citation game,” 21-22. Plumley’s idea of literary intertexts as products of citation contests is also central in her “Intertextuality in the 14th century chanson.” Here, she mentions poetry contests flourishing in as late as 1469, when famous poets such as Villon and Charles d’Orléans competed in “Concours de Bloison” the refrain “Je meurs de soif aupres de la fontaine” (ibid., 369). We might imagine that certain contests engaged the writing of new poems upon a shared incipit instead of a refrain or asked for a paraphrase on a given incipit or theme – “Mille regretz” and “Cent mille regretz” may be the outcomes of such a contest. 64 On the possibility of Gombert being a pupil of Josquin, this was mentioned by the theorist Hermann Finck in his Practica musica (1556) (see George Nugent and Eric Jas, “Gombert, Nicolas,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. [2001], 10: 118-19). Gombert’s déploration on the death of Josquin cited the cantus firmus “Circumdederunt” which Josquin previously employed in his six-part chanson Nymphes, nappés. It was printed in Susato’s collection of Josquin’s chansons of 1545, along with two other laments by Flemish composers. 65 Ibid., 120-21. For an edition of Mille regretz, see Nicolas Gombert, Opera omnia, ed. Joseph Schmidt-Gorg, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 6 (Rome : American Institute of Musicology, 1975), vol. 11, 160-63.
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freedom in Gombert’s redistribution of material within individual sections.66 For
example, the opening section of Gombert’s (Ex. 3.13), set on the words “Mille regretz,”
is built on material drawn from the first four measures of Josquin’s. Echoes, threaded into
an extensive grid of imitative entries, are so pervasive that the opening section of
Gombert’s reworking has swollen to fifteen measures.
Ex. 3.13: Gombert, Mille regretz, m. 1-14.
66 As Ignace Bossuyt also observes, Gombert transforms “his model into a complex contrapuntal whole” by drawing material from all voices; “the original composition is not transplanted or integrated as such in a new polyphonic complex, but serves as the starting point for a wholly new composition” (“Nicolas Gombert and Parody,” 114).
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Ex. 3.13 (cont.): Gombert, Mille regretz, m. 1-14.
Intense borrowing occurs throughout Gombert’s parody. Imitative calls at the
beginning of phrases are saturated with motives at times drawn from the bassus of
Josquin’s model (instead of the superius, which is most commonly borrowed). For
instance, the polyphonic passage set on the words “Et d’eslongier” (Ex. 3.14a) draws
extensively from Josquin’s four-note bassus motive (m. 7-9). All voices but the sextus
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feature echoes of the bassus motive in its original pitch classes.67 What is most
interesting, though, is that the sextus, the sole voice not drawing material from Josquin’s
model during this particular phrase, features a motive that also circulates in another
regretz chanson of Gombert. The regretz in question is his five-part Regret ennuy, a
chanson that also bears signs of allusion to Josquin’s Mille regretz (see discussion in the
following paragraph).68 The motive is featured in the two lower parts of Gombert’s Mille
regretz, sextus and bassus, in imitative entries at the unison (Ex. 3.14a, m. 21-23). It
mirrors the rhythm and interval structure of the rising fifth gesture opening in m. 20 of
Regret ennuy (Ex. 3.14b), which further echoes in imitative entries.
Ex. 3.14a: Gombert, Mille regretz, m. 20-24.
67 The tenor and the bassus quote the motive during the second statements of the hemistich. 68 An edition of Regret ennuy is in Gombert, Opera omnia, vol. 11, 142-45.
C
Q
A
T
S
B
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Ex. 3.14b: Gombert, Regret ennuy, m. 19-23.
Apart from the fleeting and rather inconspicuous moment of intersection
discussed above, I have only observed a single notable point of association shared among
Regret ennuy and the two Mille regretz chansons. The opening four-note gesture of
Regret ennuy, imitatively distributed to all five parts of the chanson in an orderly fashion
from highest to lowest, is an inversion of the bassus opening motive of Josquin’s
chanson. It is also in retrograde with the bassus of Gombert’s reworking of Mille regretz
starting on m. 9,69 and in inversion with further statements of the motive in the cantus and
sextus. Although other shared gestures suggesting reliance of Regret ennuy on Josquin’s
chanson have not been observed, Owen Rees has tracked down some striking evidence
that hints to such a connection. Regret ennuy, as published in Susato’s edition of 1549,
bears the inscription “responce” and is preceded by another chanson of Gombert,
Tousiours souffrir, whose dependence on Mille regretz is quite remarkable.70 If Gombert
conceived Regret ennuy as a responce to Tousiours souffrir, then the latter, by means of
69 This is the only instance of shared pitch classes (A, B flat, and G). 70 Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” 51 and 55. As Rees has shown, Tousiours souffrir demonstrates the most “concentrated reliance” on Josquin’s Mille regretz. The opening motive of Mille “dominates the whole chanson, being used in the setting of almost every phrase of text” (ibid., 51).
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its close resemblance with Josquin’s Mille regretz, functions as a conceptual bridge to
virtually allude to an intertextual play between Josquin’s chanson and Gombert’s Regret
ennuy. Apart from Regret ennuy and Mille regretz, Gombert composed two other regretz:
O doulx regretz and Tous les regretz. Examining their intertextual dimensions may
provide further clues in tracing the impact of Josquin’s Mille regretz in Gombert’s regretz
output.
The opening of O doulx regretz (Ex. 3.15) resembles in its rhythmic structure and
homophonic texture that of Josquin’s Mille regretz.71 Both regretz commence in an
exclamatory fashion to introduce the regretz by means of a sequence of chordal writing in
dactylic rhythm (brevis/two semibrevis). The openings also follow a similar harmonic
progression; the third measure returns to the harmonic identity of the first. All parts of O
doulx regretz begin with motives of a retrograde structure. Even though that is not exactly
the case with the opening gestures of Mille regretz, those of the contratenor and the
bassus begin and end with the same pitches. The palindromic gesture in the bassus of O
doulx regretz is echoed in the bassus of Mille regretz (opening of third phrase, m. 17-19
in Ex. 3.13).72 In fact, the intertextual association at that particular moment goes beyond
the single echo of the bassus line. In addition to displaying a rhythmic and harmonic
resemblance, the entire polyphonic motive set on the words “J’ay si grand dueil” matches
the melodic profile of the opening of O doulx regretz. The central measures of the related
71 The resemblance as an instance of loose and likely unconscious connection is also briefly mentioned in Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” 63. See an edition of O doulx regretz in Gombert, Opera omnia, vol. 11, 97-99. 72 Even the harmonic functions of the shared gestures coincide. The opening pitches (C and E) are the finalis of the modes (Ionian and Phrygian respectively).
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passages (m. 18 of Mille regretz and m. 2 of O doulx regretz) are identical in their
arrangement of the three parts to form triads and to echo the same pitches in repetition (F-
F and A-A in O doulx regretz; A-A, C-C, E-E in Mille regretz). The fourth part (superius
of Mille regretz and tenor of O doulx) features a descending minor third made up of the
exact same pitch classes (C to A).
Ex. 3.15: Gombert, O doulx regretz, m. 1-3.
Such kinds of interrelations between Mille regretz and O doulx regretz are rather
marginal and are only loosely suggestive of Gombert’s reliance or broader reference to
Josquin’s chanson. Yet, the fact that shared passages occur in parallel moments (opening
three measures, and later, at the beginning of a phrase) can be indicative of an explicit
connection. Even more, homophonic writing with motives of longer rhythmic values
happens only during the opening of O doulx regretz; apart from the opening measures,
the chanson employs a dense contrapuntal writing of shorter values (mostly minimas). If
then the opening – whose text carries the word “regretz” – is so stylistically distinct from
the remaining chanson and yet closely similar with that of Mille regretz, I am led to
believe that we have here some strong indications of conscious affinity. It is as if the
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opening of O doulx regretz “exposes” its migrated status by means of its contrast in style
with what follows – declamation is used as a rhetoric device to point out and “elevate” a
passage of importance. In fact, it is my impression that most motives of O doulx regretz
derive from the melodic cells of the three opening measures.73 From this perspective, the
opening, viewed as the springboard for the composition of the chanson, acquires an even
higher significance. Gombert not only borrowed the polyphonic opening of Josquin’s
Mille regretz and transplanted it to the very beginning of his own regretz chanson, but
also celebrated his allusion and reverence to his teacher by weaving and developing the
melodic cells of the quoted passage into the complete grid of the song.
The thread of intertextual associations within Gombert’s regretz output includes a
consideration of those arising from his Tous les regretz, albeit quite limited. The only
instance of intersection I have located occurs with O doulx regretz. Tous les regretz
commences with a stepwise rising fourth resounding in all six parts in imitative entries
(see Ex. 3.16).74 The rising fourth incipit assumes the role of a generative cell that, by
being presented in variable facets of paraphrasing, pervades the overall texture of the
chanson. Now, considering the opening section of the chanson (m. 1-19), one can observe
a textbook example of Gombert’s intricate counterpoint. Set to fit in the textual incipit
“Tous les regretz,” the rising fourth motive, varied in its rhythm and further development,
is echoed profusely not only during the initial measures, but right up to the closing of the
section, superimposed along gestures set to the second hemistich.
73 Compare, for instance, m. 1-3 of tenor (C-C-A-C) with the opening motive of the second phrase (starting on m. 11); and opening bassus motive (C-F-F-C) with scattered motives in the 3rd and 4th phrase (m. 19-38) composed of a rising fourth and a descent. 74 Measure numbers refer to the edition in Gombert, Opera omnia, vol. 11, 175-80.
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Ex. 3.16: Gombert, Tous les regretz, m. 1-9.
The haunting presence of the opening motive of Tous les regretz is similarly
noticeable in O doulx regretz, whose third phrase (m. 19-32) features a motive beginning
with a stepwise rising fourth (see Ex. 3.17). The first statement of the shared motive, in
both chansons, commences on pitch class G. And even though the two renderings of the
motive differ in intervallic structure due to the use of B flat in O doulx regretz, the fact
that a great number of reiterations of the motive employ the G-A-B(flat)-C version (see
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especially both superius parts) leads me to think that the choice of these particular pitch
classes may not be coincidental but suggestive of some connection between the two
regretz. Moreover, upon closer scrutiny, one may also observe that certain reiterations of
the motive are mostly comparable. For instance, the second statement of the motive in the
superius of O doulx regretz (m. 24-26) is identical both in its rhythmic structure and
intervallic order to the statement of the motive in the altus of Tous les regretz starting on
m. 13.
Ex. 2.13: Gombert, O doulx regretz, m. 19-29.
Nevertheless, the most intriguing clue in regard to a possible thread of allusion
stemming from the use of the shared motive in O doulx regretz and Tous les regretz lies
in the parallel reading of the texts attached to the two regretz. In O doulx regretz, the
motive is set on the hemistich “Pour mon tresor.” This phrase, when read against the
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textual incipit “Tous les regretz,” reveals further signs to argue for an intertextual
communication of the chansons. Most specifically, the interplay between the words
“tresor” and “regretz” and their semantic interconnection is of particular importance, as
pointed out by Marvin. In her significant work on the literary dimension of the regretz
chansons of the late fifteenth century, Marvin has brought to light a quite intriguing
“regretz-tresor” bonding inherent in the emergence of the regret as a poetic motif.75
Observing that these words, “regretz” and “tresor,” engage in an interplay triggered by a
shared musical gesture in Gombert’s regretz chansons is in itself intriguing. It would be
compelling to speculate whether Gombert was aware of the early literary connection
between “tresor” and “regretz.” Gombert was highly regarded for his compositional skills
and was, together with Thomas Crecquillon, “the most renowned composer in the service
of Charles V.”76 Judging from his important position in the court chapel as maître des
enfants and his canonry at the prestigious Tournai Cathedral, I find it reasonable to
assume that he must have been well educated.77 It is also tempting to think that Gombert
consciously set the two words, originally related by literary convention, to parallel
75 See “Regrets in French Chanson Texts,” 195-97. The origin of the regretz, Marvin argues, is traced in the genre of complainte, and most especially in a series of poetical responses between the famous poets Alain Chartier, Jean de Bourbon, and Charles d’Orléans. The “regretz–tresor” association was first initiated in Chartier’s Complainte (ca. 1424) with the expression “tresor de regres.” It was then grafted in Jean de Bourbon’s bergerette “J’amasse ung tresor de regres,” which in turn instigated a rather ironic response by Charles d’Orléans whose opening verses read: “C’est une dangereuse espergne, d’amasser tresor de regres.” For more on the literary origins of the regretz, see the opening part of Chapter 5. 76 Bruno Bouckaert, “The Capilla Flamenca: the Composition and Duties of the Music Ensemble at the Court of Charles V, 1515-1558,” in The Empire Resounds, Music in the Days of Charles V, ed. Francis Maes (Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 1999), 40. 77 The possibility that he may have owned a university degree is all too plausible considering that the young singers of the chapel whom he was directing used to be sent to study at places such as the university of Leuven (see ibid., 42) For an account of Gombert’s status and fame at his own time, see Alan Lewis, “Nicolas Gombert’s First Book of Four-Voice Motets: Anthology or Apologia?” in The Empire Resounds, 47-48.
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melodic motives with the intention to showcase his erudition and competence in the
literary tradition of his immediate past.
The “Other Way Around”
In some of the regretz chansons intertextually related with Mille regretz, the
possibility that it was Josquin’s chanson that acted as the archetype for further allusions
cannot be discarded. Mille regretz could potentially have had an influence on some of
Josquin’s own regretz chansons and certainly on a few of Gombert’s regretz chansons.
Yet, there is, as Rees has suggested, a case of intertextual association in which “the
modeling may well have operated the other way round.”78 The chanson in question is
Ghizeghem’s Les grans regretz, a piece that most likely predates Mille regretz, judging
by its appearance in surviving sources and its stylistic facets.79
It is in the openings of the chansons that signs of interconnectedness are mostly
observed. Rees has pointed out that an unusual harmonic gesture, commencing with the
progression of a rising semitone in the lower parts, links the openings of the chansons.80
The gesture is particularly significant in Les grans regretz since it breaks away from the
mode of the piece (G Dorian) and recalls, momentarily, the Phrygian modality of Mille
regretz (see Ex. 1.12 and Ex. 3.1a). The superius parts also feature comparable incipits,
composed of a rising fourth (which in Les grans regretz is gradually reached with the
78 Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” 47. Rees suggests that there is also the possibility of both Mille regretz and Les grans regretz drawing upon “a similar motivic convention or archetype.” 79 The majority of its sources date from the 1490s. Its earliest transmission occurs in the third layer of Laborde with a suggested date of 1480s. For a list of sources, see Fallows, A Catalogue, 255. 80 Rees, “Mille regretz as Model,” 47.
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addition of crotchets), the second measure made up by two semibrevis of the same pitch,
and followed by a gradual descending gesture of a fifth, doubled in another voice. Les
grans regretz features a dactylic rhythmical pattern at the opening of the tenor that
resonates with the contratenor and bassus of the opening two measures of Mille regretz.
I need to note that these instances of intertextual relationship cannot securely
account for a conscious affiliation between the chansons. Their parallel openings can,
however, suggest of a certain degree of relatedness, probably not direct, but one that
arises out of shared musical stereotypes within the regretz network.81 An additional hint
of relatedness may surface from scanning the literary components of the chansons. In
considering the poetic text of Les grans regretz against that of Mille regretz, one can
easily observe that both chansons, although different in length, form, and overall scheme
of narrative, progress towards the same resolution. “Qu je vaulx mort a vous je m’en
raporte,” the concluding line of Les grans regretz, though certainly more affirmative in its
intention, scarcely differs from the concluding verse of Mille regretz, “Qu’on me verra
brief mes jours definer.”82 The latter, less forthrightly, but equally decidedly, suggests
death as the outcome to an unbearable situation. Additionally, the hopeless situation
driving the suffering characters to putting an end to their lives is commonly illustrated:
81 If Mille regretz explicitly engaged in grafting Les grans regretz, it was not the only instance of a Josquin-Ghizeghem intertextual alliance. Josquin also composed two instrumental reworkings of Ghizeghem’s De tous biens plaine (see Litterick, “Chansons for Three and Four Voices,” 340). 82 Translated respectively as “Or I want death to take me back to you” and “That my days will soon be seen to end.”
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“J’ay si grand dueil et paine douloureuse” (Mille regretz); “Le cueur m’estraint et me
tient en rigueur” (Les grans regretz).83
Conclusions
The impact of Mille regretz within the regretz complex is undeniable. Beyond
apparent allusions in the work of Gombert, Mille regretz seems to engage in a wide
network of intertextual associations with various regretz chansons of La Rue as well as
Josquin’s own regretz. Within Josquin’s own regretz group, threads of interrelation are
observed among Mille regretz, Parfons regretz, and Plus nulz regretz, chansons which
appear connected by means of shared incipits, melodic motives, and rhythmic patterns. A
shared gesture, composed of a rising step and a gradually falling sixth, is prominently
featured, and similarly positioned, in all regretz of Josquin but his Regretz sans fin.
Migrations of this gesture are also observed in La Rue’s Plusieurs regretz and Aprez
regretz, chansons which also intersect with Mille regretz by way of a substantial network
of paraphrased motives, inconspicuous gestures, and instances of textural interplay.
Moreover, contrary to the widely accepted idea of Josquin acting as an influential figure
for La Rue, threads of association noticed between Mille regretz and Tous les regretz –
the latter belonging to the earlier output of La Rue – suggest that Josquin, on his part, was
likely involved with the music of La Rue. Indeed, as Jesse Rodin has recently observed
“the revised biographical picture invites us to perceive Josquin in a new position relative
to his contemporaries […]” for he “did not emerge fully formed from the head of Zeus –
83 Translated as “I have such great sadness and painful distress” and “My heart is torturing me and keeps me in harshness.”
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like everyone else, he absorbed musical ideas from all around him in the process of
developing a distinctive compositional voice.”84
84 Rodin, “When in Rome…,” 358, 364.
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CHAPTER 4
FURTHER MUSICAL ALLIANCES WITHIN THE REGRETZ COMPLEX
The Referential Aspect of Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz
Judging from its wide dissemination in contemporary sources, Plus nulz regretz
must have been regarded as one of Josquin’s most celebrated chansons in the first half of
the sixteenth century. It survives in 20 manuscripts, 3 printed sources, and 3
intabulations, an extensive transmission without parallel in Josquin’s secular oeuvre.1 Its
special status stands out in BrusBR 228, where it is featured as the only chanson with a
composer’s ascription attached in the otherwise anonymous collection.2 It is thus quite
surprising, as Fallows has previously commented, that despite its popularity, Plus nulz
regretz “did not infect others.”3
Indeed, neither chanson reworkings nor cantus firmus masses or motets openly
influenced by Plus nulz regretz are known to have been composed by contemporary
composers of Josquin or his posteriors. Yet my quest for threads of connections within
the regretz complex has brought to light several instances of correlations with Plus nulz
regretz, especially in La Rue’s regretz chansons. La Rue’s chanson Tous les regretz
demonstrates a remarkable network of interconnections with Plus nulz regretz that
1 For a complete list of sources, see The Josquin Edition, vol. 28, Critical Commentary, 343-347. For a modern edition, see Picker, The Chanson Albums, 280-84. 2 Remarked in Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 173. BrusBR 228 is the core musical source for Plus nulz regretz and also stands out as the only source to include the complete poem. In LonBLR A41-4 and FlorC 2442, it is prominently positioned in the opening folios (fol. 3v-4 and fol. 2v-4 respectively). The latter dates from ca. 1510 and it is most likely of French origin. If the dating is correct, this means that the popularity of Plus nulz regretz rose remarkably soon after its composition in early 1508. 3 The Josquin Companion, vo.28, Critical Commentary, 368.
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exceeds generic musical norms and shared musical features common in the style of
Josquin and La Rue, such as the frequent use of canonic writing and coordination of
music form with poetic structure.4 Contrary to the general pattern of influence between
the two composers pointed out by Meconi, which supports a high estimation of La Rue
for the work of Josquin,5 the interrelations between Plus nulz regretz and Tous les regretz
considered along the contextual facets of the chansons suggest a path of influence
originating from La Rue. Other regretz to be intertextually considered with Plus nulz
regretz include La Rue’s Secretz regretz, Josquin’s Regretz sans fin, and Prioris’s motet
chanson Dueil et ennuy / Quoniam tribulatio.
Discourses with La Rue’s Tous les regretz
Canonic writing of an overtly free but intrinsically idiosyncratic nature is actively
pursued in both Plus nulz regretz and Tous les regretz. Termed by Picker “a quasi-
canon,” confined mainly to the two lower voices, the canonic element in Plus nulz regretz
permeates all eight musical phrases (here a phrase equates to a verse setting) and
materializes in varying relationships of temporal and pitch intervals among the canonic
voices.6 As Reynolds stressed, it is more precise to think of multiple canons, each one –
4 For a discussion on similarities and differences between La Rue and Josquin, especially in regard to settings of shared texts, cantus firmi, and paths of modeling, see Meconi, La Rue, 172-83. See also, Walter H. Rubsamen, “Unifying Techniques in Selected Masses of Josquin and La Rue: A Stylistic Comparison,” in Josquin des Prez: Proceedings of the International Josquin Festival-Conference held at the Julliard School at Lincoln Center in New York City, 21-25 June 1971, eds. Edward E. Lowinsky and Bonnie J. Blackburn (London: Oxford University Press, 1976), 369-400. 5 See Meconi, La Rue, 169-72. 6 Picker, Chanson albums, 72. Picker’s analysis of Plus nulz regretz (pp. 72-73) is mostly focused on discussing its distinctively consistent melodic direction and its strong sense of harmonic progression that differs from La Rue’s motivic/harmonic organization (esp. when compared with that of Secretz regretz).
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and in certain verses a double canon – unfolding at the opening of a new phrase.7 Yet, the
scheme of canonic planning in Plus nulz regretz is anything but erratic. A symmetrical
organization governs the order of canons, described by Reynolds as “concentric.”8 Most
notably, the settings of the first and last couple of verses (1, 2, 7, 8) use double canons
and are realized at the interval of the fourth, while those of the 4th and 6th verses have
canons at two different pitch intervals. The structural hierarchy that governs the canonic
writing is also in correspondence with the concentric order of the rhyming pattern of the
text (a b a b, b c b c / 1st stanza . . . c b c b, b a b a / 3rd stanza).
The canonic element in La Rue’s Tous les regretz is realized independently within
individual phrases and with freedom in regard to the choice of voices involved, as in Plus
nulz regretz. Canonic instances differ in regard to their temporal span, a feature that is
also applied to Josquin’s chanson. Thus, in Tous les regretz the canon of the second verse
between the two lower voices lasts for 7 measures, while the opening canon expands over
4 measures. Similarly, Josquin designs the opening double canon to cover 7 measures, yet
the canonic opening in the two lower voices of the third phrase (beginning on m. 16)
employs a four-measure motive.
No apparent symmetrical design seems to rule the canonic writing in Tous les
regretz. Yet a certain degree of organization can be observed, one that mirrors, to an
7 “Musical Evidence of Compositional Planning in the Renaissance,” 56-57. 8 Reynolds argues that Josquin was conscious of reflecting the symmetrical rhyme and circular structure of the poem in the concentric structural order of cadences, canons, and motives. Thus a wider grid of musical elements, not only the canonic structure, is governed by a concentric symmetry. For instance, as Reynolds demonstrates, the motives in the first half of the chanson recur in reversed order in the second half (A B C C B A). Motivic mirroring is mostly realized by means of rhythmic variation and inversion of voices so that motives set in upper voices are later heard in the lower ones. A concentric organization applies to the poetic scheme too (A B A B A). See ibid., esp. 55-66.
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extent, the rondeau structure of the chanson. The opening phrases of the corresponding
sections (i.e. first and fourth) use canonic imitation at the octave between the superius
and the tenor. Not all five verses are set in canonic phrases; the concluding phrases of the
two sections of the rondeau, i.e. the third and the fifth, feature short imitative entrances,
each lasting for a couple of measures. In overall, the textural layout of both Josquin’s as
well as La Rue’s chansons can be viewed as a patchwork made up of multiple, mostly
free, canonic passages, some relatively developed and others obscure.
Apart from their noticeable textural intersection, the chansons share a remarkable
number of facets of musical alliance. Both chansons are written in the D-dorian mode, yet
their dorian modality is not clearly established until the end and modal ambiguity is
apparent. In Tous les regretz, all cadences but the final are on F and mostly on A.
Similarly, in Plus nulz regretz, several cadences occur on A. Due to the dense
contrapuntal weaving among voices, cadences, in both chansons, occur not only at the
closing of each verse but can be observed within duets in the middle of a verse setting.
Momentary cadences also occur a few measures before a strongly articulated cadence.
For instance, three measures before the medial cadence in Tous les regretz, an
inconclusive pause on A occurs between the cantus and tenor. Likewise, three measures
before the medial cadence on D in Plus nulz regretz, the cantus and tenor are led to a
transient cadence on A.
Several motivic interrelationships pervade the texture of the chansons. The
settings of their opening verses feature canonic writing: a double canon in Plus nulz
regretz divided among the upper and lower voices (see Ex. 4.1); a canonic interplay
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between cantus and tenor in Tous les regretz (see Ex. 3.12), momentarily disturbed by an
instance of minor paraphrasing (m. 9-10 in the tenor). Although not explicitly
comparable, the opening of the bassus motive in Plus nulz regretz bears some
resemblance with the incipit of Tous les regretz. The two motives feature the same pitch
classes (after the two semiminimas, pitch classes G and A are inversed), similar gestures
that also carry similar rhythmic values, and close with a downward movement (A to D in
Plus nulz regretz; G to C in Tous les regretz filled in with crotchets). Right after, the
second hemistichs are set, in both the two lower canonic voices of Plus nulz regretz and
in the cantus and tenor of Tous les regretz, on identical motives, the only divergence
being the rhythmic variation on the second and third reiteration of pitch class C.
Moreover, the statements of the shared motive in the two tenors are lined up in bringing
the opening phrases into a cadence (see m. 10-13 in Tous les regretz and m. 7-9 in Plus
nulz regretz).9
9 Observe that the superius on the penultimate measure of the cadence in both chansons shares the same cadential gesture.
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Ex. 4.1: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 1-10.
The affiliation between the tenors of the chansons is carried on in the settings of
the second verses. Again, no direct similarity is observed, but the tenor parts demonstrate
parallel melodic curves and rhythmic patters. In both chansons, the tenor is divided into
two melodic gestures matching with the hemistichs of the verse. The first gesture is set
syllabically, commences in the second half of a measure, and shows similar rhythmic
patterns and melodic contours in both chansons (rising/falling shape). The second
gesture, likewise syllabic and starting off in the second half of a measure, begins with a
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rising step (semitone in Plus nulz regretz vs. whole tone in Tous les regretz) and proceeds
to a gradual descent (sixth versus fourth). Most notable though, beyond the striking
resemblance of the tenor gestures, is the fact that the two lower parts engage in imitation,
demonstrating a scheme identical to the opening entries in the bassus parts, followed by
echoes in the tenor.10
The correspondence between the chansons of Josquin and La Rue is nowhere
more evident than in the settings of their third verses. Both settings are heavily imitative
with entries not only occurring in all four parts but also following an identical framework
of intervals (tenor enters a fifth above the bassus, contratenor at the octave, and superius a
fifth above). The opening motive D-F-F-E (and its transposition A-C-C-B), featured in
imitative entrances in Plus nulz regretz (see Ex. 4.2a), is openly echoed in the two upper
voices of Tous les regretz, and in paraphrase (D-D-C-F-E) in the two lower voices (see
Ex. 4.2b). Furthermore, the second hemistichs of the third verses make use of
paraphrased melodic cells of the core motive. Josquin also builds the setting of verse 4
(m. 22 onwards) on the core D-F-F-E motive and various melodic transformations of it.
10 The imitative entrance of the tenor in Plus nulz regretz is temporarily obscured in the first half of m.10 with pitch c instead of B.
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Ex. 4.2a: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 16-25.
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Ex. 4.2b: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 21-30.
Extensive dependence on the core motive occurs further on in Plus nulz rergetz
with a reworked version of it prominently featured in the fifth and sixth verses. The
transformed version of the motive (D-F-E-D) is predominant at the opening of the fifth
section following the signum, and later on at the opening of the sixth phrase on the setting
of the words “Batuz, pugniz” (see Ex. 4.3a for paraphrased instances of the core motive
in settings of the fifth and sixth verses). Looking for additional swaps of the transformed
motive, this time in Tous les regretz, I think that remnants of it can be observed in the
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section following the signum (see Ex. 4.3b). First the tenor and then the cantus, in
imitation, carry a gesture whose outline can be reduced to A-C-B-A (G).
Ex. 4.3a: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 31-45.
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Ex. 4.3a (cont.): Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 31-45.
Ex. 4.3b: La Rue, Tous les regretz, m. 31-40.
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Not only do the imitative and motivic frameworks of Plus nulz regretz and Tous
les regretz share a number of obvious correspondences but, even more so, contextual
facets seem to bring the chansons together in a kind of virtual discourse. First, it is worth
noting that they belong among a small number of chansons whose poetic texts are
securely attributed to venerable poets of the time – Lemaire and Saint-Gelais.11 Their
texts, one a definite rondeau, the other resembling to a certain extent the structure of a
rondeau,12 were written by the celebrated rhétoriqueurs for the purpose of specific courtly
occasions. In fact, their strikingly opposing narratives were prompted by occasions in
which Marguerite of Austria played a definite role and whose common core incident was
that of an engagement. As previously mentioned, Tous les regretz was written as a
farewell poem by Saint-Gelais to Marguerite on the event of her departure from the
French court after her broken engagement to Charles VIII.13 Plus nulz regretz, a political
poem commemorating the Treaty of Calais that sealed the alliance between England and
the Habsburg-Burgundian empire after the engagement of Archduke Charles and Mary
Tudor, was commissioned by Lemaire, official poet in the Burgundian court, which was
at the time under Marguerite’s regency.
11 Plus nulz regretz is attached to the end of Lemaire’s De la nouvelle aliance d’Angleterre. The complete poem survives only in one early poetic edition (La pompe funeralle des obseques du feu Roy dom Phelippes … par Jehan Lemaire Belgijen) printed on 15 February 1508, a period less than two months after its completion. The text of Tous les regretz, although ascribed to Henri Baude in Canti B, is now securely attributed to Saint-Gelais. For a list of poetic sources of the complete text, see Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 144. 12 Picker describes the poetic form as a “reduced rondeau lacking a refrain” (ABAAB) (Picker, Chanson albums, 72). 13 On the Complainte for Marguerite, part of which is Tous les regretz, see Mary Beth Winn, “Octavien de Saint-Gelais: Complainte sur le depart de Marguerite,” Le Moyen Français 5 (1979): 65-80; and her earlier study, “Regret Chansons for Marguerite d’ Autriche by Octavien de Saint-Gelais,” Bibliothèque d’humanisme et Renaissance: Travaux et documents 39 (1977): 23-32.
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Shared sources of transmission amplify the connections between Plus nulz regretz
and Tous les regretz. The shared transmission of the chansons in BrusBR 228 is overtly
highlighted by means of their positioning and the use of special scribal marks of
identification. If a reader of the chansonnier was meant to single out certain chansons on
the grounds of material insignia, both Tous les regretz and Plus nulz regretz would be
among those chansons to attract the eye. Tous les regretz is the opening chanson, and
according to Picker, it was originally the first piece of the opening gathering of the
manuscript, before the initial Marian motet, Ave sanctissima Maria, was added on a
separate leaf.14 Plus nulz regretz stands out as the only chanson with an authorial
ascription, with the name “JOSQUIN DES PRES” appearing on an illuminated
ornamental sort of rolling papyrus on the upper left corner of the folio.15 Furthermore, the
chansons share transmission in VienNB Mus. 18810 (ca. 1530) and in FlorC 2442 (ca.
1510), sources of correspondingly German and French origin.16
The evidence reviewed so far to suggest a close bond between the chansons is
overwhelming. Even though no distinct instances of exact quotation exist to securely
confirm a conscious influence, the extensive network of shared musical devices and
peripheral contexts of composition and transmission make it hard to escape the likely
conclusion of a La Rue-Josquin connection. If a line of influence had indeed occurred, it
must have originated from La Rue, for, based on the chronological evidence of sources
14 Picker, Chanson Albums, 3. 15 For a facsimile illustration, see ibid., pl.6. 16 For a dating/repertory of FlorC 2442, see NJE, vol. 28 commentary, 141; for studies on VienNB Mus. 18810, see ibid., 16.
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and the incidents that prompted the composition of the chansons, Plus nulz regretz was
composed fifteen years after Tous les regretz.
Why would Josquin resolve to make reference to La Rue? Did he intend to
compose his regretz as a hopeful response to La Rue’s regretz of suffering? In discussing
possible patterns of influence in the work of La Rue and Josquin, Meconi suggests a
“kind of one-sided competition, with La Rue in his own way trying to match or outdo
Josquin.”17 Under this light, a possible La Rue-to-Josquin path of reference is all the more
intriguing. For, in contrast to what seems to have been an established pattern, La Rue in
this specific case seems to have provided Josquin with a model for inspiration. Josquin,
having reached a high status by the early sixteenth century and having been granted the
Burgundian-controlled provostship of Condé (starting in 1504), was all too well aware
that he was commissioned by the Habsburg-Burgundian court to set Lemaire’s poem
specifically written for a political event of special importance. If Josquin was also aware
of La Rue’s special relationship with Marguerite through his employment at the court at
times she was also there (1493-1497, 1499-1501), and that La Rue had written more than
one piece intended for her, he might have considered it appropriate to showcase a certain
line of influence from Marguerite’s “favored” composer, or at least one that was
officially linked with the court. BrusBR 11239, the earliest surviving source of Tous les
regretz dating from ca. 1500 or slightly later, may have reached Marguerite’s hands as
17 Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 183. She discusses at length La Rue’s tendency to model some of his masses and motets on Josquin’s, and his choice to set religious texts and use cantus firmi also employed by Josquin (esp. 172-180). Studies on the stylistic differences/similarities between Josquin and La Rue are cited in Meconi, n. 14.
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early as 1504 or as late as 1506.18 Through Lemaire, with whom Josquin likely had
contact in 1505 when he set to music the poet’s Soubz ce tumbel written on the death of
Marguerite’s pet parrot, the composer may have come to know more on La Rue’s output
and connection with the court, or even somehow got to know Tous les regretz. In that
case, he would have hardly missed the intriguing pun of antithesis between the two
incipits (“Tous les regretz” vs. “Plus nulz regretz” [“All sorrows” vs. “No more
sorrows”]), an interplay that may have propelled Josquin to deliberately cultivate a
musical connection with La Rue.
Ties with Secretz regretz
As mentioned above, the two lower voices of Plus nulz regretz are closely related
by means of idiosyncratic canonic writing, exercised with freedom in changing temporal
and pitch intervals and also obscured by momentary paraphrasing of motives. Similarly to
Josquin’s chanson, the two lower voices of another regretz chanson by La Rue, his
Secretz Regretz,19 are also bound in canonic relationship that is likewise inconsistent in its
18 BrusBR 11239 is problematic regarding its ownership and exact dating. See the relevant discussion in Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 135-7. 19 The piece survives in 3 sources: BrusBR 228, MunU 328-331 (dated from 1527 or before), and VienNB Mus. 18810 (ca. 1533). (The two latter sources provide the alternative title Carmen.) Only Vienna 18810, a not consistently reliable manuscript, contains an attribution. It is easy to argue on a secure attribution to La Rue, as his stylistic fingerprints pervade the chanson. For a detailed stylistic description of Secretz regretz, see Meconi, “Style and Authenticity,” 90-91. The text of the chanson, as Picker first suggested, may have been written by Marguerite. See Picker, “Three Unidentified Chansons by Pierre de la Rue in the Album de Marguerite d’Autriche,” Musical Quarterly 46 (1960): 329-43, at 334. For an edition, see Picker, Chanson albums, 192-94.
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temporal alignment and momentarily breaking free, mostly in cadential closures at the
end of phrases.20
Ex. 4.4: La Rue, Secretz regretz, m. 1-6.
Secretz regretz shares a couple of parallel motives with Plus nulz regretz. The
bassus parts of both chansons, later in imitation with the tenor, open at the fifth above the
finalis with a gesture that is rhythmically identical (for a duration of 3 semibreves) and
progresses on the same scale degrees (see Ex. 4.4 and Ex. 4.1).21 The stepwise falling
gesture on the words “Par grief tournens” (opening of the second phrase of Secretz
regretz in the bassus and imitated by the tenor in a ladder scheme; see Ex. 4.5a) is echoed
in inverted form (ascending direction) later on in the piece on the words “Par le secours”
20 Yet the canon in Secretz Regretz is consistent in its pitch interval (fifth). 21 The opening motive of Secretz regretz bears an inconspicuous resemblance with the opening motive of Agricola’s Revenez tous, regretz / Quis det ut veniat (see especially the first couple of tempora of the motive that are rhythmically identical, using the pattern of a dotted semibrevis–2 semiminimas–2 minimas). Both chansons feature imitative entrances on the shared motive in an ascending order of presentation from the lower to the upper voices. Further echoes of the motive occur in m. 16-18 of Revenez tous, regretz. They are both hosted in the opening gathering of BrusBR 228 (Secretz in fol. 6v-7; Revenez in fol. 19v-20).
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(Ex. 4.5b). 22 The second statement of the gesture does not begin on the same pitch class
as the first; however, both the intervallic order and the temporal distance between the
bassus-tenor imitation is duplicated (both statements begin with a semistep; the tenor
takes over in the last tactus over the bassus). In Plus nulz regretz, the gesture in its
ascending version and with the exact same rhythmic values (3 semibreves–1 brevis
starting on the second half of the measure) can be seen in the opening of verse 7, first in
the bassus and followed in a ladder-scheme and exact temporal distance in the tenor (m.
53-57; see Ex. 4.5c). The verse initiated by the inverted form of the gesture in Plus nulz
regretz can be seen as engaging in both semantic and musical counterpoint with the
original descending statement in La Rue’s chanson. Syllabically emphasized by the
ascending statement of the shared gesture, the opening expression “Mais maintenant” sets
about to profess the arrival of “espoir” with which “sommes garniz” (“we are adorned”),
that in itself an ‘inverted’ sentiment compared to the “grief tourmens” of Secretz Regretz
and introduced by means of a melodic descent in an explicit stroke of word painting.
Ex. 4.5a: La Rue, Secretz regretz, tenor and bassus, m. 7-18.
22 La Rue’s choice to set the openings of the second and fifth verses with the same gesture corresponds to both their common rhyme and shared opening word (“par”).
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Ex. 4.5b: La Rue, Secretz regretz, m. 37-42.
Ex. 4.5c: Josquin, Plus nulz regretz, m. 51-61.
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It is worth mentioning that, following the descending and ascending fourth
motives, the bassus parts (second hemistichs of the second and seventh verses in La Rue
and Josquin’s chansons respectively) are set on a gesture composed of a rising fourth and
a stepwise descent of a seventh or octave (the gesture is more melismatic and twisted in
La Rue). Lastly, a similar, gradually falling octave repeated twice in both the bassus and
the tenor brings Plus nulz regretz to a closure (m. 63-73).
Further Subtle Connections
Inconspicuous instances of motivic correspondence can be observed between Plus
nulz regretz and Josquin’s utterly doleful Regretz sans fin.23 The latter commences with a
dragging and somber polyphonic opening, progressing within three measures from a
dorian opening to a rest on E (see Ex. 3.7 in Chapter 3). The duet of the two lower parts,
built on a D-D-F-E motive in the bassus and duplicated in the tenor a fifth above (A-A-C-
B), is next imitated by the two upper parts. The rhythmic profile of the motive undergoes
minor transformations in each statement, caused by the interchanging of semibrevis and
brevis values. A motive of identical pitch classes animated by imitative entrances at the
fifth and the octave is employed at the setting of the third verse of Plus nulz regretz (see
discussion on p. 140; refer to Ex. 4.2). It is here rhythmically consistent (solely built on
semibreves) and of a somewhat varied order of pitches (the second instead of the first
pitch is repeated).
23 These are the only regretz chansons of Josquin that set a text of eight verses (all other regretz poems have a single stanza of a quatrain or cinquain rhyme).
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The distinctive gesture comprising a rising fourth and a falling seventh featured in
the two lower parts of the seventh verse of Plus nulz regretz (Ex. 4.5c), additional
migrations of which are heard in the two regretz of La Rue previously discussed, is also
cited in Regretz sans fin (see tenor in setting of fourth verse in Ex. 4.6). In fact, the two
tenors are even more explicitly interrelated by the use of identical pitches. The musical
bond of the tenors is all the more compelling after a parallel reading of the texts which
reveals that the abundant “espoir” of Plus nulz regretz (“d’espoir sommes garniz”) is
arranged in a virtual clash with the profoundly inconsolable longing for death declared in
Regretz sans fin (“Mieulx me vouldroit de brief finer ma vie”).24
Ex. 4.6: Josquin, Regretz sans fin, m. 32-38.
Both of the motives shared by Regretz sans fin and Plus nulz regretz are also
fleetingly present in Johannes Prioris’s Dueil et ennuy / Quoniam tribulatio,25 a motet-
chanson not immediately recognized as a regretz – the “regretz” are only mentioned near 24 Translated as “It would be better to end my life quickly.” The bassus line carrying this particular text (m. 32-39), composed of a triple reiteration of pitch class G and a leap of a fourth to C, followed by a repetition of the four-note motive a step above (A A A D) and concluding with a gradually falling fifth, is reminiscent of a recurrent gesture heard in the third and fourth verses of Cent mille regretz (see esp. tenor m. 25-28 and m. 40-43; bassus 42-45 and elsewhere). 25 Apart from BrusBR 228 (fol. 22v-23), only one concordance of the chanson is found (FlorC 2439, fol. 32v-33). The tenor carries the text and melody of the plainchant responsory verse Quoniam tribulatio, whose message (“For trouble is near and there is none to help”) underlines the sorrowful narrative of the rondeau text. For a stylistic description, see Richard Mark Wexler, “The complete works of Johannes Prioris” (PhD diss., New York University, 1974), 265-7. The musical examples refer to the edition of Dueil et ennuy in Picker, Chanson albums, 253-57.
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the end of the first verse and in singular form.26 Yet the narrative conveys a number of
literary stereotypes detected in regretz texts, such as the association of the “regretz” with
dueil and paine, causing the affected narrator to “me plains et tourmente” (“cry and
torture myself”) and ultimately summon him to death (“qui ma vie a fin maine”). The
chanson’s plaintive opening (see Ex. 4.7) sets out a D-F-F-E incipit that is reminiscent in
its syllabic setting and rhythmic pattern of the D-F-F-E motive of Plus nulz regretz and
Regretz sans fin. The contratenor opening echoes the opening measures of the contratenor
in Regretz sans fin (refer to Ex. 2.7). In fact, additional statements bearing a similar
opening with the contratenor and heard later in Regretz sans fin (see bassus and quintus
on the words “Qu’ainsi sans cesse”), feature an even closer affinity with the contratenor
opening of Prioris’s chanson.
Ex. 4.7: Prioris, Dueil et ennuy, m. 1-5.
Secondly, a rising fourth and descending stepwise seventh gesture of similar rhythmic
opening as in Plus nulz regretz (bassus m. 56-59 in Ex. 4.5c, see esp. the common
26 “Dueil et ennuy soucy regret et paine,” translated as “Mourning and grief, worry, sorrow and pain.”
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semibrevis–dotted minima–semiminima pattern) is featured in the cantus of Dueil et
ennuy (m. 8-11 in Ex. 4.8).
Ex. 4.8: Prioris, Dueil et ennuy, m. 8-11.
Josquin’s Regretz à 5
Examination of parallel compositional threads between Parfons regretz and
Plusieurs regretz, the only regretz chansons of Josquin for five voices, reveals several
shared attributes that suggest, if not explicit associations, at least Josquin’s conscious
recognition of regretz as a literary topos and a compositional complex. As mentioned in
Chapter 3 (see n. 32), the two chansons share a number of broader characteristics; apart
from being composed for the same number of parts, they are both settings of a single
stanza rondeau cinquain, are written in the Dorian mode, and develop in a A A B B C
form in response to the rhyming pattern of their texts (a a b b a). The shared earliest
transmission of the chansons in VienNB Mus. 18746, a source that was compiled in 1523,
a few years after Josquin’s death, may serve as an additional sign of connection.27
27 VienNB Mus. 18746 is counted among three major chansonniers coming from the Habsburg-Burgundian court scriptorium (the other two are FlorC 2439 and BrusBR 228). It is a set of partbooks of five-voice works owned by and most likely compiled for the music collector Raimund Fugger the Elder of Augsburg. It contains not only a substantial number of regretz chansons, but hosts a series of regretz in the opening folios, like BrusBR 11239. The first four are Cent mille regretz, Plusieurs regretz, Dueil et ennuy (attributed to la Rue), and Je n’ay regretz (which is a unicum). J’ay ung regretz and Parfons regretz are featured in neighboring folios (separated by Josquin’s Plaine de dueil).
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Comparing the proportional measurements and durations of longer musical
phrases that correspond to settings of individual verses, I have observed that these are
relatively equivalent (see table below). Parfons regretz appears somewhat longer than
Plusieurs regretz (67 versus 60 measures), but fluctuations of duration among phrases are
to some extent compensated; for instance, the middle phrases (2, 3, 4) are slightly shorter
in Parfons, but the first and last phrases last longer. Segments of equal duration within
the chansons reflect phrases of exact repetition. The settings of the third and subsequently
the fourth verses are shorter than those of the first and second, while the last parts
(settings of the fifth verse) are significantly longer in both chansons.
As seen in the table, the formal planning is particularly consistent in the case of
Plusieurs regretz; the settings of verses 2 and 4 are designed note for note on those of
verses 1 and 3, and the last verse clearly breaks into two equal shorter sections (the
second being a direct repetition of the first). Parfons regretz, on the other hand, breaks
free from the strict formal squareness of Plusieurs. Contrapuntal interlocking within the
polyphonic texture near the closing of phrases leads to cadences, usually between two of
the voices, the rest prolonged into the opening measures of a new phrase or ended earlier.
Thus, the sense of synchronized closure is obscured in Parfons regretz. Symmetrical
durations of the sort clearly featured in Plusieurs are also tweaked in Parfons. The second
verse, for instance, repeats only a part of the setting of the first verse (10 vs. 18
measures). Inner repetitions in the last, longest part of the chanson are not as clearly
delineated, and, for the most part, not as apparent as in Plusieurs. The segmentation of
the setting of verse 5, which I have suggested to be 8+8+3+3+2, follows the phrasing of
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the bassus (and partially that of the tenor and the quintus); the second round of 8
measures echoes the melodic phrase of the first, now a fifth lower.
v.1 v.2 v.3 v.4 v.5
Parfons regretz 18 10 8 8 23 (8+8+3+3+2) 67
Plusieurs regretz 12 12 9 9 18
(8+8+2)
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Table 4.1: Number of measures per verse setting in Parfons regretz and Plusieurs regretz. (Total number of measures in last column to the right.)
Several other traits related to the musical vocabulary (motives) and syntax (order
and assignment of imitative entrances) are particularly suggestive of Josquin’s intention
to create an alliance of some sort among his five-voice regretz chansons. The incipits of
both chansons open with a rising fifth (stepwise in Plusieurs, leap in Parfons) and
imitative entrances in most of their opening voices (refer to Ex. 3.1 and Ex. 3.5 in
Chapter 3). Those parts that open independently of the imitative counterpoint – mostly
the contratenors – feature a countermotive of similar melodic direction, that is, a gradual
descending fourth starting from the pitch class of the finalis. Beyond instances of loose
motivic association, the opening measures in both chansons showcase a similar
polyphonic scheme: contrapuntal interplay between two voices for m. 1-2, additional
voice(s) entering in m. 3, and the quintus as the last voice to sing in canon with one of the
lower voices. With respect to the treatment of the text of the first verse, the two regretz
chansons display schemes of reversed order. Plusieurs regretz opens with a threefold
repetition of the first hemistich and a single statement of the second hemistich; Parfons
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takes up the two hemistichs in a retrograde motion of the “three to one” repetition,
opening with a single statement of the first hemistich and a threefold repetition of the
second.
The setting of the third verse in Plusieurs regretz is headed by a four-note
palindromic motive (A B B A) whose echoes animate not only the first hemistich but also
part of the second (see Ex. 4.9a; see also the inversion of the motive in the tenor and
quintus on the words “envers ceulx que”). A parallel motive is heard at the same
structural moment in Parfons regretz (see Ex. 4.9b), though now featuring a semitone
interval (A Bflat Bflat A), a matching intervallic mirror of which can be seen in the
canonic voices of Plusieurs (m. 24-26 and m. 26-28).
Ex. 4.9a: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 24-30.
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Ex. 4.9b: Josquin, Parfons regretz, m. 28-30.
In Chapter 3 I noted the prominence of a rising (half) step and gradually falling
sixth motive of a consistent rhythmic pattern (named sigh gesture) within the regretz of
Josquin and also several others of La Rue and Gombert. Parfons regretz, as previously
noticed (Chapter 3, pp. 93-95; see Ex. 3.2b), engages, during its concluding section, in a
stream of multiple statements of the gesture, in what sounds as an exuberant contrapuntal
weave of lamenting calls that embody the liquefied imagery of the text – “et larmes il se
noye” (translated as “and in tears it may drown”).
Compared with such a profusion of statements, the presentation of the sigh
gesture in Plusieurs regretz appears rather sparse. A single statement is featured first by
the tenor (m. 46-49 in Ex. 4.10), imitated by the canonic quintus, and echoed thereafter at
the repetition of the concluding section of the chanson. While there is no doubt that in
Parfons regretz Josquin brings the gesture to prominence by means of its profuse
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repetitions, its stature in the last section of Plusieurs regretz is revealed discreetly; yet it
is emphasized at a key structural moment, the final cadence, as it leads the tenor to a
closure. A last piece of evidence of Josquin’s intention to emphasize the sigh gesture is
noticed in the prolonged closing of Plusieurs regretz; a final echo of the gesture in the
quintus (partially duplicated in the bassus) is sung above a series of triplets in the
contratenor and long drones in the superius and tenor, which in turn accentuate the
melodic and rhythmic prominence of the gesture.
Ex. 4.10: Josquin, Plusieurs regretz, m. 46-60.
S Q
C
T
B
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Graftings and Echoes between La Rue’s Dueil et ennuy and Tous les regretz
Signs of intertextual linkage between Tous les regretz and Dueil et ennuy28 are
observed in their opening melodic motives which reveal comparable melodic contours
and similar rhythmic activity. Observing the melodic progression of the superius for
instance (see opening of Dueil et ennuy in Ex. 4.11 and Tous les regretz in Ex. 3.12), both
settings begin on A tracking a stepwise descent of a sixth and a fifth respectively. In
similar fashion, the rhythms proceed during the course of the incipit from longer to
shorter values (minimas and semiminimas are commonly used in the descending gesture).
The second hemistich is reached by a leap (octave versus sixth), subsequently progressing
to a gradual descent.
28Although transmitted anonymously (BrusBR 228 and VienNB Mus. 18746), Dueil et ennuy is widely attributed to La Rue. For a list of studies assigning attribution to La Rue, see Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 327, n. 46. For an edition of the chanson, see Picker, Chanson albums, 195-99. I have observed that Dueil et ennuy bears inconspicuous similarities with Josquin’s Plusieurs regretz. The chansons share a number of broader characteristics such as a layout of five parts, a canonic structure with the fifth voice entering ad longum at the fifth, a D-Dorian modality, and a 5-line single stanza. Their incipits display a mirror-relationship (Dueil tracks a falling fifth from A to D and Plusieurs follows an opposite direction from D to A). An ascending octave is also variously featured during the settings of their first verses.
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Ex. 4.11: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 1-10.
The characteristic octave leap in the two higher voices of Tous les regretz that
bridges the two hemistichs may not match intervalically with the leap at the
corresponding point in Dueil et ennuy; however, during the repetition of the complete
opening superius line, an octave instead of a sixth is used (m. 7). It is particularly telling
that the repetition of the line in Dueil, transcribed a whole step lower, is copied note-for-
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note, apart from the point of caesura in the middle of the verse. The repetition of the
complete opening line in only a single voice is also not particularly typical of La Rue.
The polyphonic texture during the course of the opening verse is rather sparse, with the
first complete phrase of the superius conveyed into a duet with the altus. Similarly thin is
the presentation of the incipit motive in the tenor, whose imitative entry occurs relatively
late (m. 7), contrapuntally supported by the superius. I wonder whether the repetition of
the complete verse in the superius was used as a conduit for restoring the intervallic
character at the caesura of the verse and thus emphasizing, by means of the change, the
permanence of the octave. If that is a plausible hypothesis, then the intertextual link
between the opening motives of Tous les regretz and Dueil et ennuy is all the more
strengthened.
Considering the parallel opening motives as a point of departure for further
scrutiny of the possible links between the two La Rue chansons, a few macroscopic traits
can be noted. Both chansons are written in the dorian mode with a finalis on D. Setting
five-line stanzas, they feature comparable lengths (50 vs. 54 breves) and also closely
equivalent lengths of individual verse settings (for instance, the last phrase measures 14
breves in Dueil et ennuy and 15 in Tous les regretz; the first phrase measures 12 1/2 vs.
13 breves correspondingly). Although only Dueil et ennuy is built on a canon, both pieces
exhibit imitative activity between duets of adjacent voices.
Instances of motivic resemblance between the two chansons of La Rue are not
only apparent in their opening parts. The third and fifth verses of Tous les regretz and
Dueil et ennuy respectively – parts of structural correspondence as both lead to the
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closure of a section (end of first rondeau section / end of chanson) – reveal the
prominence of a common motive (A C C B). First attached to the four syllables of the
first half of the verse (“Pour abregier” / “Car en mon cas”), this motive occurs variedly
both in its original rhythmic values (semibrevis [Tous]/minima [Dueil]–2 minimas–
semibrevis) and also disguised in subtle rhythmic and melodic paraphrases within the
texture of the related parts (see the segment of Tous les regretz in Ex. 4.2b; see Ex. 4.12
below for the related section in Dueil et ennuy).
Ex. 4.12: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 36-40.
Nevertheless, the most signifying moment, both musically and textually, in Dueil
et ennuy occurs in the setting of its third verse. The verse opens with the words “Tous les
regretz,” openly alluding to La Rue’s earlier chanson of the same incipit. In addition, the
arrival of “Tous les regretz” is strikingly emphasized by a synchronized syllabic
exclamation on a series of repetitive pitches set on minimas that form major triads and
harmonically progress from the fifth to the finalis (see Ex. 4.13). Since apart from this
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single instance of syllabic writing Dueil et ennuy is entirely contrapuntal, I tend to believe
that La Rue intended, by means of the change in texture, to call attention to the text and
make the polyphonic exclamation serve as a musical signifier of its allusion.
Ex. 4.13: La Rue, Dueil et ennuy, m. 21-25.
If the few instances of motivic intersection discussed above hinted to a possible
link between Tous les regretz and Dueil et ennuy, the grafting of the expression “Tous les
regretz” in the latter chanson serves to confirm it.29 Both chansons are found in BrusBR
228, Tous les regretz (no. 2) positioned as the opening chanson of the manuscript after a
dedicatory motet to Virgin Mary and Dueil et ennuy (no. 6) featured shortly after and
preceded by another regretz of La Rue (Secretz regretz). For contemporary readers of the
29 The canonic voices of Dueil et ennuy, quite unusually, omit the second hemistich, an additional sign of La Rue’s intention to primarily highlight the first hemistich (“Tous les regretz”).
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chansonnier,30 the “nested” textual allusion within Dueil would surely bring to mind Tous
les regretz, a chanson elevated by means of its position in the manuscript and its
adornment with illuminated borders and capital letters standing for the naming of parts,
all adorned with daisies and pearls – both “marguerites” in French – obviously in honor
of its owner, Marguerite. The textual grafting could have served, from La Rue’s part, as a
smart act of self-promotion through self-reference within a prestigious volume of secular
works by several of his contemporary colleagues, which undoubtedly paid homage to his
oeuvre, as its opening section spans from the secular works of his early maturity (1490s)
to those of the early 1500s.31 From that point, I imagine that it would have been a small
step for the reader of the manuscript to conform to the call of Dueil et ennuy by turning
over to its opening pages, reading up on Tous les regretz, and possibly acknowledging a
line of shared tradition embodied in the common regretz topos as it is conveyed in the
two chansons.
30 The manuscript must have been accessible mainly to Marguerite and her immediate court circle (including musicians of her chapel). In general, chansonniers served not as tools for direct performance but mostly as political gifts or reference points from which performers memorized chansons. They were particularly private, intended for the personal library collections of people who commissioned them or to whom there were offered. For a discussion of the possible uses of the manuscripts originated from the Alamire scriptorium, see Meconi, “The function of the Habsburg-Burgundian Court Manuscripts,” in The Burgundian-Habsburg Court Complex of Music Manuscripts (1500-1535) and the Workshop of Petrus Alamire, eds. B. Bouckaert & E. Schreurs (Leuven-Neerpelt: Alamire Foundation, 2003), 117-24. 31 BrusBR 228 contains 15 chansons attributed to La Rue in concordant sources, this figure making him the most extensively represented composer (composers next represented in rate of frequency include Agricola and Compère with four chansons each). According to Meconi, the manuscript was compiled before March 1516 (see “Style and Authenticity,” 7-10), the time of La Rue’s resigning from his post as singer of the chapel (he must have left the court by late May at the latest; see Meconi, Pierre de la Rue, 43-44). Is there a possibility that La Rue was involved in the preparation of the manuscript? Most likely Alamire’s scriptorium was made up of members of the court personnel. The possibility that they were chapel musicians is even higher (see Herbert Kellman, “Openings: The Alamire Manuscripts after Five Hundred Years,” in The Burgundian-Habsburg Court Complex, 13). Since La Rue resided at the court at the time Alamire and his scribes were working on the chansonnier, I assume it is likely, especially due to his extensive representation, that he was somehow involved.
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Marguerite of Austria and More Musical Threads
Marguerite’s unfortunate departure from the French court in May 1493 due to her
broken betrothal with Charles VIII, the first stroke of unhappiness in her long line of
future misfortunes, must have provided the ground for a farewell ritual suitable to her
status as a royal person and a symbol of pacification between the French and the
Netherlandish courts. The composition of a complainte by the court poet Saint-Gelais on
the eve of her departure as a sign of farewell is suggestive of the importance of the event
– dressed with not only political formality but also with some degree of cultural
splendor.32 The rondeau cinquain Le cueur la suyt was one of the three rondeaux written
for the occasion by Saint-Gelais and allegedly sung, according to his allegorical poem in
which it was hosted, by Beaulté “en triste voix et lamentable.”33 Marguerite’s presence in
Le cueur la suyt is all too apparent. She is “celle qui est des parfaictes la fleur,” a direct
allusion to the floral connotations of her name, whom Fortune has taken away from the
lamenting poet – who in his turn declares that “the lady’s ‘valeur’ will never be forgotten
and that his heart will follow her as she departs.”34
32 For the particulars of the treaty indicating with absolute detail the way Marguerite was to be handed in, see Picker, “More ‘regret’ chansons,” 81. 33 Ibid., 84. In the lengthy allegorical poem titled “La nuict après que la claire bussine,” Saint-Gelais expresses his “regretz et plaintz” at Marguerite’s departure. Three sorrowing ladies (Noblesse, Beaulté, and Prudence) supposedly visit the poet in a dream and each sings a “chanson piteuse” in the form of a rondeau (Tous nobles cueurs, Le cueur la suyt, Tous les regretz). For a discussion of Saint-Gelais’s complainte, see Winn, “Octavien de Saint-Gelais: Complainte.” Winn was first to discuss the rondeaux interpolated into the allegorical poem, their regretz dimension, and association with Marguerite in “Regret Chansons.” 34 Mary Beth Winn, “Le cueur la suyt. Chanson on a Text for Marguerite d’Austriche. Another Trace in the Life of Johannes Ghiselin-Verbonnet,” Musica Disciplina 32 (1978): 69-72, esp. 70. The complete rondeau text survives anonymously in several literary manuscripts (see Winn, ibid, 69) and in two manuscript collections with Saint-Gelais’s work. For a transcription of the text, see ibid., 72.
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A single musical setting of Le cueur la suyt composed by the Flemish composer
Johannes Ghiselin (fl 1491-1507)35 demonstrates a series of intertextual threads with
Pour ung jamais, a regretz chanson by La Rue whose text is not merely associated with
Marguerite, but, most intriguingly, penned by her.36 Even though no extensive reference
occurs between the texts of the chansons, the sorrowful context of the regretz theme
triggered by an abandonment of some sort and conveyed by grievous expressions of
ultimate languish are unmistakably present. The poems intersect in the first hemistichs of
their third stanzas, where “Fortune” is mutually summoned. Apart from this intriguing
moment of convergence, which is, furthermore, musically bridged by a shared motive
(see below), the texts are profusely replete with a vocabulary evocative of languish
(indicated by underlined words in poems below).
35 Contemporary records indicate that Ghiselin was active in Ferrara and Florence in the early 1490s. As of 1501, he was employed by the French court (Louis XII). His affiliation with the French court may have started quite earlier, since Crétin cites his name (Verbonnet) along with other French court musicians in his Déploration on the death of Ockeghem (1495). For his biography, see Clytus Gottwald, “Ghiselin, Johannes,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (2001), 9: 813-14. 36 In arguing about Marguerite’s authorship, Picker brings evidence related to a literary source of her private library, Livre des Ballades (Brussels, Bibl. Roy. MS 15072), which hosts the poem (without its middle stanza and with slight variants) entitled as Chanson faite par semadams. See Picker, “Three unidentified chansons,” 331. A four-voice setting of the poem (essentially a reworking of La Rue’s with an added voice below the superius) appears in Regensburg cod. C. 120 (“Pernner Codex”) under the suggestive title Fraw Margretsen Lied (ibid., 331).
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Le cueur la suyt et mon oeil la regrete Mon corps la plainct mon esperit la guecte Celle qui est des parfaictes la fleur dont à jamais j’ay ordonné ung pleur perpetuel en pensée segrecte Tous en font dueil et chascun la soubhaicte Plusieurs en ont dure complaincte faicte Car elle avoit gaigné de meintz seigneur Fortune l’a de noz veues fortraicte Non sans regret pour sa beaulté parfaicte; Mais de deux biens prandre fault le meilleur Sy ne sera en obly sa valeur En quelque part qu’elle aille ou qu’on la mecte37
Pour ung jamais ung regret me demeure Qui san cesser nuyt et jour à toute heure Tant me tourmente que bien vouldroy morir Car ma vie est fors seulement languir Parquoy fauldra en la fin que je meure D’en eschapper l’atente n’est pas sceure, Car mon las cueur en tristesse labeure Tant que ne puis celle douleur souffrir Et sy m’est force devant gens me couvrir Parquoy fauldra en la fin que je meure De mes fortunes pensoie estre au deseure, Quant ce regret mauldit ou je demeure Me couru sus pour me faire morir. Delaissee fuz, seule, sans nul plaisir, Parquoy fauldra a la fin que je meure38
Yet the regretz do not visibly appear in the incipit, as in most regretz chansons,
but later. It is suggestive that not only are they mentioned twice in each chanson, but are
also positioned in parallel textual positions (second hemistich of opening line and first
hemistich of second line in third stanza).39 Such a textual correspondence seems too
structured to have occurred by coincidence. In fact, it makes me wonder whether there
37 “My heart follows her and my eyes lament her || My body cries for her and my spirit guards her || She who is the most perfect of flowers || Of whom forever I have ordered a a perpetual crying in secret thought. || Everyone is in mourning || and each and everyone claims her ||Several harsh laments have been made || For she had gained the lord’s hand. || Fortune weakens from our sight || Not without sorrow for her perfect beauty || But of two goods one must choose the best || Her value will not be forgotten ||Wherever she goes or she is placed.” 38 “One sorrow forever stays with me || Which, without ceasing, night and day, at every hour || Torments me so much that I would gladly die || Because my life is nothing but a languishing || With the result that in the end I must die. || To escape the waiting isn’t certain || Because my weary heart labors so much in sadness || That I can not endure such grief || And so I have to hide myself from people || With the result… || Of my fate I thought myself to be in control || Then this cursed sorrow when I dwell || Overtook me to make me die || I was abandoned, alone, without any diversion || With the result…” Translated in Meconi, “Style and Authenticity,” 236. 39 Besides, the regretz are only called on in the singular (see also the verb form regrete), an irregularity to their prevailing appearance in plural form.
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may have existed a line of direct intersection between the texts of the chansons beyond
the suggestion that they share in a common regretz literary tradition.
Could Marguerite have written Pour ung jamais following the model of the
regretz poem Saint-Gelais composed for her? Marvin has suggested that Marguerite
brought Saint-Gelais’s Complainte with her to the Netherlands court upon her departure.40
Saint-Gelais may have presented the manuscript of the Complainte to Marguerite as a
material gift of adieu to complement his literary creation in her honor. Taking into
account that the Complainte is the earliest documented regretz written for Marguerite and
assuming that she owned a manuscript of it, we may speculate that she may have turned
to Saint-Gelais’s poem as a source of inspiration when recounting her own misfortunes à
la regretz in Pour ung jamais. Moreover, Le cueur la suyt seems a more plausible
inspiration than the other two rondeaux since it is this chanson that most directly alludes
to Marguerite’s presence (see the floral association noted earlier). Considering also that
the regretz are structurally aligned within the poems, we may further speculate about
Marguerite’s intention to showcase her dependence on the Complainte by treating the
signifiers-regretz as explicit markers.
If the textual associations shared between Pour ung jamais and Le cueur la suyt,
mostly contextual rather than motivic, suggest a deliberate relationship of some sort, their
musical interrelationships present an additional dimension to their common intertextual
grid.41 Here again, the chansons are mostly related in the intersection of their broader
40 Winn, “Le cueur la suyt,” 70. 41 I’ve also observed that Le cueur la suyt shares weaker intertextual connections with Compère’s Sourdez regretz and Richafort’s Sur tous regretz. The second phrase of Le coeur opens in the superius with an
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elements of musical structure than by means of shorter building materials (motives,
gestures). Written for three voices, their textures are surprisingly comparable in featuring
a nearly canonic relationship – more in Pour ung jamais than in Le cueur la suyt –
between the superius and tenor, above a lively bassus of instrumental character. The tight
imitation between the upper voices commonly occurs at the interval of fifth and is
realized with freedom in changing temporal intervals and order of entries. The length of
the chansons is remarkably similar too; Ghiselin’s setting lasts for 55 breves versus 56
breves of La Rue’s.
Judging from their readings in the surviving musical sources, neither of the
chansons suggests the employment of a forme fixe. Le cueur la suyt is transmitted without
additional text apart from a single 5-line stanza and without a signum to mark a rondeau
division. Yet, Picker argues that, taking into consideration that Saint-Gelais’s text is a
rondeau and also that a medial cadence is possible to occur at the closing of the third
verse with the addition of a fermata, the possibility that Ghiselin composed his setting
with the intention to be performed as a rondeau grows more likely.42 La Rue, on the other
arpeggiated gesture from D to A, set on longer rhythmic values and followed by a melismatic gesture that rises to B flat and gradually falls to D. The opening phrase of Sourdez tracks a similar melodic progression. The tenor, in both chansons, enters, in imitation of the arpeggiated figure, a fifth below the superius. They are both three-voice rondeaux and of G-Dorian modality (no additional stanzas survive in their musical manuscripts – in fact, the additional strophes attached to Sourdez in BrusBR 228 belong to Les grans regretz). Their shared transmission in FlorC 2442 as well as their possible common origin by composers active in the locale of the French court during the 1480s are indicators of a potential thread of influence, all the more so since the texts of the chansons intersect in their shared lamenting theme over the parting of a lady. The thread between Le cueur la suyt and Sur tous regretz concerns a passing motivic resemblance: the gesture set on the words “mon esprit” (m. 15-17) in the superius of Le cueur la suyt echoes that on “les miens plus piteulx” (m. 8-9) in the superius of Sur tous regretz. The gestures open with the same pitches and carry a similar rhythmic pattern. (Further paraphrased echoes in Sur tous regretz occur in the superius in m. 13-14 and 18-19, and also in the bassus and tenor.) Lastly all three chansons are also strikingly related in the level of their texts (see discussion in the last section of Chapter 5). 42 Picker, “More ‘regret’ chansons,” 84.
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hand, demonstrates a more progressive formal choice, by setting Marguerite’s text in a
strophic form. Yet, the text itself, composed with a refrain verse at the closing line of
each of the three five-line stanzas, is in some way reminiscent of the shared refrain line of
the ballade.43
Both chansons are written in the Dorian mode with a finalis on G (Ghiselin) or A
(La Rue). Certain shared cadential tendencies are also observed. For instance, only the
first cadence occurs at the finalis. Examination of the second cadences opens the ground
for discussion about possible adjustments in the aligning of text in Pour ung jamais,
which, when applied reveal parallel cadential patterns with Le cueur la suyt. According to
Picker’s transcription of Ghiselin’s chanson,44 the cadence at the end of the second verse
falls on B flat, that is, the third scale degree of the G-Dorian (Ex. 4.14b, m. 22). In La
Rue’s setting, according to the transcription made by Picker after BrusBR 228, the second
cadence occurs in m. 24-25 (Ex. 4.14a) on pitch class G (seventh scale degree).45 Yet the
double-leading cadence that occurs a couple of measures ahead on pitch class C (m. 27-
28) sounds more definite for the closing of the second verse. In addition, the motive set
on the words “que bien vouldroy” (c´´-c´´-c´´-b-´g´), opening syllabically with repetitive
pitches of longer values and in tight imitation between the upper voices, comes across as
more suitable for the opening of the third verse in comparison to the melismatic cadential
gesture lined in the first hemistich (m. 25-28).
43 The fact that the poem is included in a literary manuscript of her private library titled Livre des Ballades (Brussels, Bibl. Roy. MS 15072) may indicate that Marguerite was indeed attempting to model her poem on the formal aspects of the ballade. 44 The transcription is included in Picker, “More ‘regret’ chansons,” 93-96. Measure numbers refer to this transcription. 45 See edition in Picker, Chanson albums, 368-70.
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Ex. 4.14a: La Rue, Pour ung jamais, m. 22-33.
Ex. 4.14b: Ghiselin, Le cueur la suyt, m. 20-24.
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I suspect that the closing of the second verse was meant to occur later in m. 28,
subsequently shifting the opening of the third verse. The gesture in the tenor currently
aligned with the opening of the third verse (m. 24-28) sounds rather like a paraphrase of
the preceding gesture (m. 22-24), meant to duplicate the preceding text (“nuyt et jour à
toute heure”) rather than convey a new opening motive. Moreover, a shifted opening of
the third verse that would be set to the C-C-C-B-G motive (m. 29 in superius) appears to
match in rhythm and contour with the cantus / tenor motives of most other verse openings
(note, for instance, that the opening measures of the second and fourth verses share a
similar rhythmic pattern with the shifted opening of the third verse, composed mostly of
semibreves). In accordance with the reconstructed alignment of the text, the cadence at
the closing of the second verse falls on the third scale degree of the A-Dorian (pitch class
C), thus matching with its corresponding cadence in Le cueur la suyt. In fact, the two
cadences do not only fall in the same scale degree but also share identical gestures in the
tenor during the penultimate measure of the cadence (see m. 27 in Pour ung jamais vs. m.
21 in Le cueur la suyt).46
The intertextual network between Pour ung jamais and Le cueur la suyt may be
further reflected in the musical incipits of the chansons. Indeed, they both open with
motives that are closely related. As seen in Ex. 4.15a and Ex. 4.15b, the two incipits are
rhythmically alike (the only minor variant occurs in the opening of the third tempus of the
motive) and share an almost exact melodic contour, beginning on the second scale degree
46 No additional cadences in Le cueur la suyt use this gesture in the tenor. In Pour ung jamais it is extensively used as a cadential gesture in the tenor.
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and progressing with a rising semitone and an almost identical gesture of a falling fourth.
The archetypical character of the motive is undeniable; indeed, it sounds rather common.
Yet, the fact that the incipits are part of a wider grid of shared motivic and textural
elements is indicative of a connection that did not merely occur without any sort of
compositional planning. In both chansons, the tenor begins similarly, presenting the
motive in strict imitation at the fifth below the superius and accompanied by the bassus,
which presents a paraphrased version of the motive an octave below (the opening pitch
class of both the tenor and the bassus begins at the fifth above the finalis).
Ex. 4.15a: La Rue, Pour ung jamais, m. 1-11.
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Ex. 4.15b: Ghiselin, Le cueur la suyt, m. 1-9.
Closing comments
Plus nulz regretz has not been recognized for its referential dimension. Yet it
appears to possess intertextual associations with La Rue’s Tous les regretz and Secretz
regretz as well as with Josquin’s own Regretz sans fin. If, in Chapter 3, I speculated on a
likely string of communication from La Rue to Josquin – viewing the intersection
between Tous les regretz and Mille regretz as arising from the former chanson – the
intertextual discourses between La Rue’s regretz chansons (especially his Tous les
regretz) and Plus nulz regretz further attest to the suggestion that Josquin may have been
engaged with the regretz of La Rue. Apart from shared overall features, motivic
interrelationships, and sources of transmission, the chansons, I have speculated, must
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have participated in a virtual interplay of parallel contextual facets, intersecting in their
common association with Marguerite of Austria.
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CHAPTER 5
THE LITERARY DIMENSION OF THE REGRETZ
Literary Roots
Mary Beth Marvin’s scholarship, unique in its exploit of the literary facets of the
regretz chansons, situates the origin of the regretz as an emerging theme of the late
medieval French lyric poetry in the work of the poet Alain Chartier (ca. 1390-ca. 1440).1
Chartier, as Marvin points out, seems to have variously implored the regretz,
commencing with a Complainte contre la mort (ca. 1424) in which he writes: “Je faiz
tresor de regrez que j’ amasse.”2 In what seems the first documented appearance of the
regretz in the literary tradition of the early fifteenth century, Chartier, Goldberg remarks,
connected his notion of regretz with the “lament over death,” thus employing it as a
synonym of mourning.3
The association of the regretz with the topos of departir4 in Chartier’s oeuvre is
further manifested in his later short lyric poems, the ballade “Quant je ne voy ma doulce
dame en vie” and the rondeau “Joye me fuit et desespoir me chace,” poems that deal with
1 Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” 195. 2 The significance of regretz as a code-word is underlined in the incipit of his Complainte, which reads: “La complainte et regretz maistre alain chartier contre la Mort que luy a tollu sa maistresse” (from the late fifteenth century manuscript BNF ms. fr. 924 Pb); it is mentioned in Joan McRae, Alain Chartier: The quarrel of the belle dame sans mercy (New York, NY: Routledge, 2004), 36. The complete poem is included in J.C. Laidlaw, ed., The Poetical Works of Alain Chartier (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974), 325. 3 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 89. 4 I have borrowed the term “Departir-Topos” from Goldberg (ibid., 89) and use it to express the theme of parting and separation in a broader sense as the result of various causes, including that of death.
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the sorrow caused by the death of his lady.5 Expressions of constant movement and
abundant quantity, such as “ne cesse” and “mon plus riche,” that are stereotypical of the
regretz topos, as I will later discuss, are identified early on in Chartier’s notion of regretz:
“Mon cuer la plaint et mon regret ne cesse”6 he cries out in the ballade, while in the
rondeau he confesses that “Plains et regrez sont mon plus riche avoir.”
Marvin traces the next step in the lineage of regretz as a literary topos in the work
of Jean II de Bourbon (1426-1488). The poet of the cult chanson Allez regretz penned a
bergerette that bears witness to its affiliation with the regretz of Chartier in its incipit with
the expression “J’amasse ung tresor de regres,” which characteristically combines the
regretz with the word “tresor.” Indeed, the latter openly paraphrases that of Chartier (only
the opening lines are quoted below7):
J’amasse ung tresor de regres Que ma tant amee m’envoie Mais jusqua ce que je la voye Ne partiront de mes segres8 Here the ‘regrets’ are certainly not triggered by death; yet the interpretations of Marvin
and Goldberg differ in their consideration of the driving force and cause that addressed
the return of the regretz. Marvin interprets the opening verses of the Duke of Bourbon as
5 See Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” 195. 6 The beginning of the second strophe of the ballade, the third verse of which includes the reference of the regretz, begins as follows: “J’ay perdu cuer, sentement et savoir || Plourer a part, c’est mon oeuvre commune.” It is remarkably similar to the opening of the third stanza of Fresneau’s regretz chanson “Nuit et jour” which reads: “J’en pers le sens et le savoir || Au lit de plours.” Observe the opening with the personal “Je” and the use of the shared verb “perdre” followed by the words “sens/sentement” and “savoir” and, in the second verse, the reference to crying (“plourer” / “plours”). 7 For access to the complete poem, Marvin refers to Charles d’Orléans, Poésies, ed. Pierre Champion, vol. 2 (Paris: Honoré Champion, 1966), 346. 8 Translated as: “I gather a treasure of regrets || that my beloved sends me || but until I see her || they do not leave from my deep thoughts.”
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an expression of the Dame’s unresponsiveness.9 Goldberg’s reading, on the other hand,
situates the regretz in a reverse context: they (“regres”) illustrate the sorrow of the lady
herself who gives proof of her affection by means of a “tresor de regres,” which is
probably a reference to billets-doux as messengers of a heart treasure.10 The addressed
regretz, Goldberg continues, are here not painful, but a guarantor for the affection of the
lady.
Taking into consideration the complete poem instead of only the opening lines, I
tend to agree with Marvin’s interpretation, even though I still find its meaning rather
ambiguous. An air of mystery is registered with the narrator’s forthright question over the
dwelling of the regretz in his “segres,” the latter used, to my understanding, as a locus of
his deepest thoughts. “La cause pourquoy? je la celle.”11 He plainly indicates that he hides
the cause of his regretz. “Ses griefz maulx” refers, I think, to the negative shade and the
abominable qualities of the lady, and not to her sorrow as Goldberg sees it. They drive
the poet to death (“qui me font mourir”), this being undoubtedly an anticipated effect of
anyone afflicted by regretz and also an indication of his strong feelings for her. The
following lines can only be an indication of unrequited love:
9 Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” 196. 10 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 90. 11 The word “celle” functions here not as a pronoun but as a verb (third person singular of “celer,” which translates as “to keep a secret/to say nothing”).
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La cause pourquoy? je la celle, Ses griefz maulx qui me font mourir C’est pour garder l’onneur de celle Qui ne me daigne secourir. Plus l’eslongne, plus d’elle est pres Mon cueur, dont mon povre oeil lermoye12
He suffers because he is destined to guard her honor even though she does not
deign to help him – a rhetoric of chivalric connotations alluding to the male lover as an
eternal servant and faithful guard of a noble lady’s heart and honor.13 His situation is
helpless, for “the more she leaves, the more she is close to my heart,” and crying is
apparently his only response. In fact, reference to crying as an effect of her indifference is
made twice in the closing lines: with the word “lermoye” and at the last line with the
word “plaint.” The final line, “Car quant j’ay assez plaint, après,” acquires particular
meaning when one takes into consideration the form of the poem, which requires the
repetition of the opening lines after “après.” It is only then that the narrator confirms his
crying and suffering as an outcome of his habit to amass “ung tresor de regres.”
The literary exchanging of regretz among courtly poets around the mid 1400s is
next witnessed in the work of Charles d’Orléans (1394-1465) and most explicitly in his to
12 Translated as: “What is the reason? I hide it || Her sorrowful troubles that make me die || They are to guard the honor of her || who does not condescend to rescue me. || The more she leaves, the more my heart is close to her, thus my poor eyes weep.” 13 In the fifth chapter of his Discarding Images: Reflections on Music and Culture in Medieval France (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), Christopher Page stressed the importance of chivalric culture in understanding the milieu of the fifteenth century chanson. The adherence of chanson texts of the mid and late fifteenth century to past rhetorics of chivalric imagery and courtly love ideals have often been described by means of negative hues (see especially Walter Kemp, Burgundian Court Song in the Time of Binchois (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990). As Page notes, Kemp’s view of chivalry in the burgundian culture as escapist and nostalgic is outdated; in fact, all aspects of the chivalric culture from the twelfth century on were nostalgic, as it was based on models from the distant past (Hector, Julius Caesar). Page also addresses the association of chivalry with the ethics of perfection and the erotic, and underlines the central importance of love as stimulus to ambition and honor. The knight’s ardor for honor and praise of women was driven by a narcissistic and exhibitionist masculinity.
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Jean II de Bourbon’s bergerette. The responce opens with a didactic tone in paraphrasing
the incipit of the earlier poem.14
C’est une dangereuse espergne D’amasser tresor de regres Qui de son cueur les tient trop pres Il couvient que mal lui en preigne15
Similarly to the earlier poem that set in motion the poetic dialogue between Jean II de
Bourbon and Charles d’Orléans revolving around regretz within the material boundaries
of the latter’s manuscript, the responce situates the regretz in a context other than one of
death. As Goldberg remarks, Charles’s poem addresses the psychological facets of risk
and distress enveloped by the regres.16 The choice of the verb “couvient” to illustrate the
resulting burning that will eventually torment the lover who holds the “tresor de regres”
too close to his heart has a moralistic hue. Could this be a direct warning directed to Jean
II de Bourbon? In Goldberg’s view, the risk of amassing a “tresor de regres” obviously
refers to the discovery of the apparently illegal affair alluded in Jean’s poem.17
14 For a transcription of the complete poem, see Charles d’Orléans, Poésies, 347. Both poems appear in the autograph manuscript of Charles d’Orléans, the responce positioned right after Jean’s bergerette. The manuscript (BNF fr. 25458) contains numerous poems written by Charles in response to earlier texts of fifteenth century poets and, reversely, responses addressed to Charles (Fredet, Jehan de Bourbon, Nevers, Secile, and others). The manuscript was progressively expanded with the addition of poems not only from Charles’s hand but others, composed by members of his court and visitors that were “filled in” in the available empty space in between his ballades. Described by Jane Taylor as “a sort of common place book,” the cumulative manuscript grew to become a collection of grand dimensions that treasured not only Charles’s “own poetic self but a collective memory refracted through his own.” See Jane H.M. Taylor, “Courtly Gatherings and Poetic Games: ‘Coterie’ Anthologies in the Late Middle Ages in France,” in Book and Text in France, 1400-1600 Poetry on the Page, eds. Adrian Armstrong and Malcolm Quainton (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), 17-18, and for a list of studies on the ms, see n. 10. 15 Translated as: “It is a dangerous habit || to amass a treasure of regrets || whoever holds them too close to his heart || is taken over by suffering.” 16 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 90. 17 The regretz are brought upon in various other instances in the poetic work of Charles d’Orléans. In a poetic dialogue between the rather unknown poet Fredet and Charles, both works open with the verb
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The genre of Complainte, descending from the Latin planctus, or regret upon the
death of a loved one,18 seems to relate not only to Chartier’s early reference but also to
several other literary echoes of regretz, which, for the most part, postdate the regretz
complex of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.19 Yet, although the function of
regretz as a new embodiment of laments over death is observed in much lyric poetry set
to music by several composers mostly active in the Burgundian-Habsburg and French
courts in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the regretz are also encountered
in other narratives, detached from death as an inspiration. Goldberg argues that, even
though in the poetry of Charles d’Orléans and Jean II de Bourbon, the regretz acquire a formation of regretz and, similarly to the exchange of tresor de regres discussed above, Charles’s incipit quotes that of Fredet. The opening of Fredet’s poem reads: “Je regrecte mes dolans jours || Comme celluy la qui tousjours || ne fait que desirer sa mort.” Charles d’Orléans opens his responce as such: “Se regrectez vos dolans jours, Et je regrecte mon argent || Que j’ay delivré franchement || Cuidant de vous donner secours.” In Charles’s ballade “J’ay fait l’obseque de ma Dame,” the regretz are evoked in a lament-over-death context along with the stereotyped imagery of mourning: “De regretz, tous de lermes pains, || Et tout entour, moult richement, || Est escript: Cy gist vrayement || Le tresor de tous biens mondains.” Interestingly, the word “tresor,” previously attached to regres, is here used in reference to the deceased dame. Furthermore, the regretz, variously stated in Charles’s autograph manuscript, are portrayed as “regretz privez,” “regret angoisseux,” “regret cappitaine,” and “regret merencolieux.” 18 On the genre of Complainte and its connection with the renaissance genre of Elegy, see Norman Shapiro, Lyrics of the French Renaissance (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2002), 65. On the female complainte of the sixteenth century as a “counterculture” of oral transmission and popular song form dimensions, viewed against the “writerly” poetic canon authored by male poets such as Ronsard, see Kate van Orden, “Female Complaintes: Laments of Venus, Queens, and City Women in Late Sixteenth-Century France,” Renaissance Quarterly 54/3 (2001): 801-845. 19 The most interesting complainte worth mentioning in connection with the regretz chanson complex is Clément Marot’s “Complaincte d’une Niepce sur la Mort de sa Tante,” which is part of his Complainctes and included in his first collected volume under the title L’Adolescence Clémentine (published in 1538). Not only regretz are profusely echoed in Marot’s complainte, but the poem also quotes the opening verses of well-known chansons, among which are the following regretz: “Tous les regretz, qui furent onc au monde” and “Dueil et ennuy, soucy, regret, et peine.” “Les regrets” was one of the titles that were employed to designate “myriad songs in the voices of anonymous French women lamenting bad fortune in life and love” (Van Orden, “Female Complaintes,” 818). Various complaintes that were written in the sixteenth century to lament the deaths of kings, queens, or noblemen, and modeled to prescribe an official attitude and to create a sense of communal, public mourning, incorporate the word “regretz”: “Des regretz d’une dame de Rouen estant à I’article de la mort, se repentant de s’estre mal gouvernee durant sa jeuness”; “Les regrets des Princesses & Dames de la Court sur le decez de tresillustre Princesse, Madame fille unique de feu Roy Charles”; “Des regrets douloureux et pleurs lamentables de tres-haute et tres-verteuse dame, Elizabeth d’Autriche, royne de France, sur la mort du roy Charles IX, son espoux, avec les doulences des dames de la court” (ibid., 820).
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new dimension by breaking free from the mournful context of Chartier’s, they are barely
regarded as a real topos.20 The two “dialogic” poems, “J’amasse ung tresor de regrez” and
“C’est une dangereuse espergne,” showcase, however, the earliest stages of the regretz as
an emerging topos, which in the texts of later regretz chansons, as I will discuss,
eventually evolves and develops a multifaceted quality and various constants.
The early embodiment of the regretz as a synonym for mourning, as seen in
Chartier’s poem, is also observed, as Goldberg notes, in the rather isolated case of the
rondeau Pour les regrets, set to music by the rather petit maître Jean Delahaye.21 Death is
here not explicitly expressed; the regretz arise in connection with the topos of departir,
and mourning communicates the despair of the narrator for not being able to see his
“seulle amour.” Delahaye’s rondeau survives in the Nivelle chansonnier.22 While it is the
only regretz chanson hosted in the chansonnier, it is interestingly neighbored, as
Goldberg remarks, by chansons of Delahaye that treat the topos of departir in their texts,
a theme that is also conveyed in various regretz chansons.23
20 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 90. 21 Ibid. 89. I have not observed any instances of interconnection between Delahaye’s chanson and any of the regretz. Pour les regretz seems to belong among a few regretz chansons that do not exhibit conspicuous musical alliances with others within my regretz complex. 22 For a critical edition of the chansonnier, see Jane Alden, ed. Johannes Delahaye: Chansons in Loire Valley Sources (Paris: Minerve, 2001). The manuscript facsimile of the chansonnier is published as Chansonnier Nivelle de la Chaussée (Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, Rés. Vmc. ms. 57, ca 1460) (Geneva: Minkoff, 1984) along with an Introduction by Paula Higgins that mainly addresses the provenance of the manuscript on the basis of authorial representation (composers and poets) and physical traits (decoration, inscriptions, etc). 23 As Goldberg remarks, Pour les regrets, although setting a text that is highly sorrowful, quotes the polyphonic opening of its preceding chanson, Puis qualtrement ne puis avoir, whose text is utterly humorous. The humorous text engages the topos of departir as such: when the singer cannot see his lady, he will take himself another. The chansons following Pour les regrets are: Puis quil convient que le depart se face and Comment suis je de voistre cuer; the former carries on the rhetoric of sorrow in virtue of the departure addressed in Pour les regrets, with references to death as desirable outcome and sole means of comfort, constants that are also met in the regretz topos. All four are the only chansons in Nivelle penned
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The literary pen behind the authorship of Pour les regretz is not known. In fact,
although Nivelle shares numerous concordances with poetry manuscripts that originated
in or around the Loire Valley and neighboring regions, only four poets have been
identified, all notably associated with the literary circle of Charles d’Orléans at his Blois
court and actively engaged in the literary contests that he hosted there.24 More than that,
the court of Blois has been suggested as a possible point of origin for Nivelle.25
Undoubtedly, Charles played a key role in the early stages of the emergence of the
regretz as a literary theme. His prominent appropriation of the regretz as discussed above
in regard to his J’amasse ung tresor de regres, considered alongside the numerous
references to regretz as a major theme in his autograph manuscript, attest to the
significant growth of the regretz topos in his literary circle. Charles thus stands as an
intermediary link between Nivelle – and indirectly Pour les regrets – and the regretz as
an emerging literary theme. And although it would have been impossible in the absence
of documented evidence to securely associate Pour les regrets with the Orléans court, the
likelihood that the text of the chanson originated by a poet under Charles’s immediate
circle of influence seems plausible.
The dating of Nivelle circa 1460-65 situates Pour les regrets as probably the
earliest surviving regretz text set to music. Yet its relative obscurity as a chanson of scant
representation in contemporary sources, by a composer of limited reputation, indicates by a single composer to have been copied successively. This is possibly an indication from the part of the scribe of the shared topos among them. 24 For a list of these manuscripts, see the relevant discussion in Higgins, Chansonnier Nivelle, vii. The four identified poems are Villon, Jacques of Savoy, Antoine de Cuise, and Fredet (ibid., vi), the latter mentioned above in regard to his literary exchanges with Charles d’Orléans, especially those that featured the regretz on their incipits (see this chapter, n. 17). 25 Higgins, Chansonnier Nivelle, xi.
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that Pour les regrets probably never had a major impact on the founding and evolution of
the regretz.26 Indeed, it is particularly telling that the chanson does not exhibit any signs
of interconnection with other regretz chansons. Allez regretz, on the other hand, has
passed down in musicological scholarship as the earliest regretz chanson and, together
with Mille regretz, as the indisputably most popular and exceedingly influential regretz
chanson. 27
The text of Allez regretz was penned by Jean II de Bourbon, whose prominent
involvement in the early literary exchanges of “tresor de regres” was previously
discussed. It can be viewed as the fourth poem, after those of Chartier, Charles d’Orléans,
and Jean II de Bourbon, written around the mid 1400s in the line of virtual poetic
discourse consisting of poems that prominently featured the regretz in their opening lines.
It would be tempting to consider Allez regretz to have been prompted by Charles’s C’est
une dangereuse espergne, in turn written in response to Jean’s earlier J’amasse ung
tresor de regres, and thus see the two poets bound in a threefold reciprocal creative
momentum. Indeed, the imperative “Allez” in Jean’s poem, a forthright command
addressed to the regretz to “go away,” may have been evoked in response to Charles’s
warning against Jean’s “dangerous habit of gathering regres,” and in confession of the
resulting torment he (Jean) suffered because of his earlier habit to gather the regres that
his beloved had sent (“envoye”) him. It is certainly not impossible that Jean may have felt
compelled to counter Charles’s poetic retort.
26 It appears as a unicum in the Nivelle chansonnier. 27 For a discussion on the popularity of Allez regretz, see Chapter 2, p. 39-40, and n. 25.
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Virtual threads of communication can be located within the two poems of Jean II
de Bourbon and that of Charles d’Orléans (see table 5.1 for a comprehensive presentation
of the intertextual instances). “Le Cueur,” a recurrent word in all three works, is used
exclusively to outline the topographical boundaries where the regretz reside. It signifies,
in other words, the locus of the regretz, and in this function it can mostly be seen in the
C’est une dangereuse espergne and Allez regretz. Thus Jean’s call to the regretz to “make
their acquaintance somewhere else” because they have greatly tormented “mon las cueur”
echoes Charles’s warning against the regretz which cause suffering to whoever “de son
cueur les tient trop pres.” Moreover, the verb “tourmente,” another shared tag of Allez
regretz, resonates with “leurs tourmens segres” of Charles’s poem, which refers to the
torments caused by the regretz. Reference to torment in J’amasse ung tresor materializes
in a physical way, in the form of cries (“lermoye” and “plaint”). A third constant
observed in the first two poems is the word “segrez.” In J’amasse ung tresor, “segrez”
acquires the role of “cueur” as the place of deep thoughts where the regretz dwell. In the
responce by Charles d’Orléans, the word appears in conjunction with “tourmens” and
refers to the eventual consequences of the one who amasses regretz, that is, secret
torments.
The theme of warning is evident in the second and third poems. Charles’s
response comes as a warning against Jean’s habit to accumulate regretz, while Jean’s
counter-response communicates a much stronger warning, a threat really, against a third
person who is, in all likelihood, a rival. Another thread of association among all three
regretz poems is their shared rhetoric of hyperbole. Their common resort to some sort of
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extreme reaction or consequence is articulated by means of exaggerated expressions. In
J’amasse ung tresor for instance, “Ses griefz maulx qui me font mourir” conveys the
male persona’s resort to death as a measure of his uttermost feelings. The expression
“Non pas assez nuysans, mais tres” in Charles’s poem refers to the destructive nature of
the regretz that are “not just harmful, but worse than that.” Hyperbole materializes in
C’est une dangereuse espergne in the form of an extreme reaction, as the male persona
expresses his intention to harm the one (“he”) who will dare to come back (the identity of
“he,” the third person in Allez regretz, is discussed later on in p. 193). The word that is
used to express his threat is “honneur” (“vous feray tel honneur”) and it is employed in a
negative, ironic sense to denote honor of another kind. Interestingly, it brings to mind
“l’onneur,” associated in Jean’s earlier poem with the moral quality of his beloved.
Apart from conspicuously shared utterances, various expressions of striking
contrast juxtaposed among the three poems create an intriguing intertextual play. To
begin with, the incipits of Jean’s poems are obviously antithetical, each evoking a
completely contradictory attitude towards the regretz in comparison to the other.
Revulsion towards the regretz in the latter (“Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence”)
suggests a surprisingly wide turn from the poet who seemed to have previously treasured
them (“J’amasse ung tresor de regrez”).
The contrast between J’amasse ung tresor and Charles’s responce materializes in
the conceptual pair of hiding versus revealing. The action of hiding in the former text is
plainly stated by the poet: “je la celle.” What is it that he hides? Apparently, it is his
reason for keeping his regretz locked in his “segrez.” By contrast, an aura of exposure
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transpires in the responce. Charles thinks of his claims against the regretz as utterly
truthful and as such he claims that “Se je mens, que l’en m’en repreigne” (“If I lie, let me
repeat it”). Not only does he have no intention to lie (“mens”), but he also insists on his
statements (“repreigne”). Further on, his insistence on truth is verbalized in the verse “On
saura leurs tourmens segres” (“We will know all of his secret torments”); here Charles
implies that Jean’s torments due to his habit to “D’amasser ung tresor de regres” will
eventually be publicly revealed. Surprisingly, the concluding line of the responce further
articulates Charles’s insistent rhetoric of exposure: “Qui ne m’en croira, si l’apreigne”
(“Whoever does not believe me, will find out”). And if one wonders how and where
Charles’s claims against Jean’s habit come into being, there is virtually no other literary
place to look but Jean’s Allez regretz. By considering the latter as a counter-responce to
Charles, this concluding line can be seen as its virtual outset.
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Table 5.1: Shared vocabulary among J’amasse ung tresor, C’est une dangereuse espergne, and Allez regretz.
J’AMASSE UNG
TRESOR C’EST UNE
DANGEREUSE
ESPERGNE
ALLEZ REGRETZ
CUEUR plus d’elle est pres mon cueur
Qui de son cueur les tient trop pres
Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur
TOURMENTER leurs tourmens segres
Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur
SEGREZ Ne partiront de mes segrez
leurs tourmens segres
MAL Ses griefz maulx Il couvient que mal lui en preigne
malle meschance
WARNING C’est une dangereuse espergne d’amasser tresor de regres
N’y tournez plus
HYPERBOLE/ EXAGGERATION
Ses griefz maulx qui me font mourir Il n’est point doleur que la moye
Non pas assez nuysans, mais tres
Qu est cellui qui point soit ne en France qui endurast ce mortel deshonneur; Se plus vous voy prouchain de ma plaisance devant chanscun vous feray tel honneur
HONNEUR C’est pour garder l’onneur de celle
vous feray tel honneur mortel deshonneur
AMASS VS. EXPEL
J’amasse ung tresor de regrez
Allez regretz, vuidiez de ma presence Allez ailleurs N’y tournez plus
HIDE VS. REVEAL
La cause pourquoy? je la celle
On saura leurs tourmens segres Qui ne m’en croira, si l’apreigne
Que l’en dira que la main d’un seigneur Vous a bien mis a la malle meschance
REFERENCE TO
PAIN/TEARS mon povre oeil lermoye; j’ay assez plaint
Remply de duel
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Allez regretz and the Emergence of Regretz
As Goldberg argues in his notable study of the Ghizeghem-Compère regretz
chansons, Ghizeghem’s Allez regretz has been crucial to the growing significance of the
regretz as a topos.28 Apart from its wide dissemination and its extensive popularity as a
compositional model (discussed in Chapter 2), the literary text of Allez regretz appears as
the earliest regretz poem in a line of chanson texts with an incipit that features a shared
grammatical structure.29 This structure is composed of an imperative followed by the
word “regretz.” The regretz network considered in this dissertation includes eight
chansons that, similarly to Allez regretz, begin with a verb of movement in the imperative
mood (va t’en, sourdez, venés, etc) followed by the regretz.
TEXTS THAT BEGIN WITH IMPERATIVE VERB + REGRET(Z)
NO. OF MUSICAL
SETTINGS COMPOSERS
Allez regretz 5 Ghizeghem Agricola Senfl Bartolomeo degli Organi Anonymous
Va t’en regret 2 Agricola Compère
Revenez tous regretz 1 Agricola Sourdez, regretz 1 Compère Venés, regretz, venés 1 Compère Fuyes regretz 1 Févin Alle regres 1 Longueval Venez regretz, sourdez en habondance 1 Anonymus Vides regret 1 Anonymus
Table 5.2: Regretz sharing the “Imperative+regretz” incipit.
28 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 91. 29 This was first pointed out in Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” 197. She calls attention to the “dramatic” and “catchy” hues of the particular grammatical structure, as the word “regretz” is particularly emphasized and was probably employed to “attract the attention of the public.”
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The text of Allez regretz as the earliest influential regretz set in music and thus the
musical starting point of the regretz intertextual network demands a thorough
consideration of its narrative and its representation of the regretz concept. Moreover, as
Ghizeghem’s setting sparked off a remarkable web of musical intertextualities with other
early regretz (see Chapter 2), a discussion of the ways the text of Allez regretz
communicates with that of its musically-related chanson Venés regretz will enhance our
understanding of the earlier notions of the regretz topos.
Allez regretz, vuidez de ma presence Allez ailleurs faire vostre acointance Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur Remply de duel pour estre serviteur D’une sans per que j’ay amee d’enfance Fait lui avez longuement ceste offence Qu est cellui qui point soit ne en France Qui endurast ce mortel deshonneur N’y tournez plus, car, par ma conscience Se plus vous voy prouchain de ma plaisance Devant chanscun vous feray tel honneur Que l’en dira que la main d’un seigneur Vous a bien mis a la malle meschance
Go sorrows, leave my presence Go and make acquaintance elsewhere You have tormented my weary heart enough I am full of sorrow, being the servant Of one matchless that I have loved from my childhood Make him suffer longer this offence Where is he not born in France Who would endure this mortal disgrace Do not come back, for, by my conscience If I see you near me more Before everyone I will do you such honor That they will say that a lord’s hand Has really done you mischief
Marvin’s analysis of the rondeau highlights the elements of its narrative: the
unhappy lover’s address to the regretz that “have arisen from unrequited love” (stanza 1);
his anger conveyed in the language of “the aristocratic honor code” (stanza 2); and his
threats against the regretz (stanza 3).30 Her interpretation situates the emergence of the
regretz as an embodiment of sorrow and grief caused by the loss of love. The first stanza,
probably with the exception of the lover’s intention to discard the regretz, is reminiscent
30 Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” 197-8.
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of the rhetorics of amour courtoise31 and fits, in general, Marvin’s interpretation. Yet,
how is the poet’s resentment towards the regretz justified? I would think that a faithful
servant, abiding to the rules of courtly love, would continue declaring his passionate
devotion and, most likely, would not have taken bold action to relieve his sorrow, as it
seems to be the case in Allez regretz.
In regard to this point, Goldberg offers a highly intriguing suggestion. As he
notes, indeed, the opening refrain moves in “familiar ground”: the lover is tormented by
recurring tortures of regretz caused by the fact that the lady, adored ever since childhood,
is apparently unapproachable. Yet, the narrative caesura that lies in the opening of the
first strophe (“Fait lui avez longuement”) creates a momentary disruption of meaning.
The pronoun “lui” refers, I think, to a real, third person, and not to the regretz, who seems
to have caused a “mortel deshonneur.” The complete second strophe, Goldberg argues,
discloses ominous blows not towards the regretz, as claimed in Marvin’s analysis, but
towards that third person, who in all possibility must have been a competitor of the love-
stricken poet.32 The insult hinted at by “morter deshonneur,” as well as the slap in the face
threatened to be given in public to the person hidden behind “vous,” suggest the presence
of a rival. After the reading of the second strophe, which Goldberg sees as the
culmination of the narrative, the returning regretz in the refrain are to be seen under a
new light. It may be the case that they are not only meant to merely personify the poet’s
31 The two ending lines of the first stanza project a number of commonplaces (servant, long lasting love, praise of the lady) that are characteristic of the discourse of courtly love. I need to point out that the propriety of term has been questioned, as it mainly refers to the earlier troubadour poetry and poets of the langue d’oil (for a short discussion and references, see Leonard Johnson, Poets as Players: Theme and Variation in Late Medieval French Poetry [Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1990], 38-40). 32 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 92.
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pain of unfulfilled love, but also his sorrow after realizing that the lady, who was first
openly portrayed as worthy of his suffering, is no more a worthy object of his regretz. His
recurring regretz considered in the context of the recitation of the complete rondeau may
also reflect his rage over the rival. Their plural form, a unique element of the regretz
topos, is a further indication of their multiplicity. As Goldberg remarks, the regretz in
their plurality – as feelings of pain that grow and transform themselves to rage – become
to a certain extent multi-faced.33
Goldberg has identified the following constants that are intrinsic in Allez regretz
as elements of the topos of regretz: a rhetoric of “action versus location” in the refrain,
and mostly in the opening lines; tags related with time (temporal motives); and the words
“tourmente” and “dueil” to signify the male persona’s state of mind.34 The constant of
“action versus location” can be observed in the opening line; the caesura breaks the
decasyllabic verse in 4+6 syllables. The first hemistich is imperative to the action
(“Allez”), while the second indicates location (“ma presence”). The same pattern is
featured in the second line, where the repetition of “allez” is followed by a reference to
space (“ailleurs”). The concept of “tourmenter,” lined up with “cueur” and positioned
33 Ibid. 93. Goldberg has brought additional evidence attesting to the multi-faceted quality of the regretz in the form of parallel readings of the texts of Allez regretz versus that of Venés, regretz (for a discussion of the musical intertextualities between the chansons, see Chapter 2, pp. 43-47). The most striking moment in their parallel reading lies right on their incipits. The regretz, which in Allez regretz were asked to go, are appealed to come in Venés regretz. The narrative in the latter is less complicated and the theme of regretz is conveyed more conspicuously and in line with the earlier notion of the regretz as expressive of mourning over loss of one’s beloved. The regretz topos has associations with the topos of dueil, yet although dueil expresses a feeling, the regretz are partners and personified feelings that come and go. Similarly to Allez regretz, the regretz in Venés regretz are multi-faced. Initially they embody mourning and later, after their recurring echoes materialize according to the realization of the rondeau plan, they connote a call to the listeners to bestow consolation to the narrator. 34 Ibid. 92.
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early on in the refrain, expresses the recurring tortures of regretz that, in the context of
Allez, one can only forcibly scare away. Dueil signifies the pain and suffering felt at the
loss of the beloved.
Allez regretz features a remarkable number of expressions that indicate time and
most specially endurance and continuity. The opening lines for instance convey a sense
of aural stability by means of the repetition of the same verb (“allez”), as well as the use
of vocabulary and assonances stressing the phoneme “A” (allez; ailleurs; acointance).
The expression “j’ay amee d’enfance” is also suggestive of continuity and duration, as is
likewise the word “tourmente.” An adverb of duration, “longuement,” is featured in the
opening of the first strophe, while the ending, “Qui endurast ce mortel deshonneur,”
registers a strong expression of endurance. Lastly, the second strophe opens with the
word “tournez,” another utterance related to time and continuity.
Motives of time, action, and location, parallel to those displayed in the text of
Allez regretz, can also be observed in the text of its musical intertext, Venés regretz (see
text and translation below). The threefold presentation of the opening imperative “Venés”
structurally recalls the repetition of “Allez” and similarly projects a notion of continuity.
The opening line of the refrain integrates expressions of action and time (“venés” vs.
“heure”) while in the second verse, the same verb of action (“venés”) is followed by
“demeure,” which, in parallel to “acointance” of Allez regretz, is a signifier of location.
As a matter of fact, the interrelation of “demeure” and “acointance” to convey the
positioning of regretz is further highlighted when one considers the overall syntactic and
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structural resemblance of the second verse in both poems.35 Another connection pointed
out by Goldberg is “le cuer,” which, in the refrain of Venés regretz, is implied as the
actual space of “demeure.” Apart from these time-space references that are shared in
textual counterpoint between Allez regretz and Venés regretz, the latter employs a
common motif of chansons dealing with sorrow and lovesickness –that of death. The
reference to death (“je meure”) in the closing verse as an irrefutable outcome is only one
of multiple appeals to death suggested in the rondeau. In the first place, the expression “il
en est heure,” charged with a religious connotation, alludes to the Last Hour, which in
turn points to a sort of ending of mortal life.36 The words “morte” and “fin” openly evoke
Death. “Dueil” refers to mourning; “belle meure” in connection with “dueil” and “noir”
likewise recalls an imagery of mourning.
Venés, regretz, venés, il en est heure Venés sur moy faire vostre demeure C’est bein raison qu’à ce je vous enhorte Car aujourd’huy toutte ma joye c’est morte Et si ne voy nulluy qui me sequeure A celle fin que mon cueur sente et pleure Le mal qu’il a et en quoy il labeure Je suis contraint vous ouvrir la grant porte Mais gardez bien qu’après vous ne demeure L’abit de dueil plus noir que belle meure Plain de larmes affin que je la porte Ne tardez plus car mon sens se transporte Si vous voulez me voyr ains que je meure
Come, sorrows, come, it is time Come, make your dwelling with me There is good reason for me to implore you For today all my joy is dead And, alas, I do not see a soul who might succor me To this end that my heart asks and weeps the pain that it has and under which it labors I am constrained to open the great door to you But make sure that behind you does not remain The habit of mourning, darker than the mourning clothes Full of tears, because I must wear them; Delay no more for my mind drifts If you wish to see me before I die37
35 A comparison of the first hemistichs suggests contrast (“allez” / “venes”; “ailleurs” / “sur moy”). The second hemistichs are almost identical, apart from the rhyming words, which are however identical in meaning. 36 Ibid. 93. Similarly, I assume that the expression “ouvrir la grant porte” may have been used to trigger religious associations with the gates of the kingdom of heaven. 37 The translation is based on those by Susan Jackson in Atlas, Anthology of Renaissance Music, 492, and Zuckerman Wesner, “The Chansons of Loyset Compère,” 400.
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The list of themes identified so far in the texts of the earlier regretz chansons Allez
regretz and Venés regretz provide a general picture of the regretz topos. From the regretz
of mid fifteenth century poets, such as Chartier and Jean II de Bourbon, to the rondeaux
that inspired musically related settings (Allez regretz and Venés regretz), the regretz were
bound to convey the sorrows of the lovesick poet caused by parting and/or denial.
Beyond mere feelings, the regretz appear as personified actors, occupying their local
architectural place in the opening line of the poem, carrying a deceiving multi-faced
mask, and governed by concepts of movement and transformation (“amasser”/ “allez”/
“venés”).
Literary Archetypes in the Regretz Topos
REGRETZ SUMMONED VS. EXPELLED. One of the central concepts developed in
Goldberg’s “Was zitiert Compère?” concerns the identity of regretz as multi-faced, non-
linear, and non-static. Instead of being fixed, their meaning is ambiguous and in virtue of
that ambiguity, they are implemented in to participating in the network of regretz
chansons, playing a part in the intertextual bonding of the literary regretz, and enhancing
the interplay between music and text. This ambiguity of the regretz is also reflected in the
attitude of the poet/male persona towards them; at times he expels them, but most
frequently he summons them (see table). Undoubtedly, this notion of diversion –
“Kommen oder Gehen” as Goldberg describes it – enhances the multi-faced character of
the regretz.
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In chansons that convey banishment, the poet engages strong language to express
his determination of taking action against the regretz. He invokes threats and makes
public his intention to punish them, should they not leave him or dare to return. Va t’en
regret employs, I think, the fiercest wording; the poet calls the regretz “trompeur”
(deceiver) and vows to beat them (“A la parfin batu seras” [“In the end you will be
beaten, deceiver”]). When regretz are summoned, they are meant to act as partners to his
sorrow – that in itself is an indication of their personified identity; in other words, they
are solicited to assist in the mourning process and serve him in the expression of his
hitherto silent pain. At times, their gathering is invoked to assist the suffering male
persona in ending his life.38
REGRETZ SUMMONED REGRETZ EXPELLED
Revenez tous, regretz Sourdez, regretz Venes regretz Tous les regretz Tous nobles cuers Parfons regretz Regretz sans fin Tous le regretz (qu’oncques) O doulx regretz Venez regretz, sourdez
Allez regretz Va t’en regret Aprez regretz Sans regretz Fuyés regretz
Table 5.3: Regretz summoned vs. expelled.
38 See for instance the opening of Saint-Gelais’s Tous les regretz that reads “Tous les regretz qui les cueurs tourmentez || Venez au mien et en luy vous boutez || Pour abregier le surplus de ma vie.” See also the ending verses of the one-stanza Parfons regretz, where the poet pleads the regretz to “vous hastez sans point dissimuler || Pour promptement mon cueur executer || Affin qu’en dueil et larmes il se noye” (translated as “Make haste, with no dissembling || and with dispatch lay low my heart || that it may drown in mourning and tears”).
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PARTING. Several regretz chansons deal with the topos of departir. Parting in
these chansons comes as the result of either death or unspecified circumstances likely
associated with insuperable class-distinction, as Goldberg suggests.39 The vocabulary of
parting is articulated with words such as “eslonger” (to leave away), “habandonner,” and
“délaisser” (to abandon). In the chansons Mille regretz and Cent mille regretz, for
instance, the regretz are offered as evidence of the poet’s sorrow after his unavoidable
departure. The rising of regretz as the outcome of a lady’s loss is explicitly manifested in
such chansons as Revenez tous and Venez regretz, sourdez. The word “perdu(e)” (lost) is
shared among several regretz that bemoan the loss of a lady (Sourdez, regretz; Tous les
regretz; Sur tous regretz; Pour les regretz).40
REGRETZ AS PERSONIFIED PARTNERS. As I have previously discussed, the regretz as
they come across in late fifteenth-century chansons are not merely representative of
feelings of sorrow. Instead, following in the tradition of the French allegorical poetry of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in which allegorical figures were featured as
actors in a virtual stage, the regretz come across as personified partners.41 Direct language
is employed by the poet to converse with them. Thus in Va t’en regret, the poet’s 39 Goldberg, “Was zitiert Compère,” 90. 40 “L’ami perdu” as an archetype of sixteenth-century chansons related with the topos of dueil, and particularly with the secular chanson Au boys de dueil and its religious contrafacta, is discussed in Dorothy Packer, “Au Boys de Dueil and the Grief-Decalogue Relationship in Sixteenth-Century Chansons,” Journal of Musicology 3/1 (1984), 19-54, and esp. 38. In these chansons about a lost sweetheart, Packer mentions, “the laments are most often expressed by the women left behind. […] Their lovers are more often unfaithful than dead […] The women frequently show anger at having been abandoned rather than resignation.” Such conditions differ from those conveyed in regretz; the latter are mostly sung in the masculine voice and express the male narrators’ true sorrow for having to abandon their ladies. 41 As the most famous literary paradigm of allegory and personification in the French medieval literature, I would cite the parade of personified seductive sexual forces in the Roman de la rose (Fair Welcome, Venus, Openness, Pity, Danger, Shame, Fear, Jealousy, and Foul Mouth). On the function of personification in the Rose, see David Hult, Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Readership and Authority in the First Roman de la rose (Cambridge: CUP, 1986), esp. 220-227.
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subjective “I” is forthrightly directed at the “vous” of the regretz, which appear to
become corporeal as the poet threatens them and explicitly conveys his revulsion towards
them while enumerating their harmful qualities. The second strophe of Venés regretz is
overly expressive of the physical character of the regretz; they are capable of not only
dwelling in “dueil” but even take possession of the mourning clothes he intended to wear.
Lastly, in Plusieurs regretz, a physical gesture following a greeting of welcome
metaphorically facilitates the entrance of the regretz in the poet’s residence (heart):
“Venez a moy, je vous ouvre la porte.”
REGRETZ AND UNREQUITED LOVE. Although unrequited love is not widely present
as a defining cause for the arrival of the regretz, the lady’s unresponsiveness as well as
her pitilessness are hinted at in a few chansons as being responsible for the residing of the
regretz in the poet’s heart (see Va t’en regret; Sourdez, regretz; Tous les regretz
[qu’oncques]; Regret ennuy). In the second stanza of Va t’en regret, for instance, the
heartbroken victim of the regretz alludes to his lady’s unresponsiveness while shedding
tears at the fact that he “often asks to hear her speaking to him, yet nothing comes of
this.”42 The four-line text of Tous les regretz hints at the lady’s pitilessness indirectly,
avoiding any explicit reference to her qualities or attitude: by gathering “Tous les regretz
qu’oncques furent au monde” in his heart, the lovesick poet hopes to make it break so that
his lady beholds its sight.
42 “Quant m’en souvyent, force est que je le voye || Souvent requiers que a moy parler je l’oye || Celle qui a le voloir de mon cueur || Riens ne s’en fait dont ay fort doleur || Qui me contraint soyez se hault quoy l’oye.”
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MORT. Taking into consideration the emergence of the regretz in the genre of
Complainte as well as their association with the lament over death as observed in the
work of Chartier, it is not surprising that death appears as a major theme in the literary
texts of several regretz chansons. Nevertheless, the function of the regretz as a synonym
of mourning over the loss of the lady is not a widely explicit idea in the regretz complex.
It is only in two chansons, Revenez regretz and Venez regretz, sourdez that the regretz, in
line with their literary origins, are implored to lament a lady’s death. Revenez regretz in
particular showcases a language stocked with a quintessential imagery of mourning –
sighs, cries, renouncement of happiness, and loss of sense and hope. In point of fact, the
most prevalent manifestation of death in connection with the regretz emerges in the form
of the redeemer. Death is implored to set the male persona free from his sorrow and
suffering, elements that are embodied in the figure of the regretz. Such an association
materializes in several regretz chansons, most evidently in Pour ung jamais, Regretz sans
fin, Dueil et ennuy soucy, and Mon souvenir. Furthermore, attached to the male persona’s
desire for death is often an expression that projects dispatch: “brief mes jours definer”
(Mille regretz); “Jay sans cesser qui ma vie a fin maine” (Dueil et ennuy soucy); “mort
soudaine” (Cent mille regretz).
Projecting a subtle variation of the former narrative – or a reverse, one may say –
the regretz in certain chansons do not precede the status of death. Instead, they are
appealed to arrive for the purpose of facilitating the male persona’s intention and longing
to die (see Tous les regretz and Venés regretz). Lastly, the invocation of death may act on
a metaphorical level to convey the extent of the lover’s languishing. In Cent mille regretz,
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for instance, the extremity of his “langueur” is compared with the effect of a sudden
death (“ma langueur vault pis que mort soudaine”), caused, in part, by the assailing of
“one hundred thousand sorrows.”
DUEIL. The second stanza of Venés regretz opens with the following verses
directed to the regretz: “Mais gardez bien qu’après vous ne demeure l’abit de dueil plus
noir que belle meure.”43 Here, the habit of “dueil” is measured against the mourning
clothes and it is portrayed as darker – and, metaphorically, more cruel – than the latter.
“Dueil,” therefore, is implied as a word of its own meaning, distinct from that of the
actual rituals of mourning. Indeed, the use of “dueil” in Venés regretz reflects the
contemporary understanding of the word in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to denote
the process of inner mourning and grief after the loss of a loved one.44 “Dueil” is a
stereotypical word in the regretz complex, featured in half of the regretz chansons for
which a text survives. It either registers the grief and sorrow that comes as an outcome of
the regretz or pairs with the regretz to intensify the narrative of suffering. As part of a
rhetoric that projects dolor of the highest degree, “dueil” is also interweaved with a
vocabulary of comparable nuances: “dueil et larmes”; “grand dueil et paine douloureuse”;
“deuil et langueur”; “dueil et ennuy”; “deul et desplaisance”; and “dueil et douleur.”
THE ORATORY OF SUFFERING. Undoubtedly, the majority of regretz are infused
with a language conveying profuse sorrow and deep melancholy, themes that have been
43 For a translation, see p.196. 44 Quoting from Packer who cites from the Nouveau dictionnaire etymologique et historique by A. Dauzat, J. Dubois, H. Mitterand (Paris: Larousse, 1971): “Dueil indicated the tormenting grief felt at the loss of one dearly loved. Whether the loss occurred through a misunderstanding, quarrel, or death, dueil meant the sharp emotion or pain of sorrow rather than mourning and its exterior garments as implied in the modern use of deuil” (Packer, “Au Boys de Dueil,” fn.1).
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widely explored earlier in the poetry of Christine de Pizan, François Villon, and Charles
d’Orléans, among others, and expressed through the stereotypical vocabulary of the
courtly tradition.45 One of the major literary labels of sorrow in the regretz complex is the
word “douleur.” “Douleur” in the context of the regretz poems is expressive of pain, most
likely, of the heart rather than somatic.46 Thus in Sourdez regretz, “douleur” is summoned
to surround the piteous lover’s heart;47 in Pour ung jamais ung regret, “douleur” is also
implied to reside in his “las cueur.”48 Furthermore, sorrow is alluded by means of various
expressions that convey unhappiness, loss of hope, and joy. The table outlines
conventional expressions of sorrow interpolated in the regretz complex.
45 Grief and bereavement were major motifs in the lyric poetry of Christine de Pizan. The twin motifs deuil and douleur in her work were linked with her personal bereavement due to her widowhood, the communal grief of public figures, and the torments of fin’amors. On this subject, see Jean-François Kosta-Théfaine, Le Chant de la Douleur dans les Poesies de Christine de Pizan (Nantes: Editions du Petit Véhicule, 2007). 46 “Douleur” (suffering of the body or soul) is generally considered as the meaning of dueil in the sixteenth century. See Packer, “Au Boys de Dueil,” n.1. 47 “Sourdez, regretz, avironnez mon cueur || Tout de souspirs de paine et de douleur” 48 “Car mon las cueur en tristesse labeure || Tant que ne puis celle douleur souffrir”
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Pain/distress/grief Douleur/dolant Pour les regrets Plusiers regretz Pour ung jamais Mille regretz Regretz sans fin Tous les regretz qu’oncques
Debility/languish Langueur/languir Mon souvenir Sourdez regretz Cent mille Sans regretz Dueil et ennuy soucy
Despair Desespoir Pour les regretz Nuit et jour
Loss/absence of pleasure/joy
Plaisir me delaisse N’est plaisir Passant ma vie desplaisente Tout plaisir doncqs ie veulx habandonner Desplaisance Je renonce a plaisance Toutte ma joye c’est morte
Absence of hope N’ay plus espoir De m’espjoyr n’ay jamais esperance
Sadness Chassant tristesse J’ay triste soing Mon las cueur en tristesse labeure Regret m’atriste
Table 5.4: Prevalent words signifying suffering in the regretz texts.
TOURMENTER. “Tourmenter” is another prevalent code-word signifying suffering
within the regretz complex. It commonly indicates affliction that befalls the narrator as an
outcome of the regretz, a motif that echoes in stock expressions such as: “Regret
m’atriste et me tourmente” (Nuit et jour); [Plusieurs regretz] “me tourmentant de si
piteuse sorte”; [Les grans regretz] “tourmentent tant mon cueur,” among others.
Almost a third of the regretz texts that I have considered employ the word
“tourmenter.” Besides, as the majority of these texts have been set to music more than
once (Allez regretz, Plusieurs regretz, Tous les regretz, Pour ung jamais), I assume that
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the exposure and prominence of “tourmenter” as a word of significance within the regretz
topos must have been further enhanced by means of the multiple settings that were
composed, performed, and circulated in manuscript sources near and after the turn of the
fifteenth century. It is especially intriguing that in regretz texts fashioned in the rondeau
form, “tourmenter” always lies in the refrain. In particular, I have observed that the third
line of the refrain appears as the most likely position, followed by the second.49 This
observation leads me to think that the regretz topos not only featured a panoply of
archetypical words and themes, but it may also have been governed by a sort of stylized
syntax in regard to the likely arrangement of its stock vocabulary.50
CUEUR. Reference to the heart in the regretz poems commonly emerges in
association with “tourmenter.” If the regretz embody those personified agents among
whose primary functions is to cause distress, the heart stands for the target of their action.
The following expressions illustrate this idea: “Assez avez tourmente mon las cueur”
(Allez regretz); “Et nuyt et jour tourmentent tant mon cueur” (Les grans regretz); “Tous
les regretz qui les cueurs tourmentez” (Tous les regretz). The function of the heart as the
primary residence of the regretz – “cueur” acting as a locus or virtual target for the
regretz to direct their arrows – is plainly illustrated in the following verses: “Sourdez,
regretz, avironnez mon cueur” (“Arise, regrets, surround my heart”); “Pour promptement
mon cueur executer” (“And with dispatch lay low my heart”; Parfons regretz); “Prennez 49 This consistency in regard to the actual location of “tourmenter” applies also to non-rondeau texts. For instance, “tourmens” in the single five-line stanza chanson Secretz regretz is positioned in the second line. The ballade Pour ung jamais cites the word “tourmente” in the third verse of the opening stanza. 50 Here I only speculate on an issue that would need further research before one reaches any conclusions. Apart from the regretz which are positioned in or close to the opening line and the word “tourmenter” featured in the refrain, I have also noticed that references to death, as either a desired or intended state, emerge in the closing lines of stanzas, and most consistently at the concluding line of the regretz chansons.
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mon cueur en sa dolleur parfonde” (“Take my heart in its profound grief”; Tous les
regretz qu’oncques); “Mon souvenir me fait mourir pour les regretz que fait mon cueur.”
TEARS. As an archetypal utterance of the courtly love discourse denoting a
somatic symptom of psychological suffering, “larmes” in the regretz complex refers
either to the male persona’s act of mourning or to his despair caused by lovesickness.
Tears in connection with bereavement and lament due to death are variously alluded in
the regretz: “Aprez sa mort que n’avoit deservie en luy donnant larmes habondance”
(“After her death that led in giving him cries in abundance”; Revenez tous, regretz); “mon
cueur sente et pleure” (Venés regretz). Multiple references to the act of crying, both
metaphorical and literal, can be observed. In the rondeau Nuit et jour, the suffering
narrator engages in a brooding monologue which culminates in the second stanza with an
imagery of ultimate despair: he is losing his “mind and conscience on the bed of cries”
(lit de plours). Crying as a long-lasting gesture is portrayed in Sur tous regretz: “je plains
et plaindrai” (I lament and will lament).
TEMPORAL DIMENSION OF SUFFERING. The majority of the regretz poems are
suffused with a rhetoric of temporal persistence associated with the language of suffering.
A profuse array of expressions denoting duration suggests that the regretz are
distinguished for their tenacity and constant attack. “Sans cesser” is featured as the most
frequently used temporal expression, followed by “nuyt et jour”; “longtemps” /
“longhement”; “à toute heure” / “en ample heure”; “sans fin” / “sans repos.” Multiple
expressions of duration are juxtaposed in certain chansons, thus further emphasizing the
ruthless character of the regretz. It is worth mentioning, apart from Nuit et jour and Les
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grans regretz which both interpolate the expressions “sans cesser” and “nuyt et jour,” the
abundance of temporal endurance in Pour ung jamais, the second verse of which reads:
“Qui [ung regret] sans cesser nuyt et jour à toute heure.”
Localized Intertextualities within the Regretz Texts
Beyond the taxonomy of code words and themes I outlined as prominent constants
within the literary topos of regretz, I would point to specific textual linkages among
subgroups of regretz chansons. The exploration of the constituents of the regretz topos
required a macroscopic consideration of narrative, vocabulary, and conceptual references.
Here, on the other hand, I suggest that these constants, apart from their overall
significance, are locally realized in individual regretz and also weave out paths of
intertextual play among the regretz. While it is not feasible to present an exhaustive
analysis of intertextuality among the texts of my regretz complex, certain striking
instances of textual affinity serve to showcase the general and extensive
interconnections.51
Consider the texts of Cent mille regretz and Regretz sans fin. To begin with, the
closely related overall discourse shared between the chansons is not surprising.
Emblematic of the regretz topos, both texts abound with expressions of anguish and
sorrow as signifiers of the male persona’s misfortune. Although their narrative themes do 51 In previous chapters, I have addressed instances of textual affinity as an additional intertextual dimension to chansons that musically intersect. These brief discussions of intertextuality on the level of the regretz text include the following pairs: Allez regretz / Sans regretz (Ch. 2, pp. 55-56); Allez regretz / Nuit et jour (Ch. 2, p. 57-58); Les grans regretz / Mon souvenir (Ch. 2, pp. 79-81); Les grans regretz / Nuit et jour (Ch. 2, pp. 82-84); Mille regretz / Regretz sans fin (Ch. 3, pp. 101-102); Mille regretz / Tous les regretz (Ch. 3, pp. 116-17); Mille regretz / Cent mille regretz (Ch. 3, pp. 119-20); Dueil et ennuy / Tous les regretz (Ch. 4, pp. 166-67); and Le coeur la syut / Pour ung jamais (Ch. 4, pp. 170-71).
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not exhibit signs of direct correspondence – Cent mille regretz recounts the attack of the
regretz as an outcome of parting and Regretz sans fin suggests a “rapport meschant”
(“malicious rumor”) as the cause of the poet’s infliction – the chansons intersect closely
as a result of their sharing of textual material.
Their opening lines demonstrate an abundance of parallels (see texts below).
Apart from the staple “regretz” positioned in the first hemistich, their portrayal as “cent
mille” and “sans fin” suggests quantity. “Sans fin” also mirrors the expression “sans
cesse” that occurs at the closing of the opening line of Cent mille regretz, the latter
recurring yet again at the closing of the first stanza of Regretz sans fin. The verbs that are
employed in the first verse of each, “me poursuivent” and “me fault endurer,” register
infliction and are placed in the second half of the verse. A shared vocabulary of either
identical or synonymic words contributes to the intertextual grid of the chansons: “dueil,”
“plaisir,” “delaisse” / “habandonner,” and “langueur” / “douleur.” “Mort soudaine”
interconnects with “brief finer ma vie,” as references to death that additionally project a
sense of urgency; the expressions are also comparable in regard to their placement at the
end of the fourth verse. Furthermore, as the shared “plaisir” is linked with verbs of
similar denotation, an interesting reversal of meaning takes place: while in Cent mille
regretz, “plaisir” abandons the narrator/male persona, in Regretz sans fin, it is he who
abandons it. Additional interplay between the chansons in regard to the placing of shared
vocabulary can be observed: “dueil” is positioned at the first hemistich of the second
verses, while “Pouisqu’il” opens their closing verses.
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Cent mille regretz seems to function as a focal regretz chanson in my current
discussion of textual intertextualities. As I briefly argued in Chapter 3, the chanson may
be viewed as engaging in textual communication with Mille regretz. Furthermore, the
text of a third regretz chanson, Dueil et ennuy, bears evidence of an intertextual
association with Cent mille regretz (see poetic text and translation below). The most
intriguing point of connection between the two poems involves the sharing of a complete
line: the penultimate verse of Cent mille regretz, “Que ma langueur vault pis que mort
soudaine,” recurs as the opening verse of the second stanza of Dueil et ennuy. Indeed, the
two verses are indistinguishable apart from a reworking of the opening “que ma” changed
to “ceste.” Shared vocabulary that resonates between the chansons includes such words
as “plaisir” / “plaisance,” “dueil,” “fortune,” and “sans cesser.” An interesting instance of
textual cross-play occurs in the second lines of the chansons, as the verses intersect on a
52 For a translation of Cent mille regretz, see Chapter 3, n. 62. 53 Translated as: “I must suffer with unending regrets || And pass my doleful days in great grief || Because of malicious rumor about me || It would be better to end my life quickly || Than thus endlessly endure such grief || So I wish to abandon all pleasure || I do not want to be given any more solace || Since I must suffer through envy alone.”
Cent mille regretz me poursuivent sans cesse
Deuil me conduict et plaisir me delaisse
Et fortune si tres mal me promene
Que ma langueur vault pis que mort soudaine
Pouisqu’il est force qu’ainsi je vous delaisse52
Regretz sans fin il me fault endurer
Et en grant dueil mes doulans iours user
Par ung rapport meschant dont fuz servie
Mieulx me vouldroit de brief finer ma vie
Qu’ainsi sans cesse telle douleur muer
Tout plaisir doncqs ie veulx habandonner
Plus nulx soulas ie ne requirs donner
Puis qu’il me fault souffrir par seulle envie53
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conceptual level. Both “plaisir” and “plaisance” are linked with verbs that convey
parting; thus, the image of pleasure is portrayed as one that deserts the poet (“plaisir me
delaisse” vs. “eslongé ma plaisance”). Another intriguing parallel occurs in reference to
fortune. The shared word is accompanied in both chansons by verbs of similar “sound,”
so that “fortune me promene” mirrors the expression “fortune me pourmaine.”54
There is no doubt that the close textual affinity between Cent mille regretz and
Regretz sans fin, and also in a smaller scale with Dueil et ennuy, is particularly striking
suggesting that the chanson texts may have been related either by common authorship or
emulation. Apart from the fact that the musical setting of Cent mille regretz was in the
past attributed to Josquin, who is also the composer of Regretz sans fin, the musical
settings happen to circulate in sources dated within a relatively narrow chronological
54 I have not been able to identify a translation for either “pourmaine” or a matching infinitive (pourmener?) in dictionaries of medieval French. I wonder whether “pourmaine” could be a misspelling of “promene,” as in that case the expression “fortune me promene” would be jointly featured in both Dueil et ennuy and Cent mille regretz.
Dueil et ennuy soussy regret et paine Ont eslongé ma plaisance mondaine Donc a par moy ie me plains et tourmente Et en espoir nay plus ung brin d’actente Veez la comment fortune me pourmaine Je n’ay pensée qui me joye me ramaine Ma fantasie est desplaisirs plaine Car a tout heure devant moy se presente Ceste langueur vault pis que mort soubdaine Puis qu’il n’y a sang, char, otz, nerf ny vaine Qui rudement et tresforte ne s’en sente Pour abregier sans qu’en rien je vous mente Jay sans cesser qui ma vie a fin maine
Mourning and grief, worry, sorrow and pain Have moved away my worldly pleasure So I cry and torture myself And there is no longer much expectation in hope See how Fortune walks by me I have no thought to give me joy to uplift me My fantasy is of plain pleasure That always presents itself in front of me This suffering is worse than sudden death For there is no blood, bone, flesh, nerve nor vein Which one feels roughly and forcefully To be brief without never lying to you Without ceasing I live a life which fades away
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frame of thirty years (1520s-1550s).55 It is possible, then, that the poems themselves may
also have been penned sometime in the early sixteenth century. While no evidence exists
to confirm that one of the poems was deliberately modeled on the other, the textual
linkage between the two chansons owes much to their shared participation in the regretz
topos.
Apart from the chansons previously discussed, several additional regretz intersect
with each other by means of a common narrative and a shared body of code words. An
interesting instance of a close textual relationship can be observed between Sourdez
regretz and Sur tous regretz. The focal point of intersection between the texts occurs at
their third lines, where the shared key word “perdu(e)” reveals the core of the narrative.
Both lines open with a conjunction that denotes reason (“Car” vs. “puis que”). “Perdu”
functions as a point of arrival; it justifies the gathering of the regretz that appear in the
incipit. In both chansons, the object of “perdu” is the “dame” of the male persona,
portrayed in Sur tous regretz as his “amiable ligueur.” Apart from the common “cuer,”
which functions as the recipient of the “regretz,” the shared occurrence of “souspirs”
positioned exactly at the same point in both texts (third and fourth syllables of the second
verse) is particularly interesting. Both chansons also carry an expression of duration in
their concluding verses to signify the extent of the suffering (“en ample heure” /
“longtemps”). Profound suffering is variously illustrated in both poems. Most apparent is
that the evocation of “souspirs,” “paine,” and “douleur” in the second verse of Sourdez
regretz, as symptoms of a rather unbearable anguish, function in parallel to the perpetual
55 See Chapter 3, n. 38 and n.61.
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state of mourning that is conveyed in the last verse of Sur tous regretz. Finally, while
announcing the rise of the regretz, the opening hemistichs of the two regretz engage in a
kind of aural interplay. “Sur tous regretz” resonates with the sound of “sourdez regretz,”
as the “regretz” are preceded by utterances that stress the consonants “s” and “r” (and
occuring in the first syllable, too).
Sourdez, regretz, avironnez mon cueur
Tout de souspirs de paine et de douleur
Puis qu’ainsy est qu’ay ma dame perdue
J’aimasse mieux jamais ne l’avoir veue
Pour en estre si longtemps en langheur56
Sur tous regretz, les miens plus piteulx pleure
Jetans souspirs transpersans mon lasceur
Car j’ay perdu l’amiable ligueur
Que tant je plains et plaindrai en ample heure57
The specific cases of intertextual play among regretz that I have discussed above
are particularly enlightening in demonstrating the extent of textual affiliation within what
I have called the regretz complex. From the earliest instances of regretz in the poetry of
Chartier, Jean II de Bourbon, and Charles d’Orléans, and beyond an overall consideration
of major literary labels shared among the regretz, code words and archetypical
expressions are not only extensively mirrored among certain regretz, thus defining the
parameters of the regretz topos. They are in certain cases virtually aligned within the
textual space, paraphrased (by the use of synonyms instead of the same words), or even
transformed (as in the reversal of meaning attached to the word “plaisir” in Cent mille
56 Translated as: “Arise, regrets, surround my heart || with all sighs, pain and grief || since it is true that I have lost my lady || I would have preferred never to have seen her || for having languished for so long.” The translation is taken from Wesner, The Chansons of Loyset Compère, 392. 57 “Above all regrets mine weep most piteously || uttering sighs, penetrating my weary heart || for I have lost the gentle companion || who I lament much and will always lament.”
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regretz and Regretz sans fin). Textual intertextualities are thus not static, but organically
embedded within the framework of the topos.
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CONCLUSION
The majority of discussions developed in this dissertation deal with facets of
musical and textual intertextuality among regretz chansons of the late fifteenth and early
sixteenth centuries. The evidence presented suggests that the regretz communicated, in a
great extent, on the level of their poetic texts, and also exchanged extensive threads of
musical connection.
To consider the individual regretz in isolation from their referential world is to
deprive them of their cultural significance as intertexts and ‘players’ within a network
shaped up by literary codes and cultural practices. Tracking down or speculating upon
musical connections within the regretz complex may help us to gain insight into the ways
regretz composers acknowledged and shaped the regretz as a significant literary topos
and cult musical tradition. Ghizeghem, for instance, must have been particularly
committed to openly recognizing his fascination with the regretz as a poetic theme; not
only did he set in music a regretz poem popular at the time (“Allez regretz”), but all of
his regretz chansons, as was shown in Chapter 2, interrelate to a greater or lesser degree.
The specific interrelations between Allez regretz and La Regretée, to which Goldberg had
called attention, are so apparent and more extensive than first noticed, that we may now
reconsider our understanding of La Regretée as a later work in its discursive context
within the regretz of Ghizeghem. The popularity of Allez regretz as a widely appropriated
model is also further supported by its intertextual ties with such chansons as Weerbeke’s
Sans regretz and Fresneau’s Nuit et jour, among others.
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Mille regretz, the central regretz chanson treated in Chapter 3, launched an
extensive network of musical and textual intersections in the regretz of Josquin, La Rue,
and Gombert. Motivic paraphrases of melodic incipits and a shared core gesture circulate
especially among the majority of Josquin’s regretz and certain regretz of La Rue; such
intertextualities suggest that both prominent composers were aware of the cult status of
regretz and were eager to further contribute to its literary and musical consumption. The
subtle intertextualities explored in Chapter 4 possess the potential to add new layers of
meaning to individual regretz chansons. Josquin’s Plus nulz regretz, previously thought
of as a ‘solitary’ chanson, has been shown to share intertextual bonds with La Rue’s Tous
les regretz. Moreover, intertextual links between Tous les regretz and the anonymous
Dueil et ennuy, and also between La Rue’s Pour ung jamais and Ghiselin’s Le cueur la
suyt, previously unexplored, contribute to our understanding of the affiliation of
Marguerite of Austria with the regretz milieu. Finally, beyond their close intertextual
bonds on the levels of music and text, the regretz constituted a literary topos, one that
was composed of an array of archetypical vocabulary signifying, in a great extent, a
rhetoric of sorrow and suffering.
In conclusion, the intertextualities explored in this dissertation attest to the idea
that late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century French and Franco-Flemish composers
recognized the significance of the regretz as a literary topos and acknowledged the poetic
ties among the regretz by means of musical connections. Apart from their individual
meaning and standing within a composer’s oeuvre, each regretz chanson can also be
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viewed and appreciated for its contemporary significance as a participant in a culturally
relevant topos and thereby, quite likely, as part of the regretz compositional complex.
When dealing with issues of intertextuality within a group of compositions linked
by a shared theme, it is most plausible that further scrutiny will uncover additional works
and associations. Especially in regard to the textual dimension of the regretz, Marvin
called attention to the existence of various literary manuscripts that include a wealth of
regretz poems.1 Indeed, the literary significance of the regretz topos, scarcely developed
in music scholarship, awaits further exploration. Looking, by way of illustration, at the
text of the early sixteenth-century cult chanson Au boys de dueil, one may notice a verse
relevant to this study: “Venez regretz, venez tous en mon cueur.”2 The first four verses of
the third stanza of Au boys de dueil, which open with the above reference to regretz, were
used in an anonymous four-voice polyphonic setting that survives in Attaingnant’s Trente
et deux chansons musicales a quatre parties of 1529.3 The grafting of part of Au boys de
dueil, a chanson popular for its “continuous integration into musical, literary, and
religious life throughout the sixteenth century,” into a new chanson beginning with the
words “Venez regretz” might be viewed as an indication of the popularity of the regretz
topos. It may be possible that an early sixteenth-century composer familiar with the more
popular “Venez regretz” of Compère extracted those particular regretz verses from Au
boys de dueil motivated by a desire to engage in the regretz cult tradition.
1 Marvin, ‘“Regrets’ in French Chanson Texts,” n. 27. She refers to the following literary manuscripts in Bibliothèque Nationale: fr. 1719, 1722, nouv. acq. fr. 477, and 7559. 2 See Packer, “Au boys de dueil,” 3. 3 Mentioned in ibid., 5.
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Interesting for future research are the musical and poetic intersections within the
regretz complex viewed against the wider background of intertextual bonds among other
artifacts of late fifteenth-century and early sixteenth-century Franco-Flemish material
culture. Intertextuality, and most specifically the practice of allusion, was not only
manifested in music and poetry. French and Flemish manuscript illuminators indulged in
intertextual play as well. Not only do we observe close affinities in technique, landscape,
and decorative conventions among manuscript miniatures, but the extensive
reemployment of identical patterns, figures, and complete pictures.4
If certain instances of intertextual bond within the regretz chansons can be read as
exchanges among composers interested in showcasing their sharing in a common culture
and/or under a common patron, the same can likely be said of artists. For instance, the
musical and textual associations between Pour ung jamais and Le cueur la suyt, regretz,
enhanced by their participation in a virtual interplay of parallel contextual facets and
further intersection in their common association with Marguerite of Austria, can been
4 Susie Nash, Between France and Flanders: Manuscript illumination in Amiens (London & Toronto: The British Library and University of Toronto Press, 1999), esp. 105-6. The same technique applies to painting. I have, for instance, traced a string of paintings that not only employ the same figure (exotic-looking man with a thick long beard and a turban) but, most interestingly, appropriate it in similar iconographic narratives. Beginning with two paintings dating from around 1465, the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus by the Louvain-based Dieric Bouts and the Crucifixion by Justus van Ghent, the shared figure later appears in Justus’s Communion of the Apostles (1474) and the folios of a celebrated Books of Hours, that of Mary of Burgundy (ca. 1470-75). The circulation of the cult figure among the four works of art brings to mind the migration of the shared sigh gesture observed in the regretz of La Rue and Josquin. See Otto Pächt, Early Netherlandish Painting from Rogier van der Weyden to Gerard David (New York: Harvey Miller, 1997), 146; Thomas Kren, “Revolution and Transformation: Painting in Devotional Manuscripts, Circa 1467-1485,” in Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, ed. Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003), 137-8.
220
seen as manifestations of the same cultural orbit which encouraged the visual discourse
among painters, manuscript illuminators, and tapestry designers.5
Artistic exchange of ideas and imagery within the circles of painters and
illuminators was natural and even inevitable. Not only were many active in both fields,
interacting in common artists’ guilds, but they also joined forces in the creation of
ephemeral works for lavish festivities of the Burgundian court during the mid and late
1400s.6 Beyond exchanging patterns, a practice which, apart from matters of
convenience, suggests the level of esteem that allusion enjoyed within the Burgundian
material culture, artists engaged in apparent and extensive borrowing of figures,
narratives, and architectural spaces within artifacts of an interdisciplinary field.7 It may
also be argued that the fascination of artists with building intertextual bonds, a practice
5 The extent of fascination with borrowing in the Franco-Flemish artistic sphere of the mid and late fifteenth century becomes evident when one considers the extensive circulation of patterns (iconographical sketches) in an interdisciplinary stratum. In a period when conventions of copyright were out of the question, “patterns were borrowed, exchanged, rented or even illegally seized by painters, illuminators, glass-painters, tapestry designers and specialists in yet other media.” See James Douglas Farquhar, Creation and Imitation: The Work of a Fifteenth-Century Manuscript Illuminator (Fort Lauderdale, FL.: Nova/NYIT University Press, 1976), 65-71. 6 Thomas Kren and Maryan W. Ainsworth, “Illuminators and Painters: Artistic Exchanges and Interrelationships,” in Illuminating the Renaissance, 35-57, esp.35-36. 7 One of the most fascinating and widely celebrated cases of intertextual alliance can be observed among three artworks of diverse media dating from the mid to late fifteenth century: Jan van Eyck’s Virgin with Canon van der Paele (1436), Gérard Loyet’s acclaimed golden statuette ensemble of Saint George and Charles the Bold (dating from 1471 and now in the treasury of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Liege), and a manuscript illumination of Lieven van Lathem found in a prayer book of Charles the Bold (for an illustration of Lathem’s illumination and relevant discussion, see Hugo van der Velden, The Donor’s Image: Gerard Loyet and the Votive Portraits of Charles the Bold, [Turnhout: Brepols, 2000], 124-25). All three artifacts address the same iconographical narrative. The duet of figures in Loyet’s statuette has been “extracted” from the right part of van Eyck’s painting. The iconographic resemblances, shared themes, and contexts of production between the two group compositions of saint/donor are striking. Both works of art were the result of commissions by donors and were to be displayed as tokens of their gratitude. Most interestingly, while van Eyck’s composition faithfully adheres to the iconographic paradigm of the sacra converzatione, in which the presentation of the donor by the saint is directed to a hierarchically elevated figure (God, Christ, Virgin Mary, mystery), that third person, visually absent in the statuette, is virtually suggested by the outward gestures of saint and donor as van der Velden has discussed (The Donor’s Image, 122-24). The intertextual dimension in this case extends beyond the boundaries of the material object.
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shared among musicians/poets of the same chronological and geographical resonance,
functioned as a means of shaping and building upon a Franco-Flemish cultural heritage.
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APPENDIX
TRANSLATIONS OF REGRETZ TEXTS
This is not a comprehensive list of regretz texts and their translations; it contains only those for
which English translations are not readily available. The list is organized in alphabetical order
according to the incipit.
Aprez regretz il se fault resjouyr Chassant tristesse et deuil et souvenir Car j’ay la grace de celle que j’amoye Riens en ce monde certes je ne vouldroye Fors tousjours estre pres d’elle a monplaisir Bien longhement elle m’a fait languir En trop grant doubte qu’elle me deubt hayr Mais maintenant veult que je me resjoye A tousjour mais je la veulx bien servir Elle le vault plus que aultre, sans mentir Et par ainsi vivrons tousjours en joye Puis que s’amour m’a donné et ottroye Sans plus avant penser a desplaisir
After sorrow, one must rejoice Chasing sadness, and mourning, and memories For I have the grace of her whom I loved In truth I would wish for nothing in this world Except to have always the pleasure of being with her She has made me languish for a long time In a much great doubt that she made me to hate But now she wants me to rejoice But I want to always serve her well Frankly she wants that more that anything else And thus we will always live in joy Since her love was given to me and provided Without further thinking of unhappiness
Dueil et ennuy me persecutent tant Que mon esprit à comporter s’estent Tous les regretz que l’on scaroit penser Et n’est vivant qui en sceut dispenser Car en mon cas personne riens n’entend
Pain and grief persecute me much That my mind can not think of how to bear All the sorrows that one would think of And it is not alive but to provide [them?] Because in my case, nothing matters
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Dueil et ennuy soussy regret et paine Ont eslongé ma plaisance mondaine Donc a par moy ie me plains et tourmente Et en espoir nay plus ung brin d’actente Veez la comment fortune me pourmaine Je n’ay pensée qui me joye me ramaine Ma fantasie est desplaisirs plaine Car a tout heure devant moy se presente Ceste langueur vault pis que mort soubdaine Puis qu’il n’y a sang, char, otz, nerf ny vaine Qui rudement et tresforte ne s’en sente Pour abregier sans qu’en rien je vous mente Jay sans cesser qui ma vie a fin maine
Mourning and grief, worry, sorrow and pain Have moved away my worldly pleasure So I cry and torture myself And there is no longer much expectation in hope See how Fortune walks by me I have no thought to give me joy to uplift me My fantasy is of plain pleasure That always presents itself in front of me This suffering is worse than sudden death For there is no blood, bone, flesh, nerve nor vein Which one feels roughly and forcefully To be brief without never lying to you Without ceasing I live a life which fades away
La Regretée, en tous biens accomplie D’honneur, de los, et de grace remplie Je vous supplie Très humblement qui’il vous plaise Madame N’avoir desdaing se ce lui qui vous ame De cueur et d’ame A vous louer sens etlangue desplye Pour le bon bruit qui en vous multiplie dont je voy France honourée et emplie Raison me plie Avous nommer se jamais le fut femme S’à vous aymer de bon cueur je m’emplie Amour le veult bonvouloir luy supplie Mais desamplie Vous voye d’ung los qui tarnit votre fame C’est que pitié vostre cueur point n’entame Qui vous est blame Mais en mon cueur ce mal tais et replie
Sorrowful one, with all goods supplied Filled up with honor, praise, and grace I implore you Very humbly that it pleases you my lady To not have disdain of him who loves you With heart and soul Wishes to offer you mind and tongue For the good reputation that in you multiplies Of which I see France honored and fulfilled Reason makes me To name you above all women If I am set to love you with good heart I want to beg for love at your pleasure But if denied You will see a praise that will tarnish your fame It is such a pity that nothing touches your heart So that it weakens you But in my heart this sorrow hides and folds
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Le cueur la suyt et mon oeil la regrete Mon corps la plainct mon esperit la guecte Celle qui est des parfaictes la fleur dont à jamais j’ay ordonné ung pleur perpetuel en pensée segrecte Tous en font dueil et chascun la soubhaicte Plusieurs en ont dure complaincte faicte Car elle avoit gaigné de meintz seigneur Fortune l’a de noz veues fortraicte Non sans regret pour sa beaulté parfaicte; Mais de deux biens prandre fault le meilleur Sy ne sera en obly sa valeur En quelque part qu’elle aille ou qu’on la mecte
My heart follows her and my eyes lament her My body cries for her and my spirit guards her She who is the most perfect of flowers Of whom forever I have ordered a A perpetual crying in secret thought Everybody is in mourning and each and everyone claims her Several harsh laments have been made For she had gained the lord’s hand Fortune weakens from our sight Not without sorrow for her perfect beauty But of two goods one must choose the best Her value will not be forgotten Wherever she goes or she is placed
Les grans regretz que sans cesser je porte Et nuyt et jour tourmentent tant mon cueur Que se de vous ne vient quelque liqueur Impossibl’est que plus je m’en deporte Mais j’espere que grace l’on m’aporte Pour remede qu’il me vauldra bonheur Aujourd’huy n’est plaisir que me supporte le cueur m’estraint et me tient en rigueur Alegez moy et me donnez vigueur Qu je vaulx mort a vous je m’en raporte
The great sorrows that I incessantly bear And night and day much torment my heart Unless some sustenance comes from you It is impossible for me to go on But I hope that grace will return back to me as a remedy that will bring me happiness Today there is no pleasure to keep me alive My heart is torturing me and keeps me in harshness Relieve me and give me strength or I want death to take me back to you
Mon souvenir me fait mourir Pour les regretz que fait mon cueur dont nuyt et jour suis en labeur soubz espoir de le secourir Se sans cesser devoye courir Se sçauray je par quel rigueur Sa doulceur me fault descouvrir Et le mettre hors de langueur En luy donnant port et faveur Sans plus dire ne soustenir
My memories make me die For all the sorrows that are in my heart Night and day I’m in labor In hope of rescuing them Without ceasing they are led astray They are known of such harshness Their sweetness I must uncover And place them out of suffering By giving them harbor and favor Without saying more but supporting
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Nuit et jour sans repos avoir Regret m’atriste et me tourmente Tant que n’ay plus espoir n’atente A chose que je puisse voir Plus m’en souvient a dire voir Et plus mon cuer s’en malcontente J’en pers le sens et le savoir Au lit de plours soubz noire tente Passant ma vie desplaisente En la chambre de desespoir
Day and night without rest A sorrow makes me sad and torments me much As long as I have no more hope nor waiting To see something The more I remember the truth to say the more my heart is unhappy I am losing my mind and my conscience on the bed of cries under the black shade passing my miserable life in the chamber of despair
O doulx regretz mon singulier plaisir Que i' ay voulu en ce monde choysir Pour mon tresor et plaisance mondaine Pencez a moy une foys la semaine Et mescripuez si vous auez loysir
Sweet sorrows, my only delight That I have wanted to choose in this world As my treasure and worldly pleasure Think of me once per week And write to me if you have the time
Plusieurs regretz qui sur la terre sont Et les douleus qu’hommes et femmes ont N’est que plaisir envers ceulx que ie porte Me tourmentant de si piteuse sorte Que mes espris ne schavent plus qu’ilz font Craincte, plaisir et honneur me osteront Car pour le veul ilz m’en emporteront Venez a moy, je vous ouvre la porte Puisque je pers celle par qui seront En moy sans fin leur demeure y feront Amour le veult et aussi m’y enorte Et que de sens et raison me deporte Conclusion: ilz me demeureront
The many sorrows found on earth And the sorrows that afflict men and women Are as pleasures compared to those I bear Tormenting me so piteously That my mind knows no longer what it does Fear pleasure and honor combat against me since they will carry me away from my will Come to me, I open the door to you Since I’m losing her for they will be Within me without end they will make their residence Love wants and also urges me And of my senses and reason deports me Conclusion: They will dwell in me
Regret ennui traveil et desplaisance Est le loyer du transi conquerant Combien quil soit iouyssance requerant Louyer damour nest pas ce que lon pense
Sorrow, grief, labor, and unhappiness Is the fee of a stiff conqueror how much it takes to implore for pleasure To pay for love is not what one thinks
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Revenez tous, regretz, je vous convie Revenez tost j’ay de vous veoir envie Plus que jamais je veuil vostre acointance Car de tous pointz je renonce a plaisance Puis que la mort a ma dame ravie Tousjours sera de mes souspirs servie Aprez sa mort que n’avoit deservie En luy donnant larmes habondance Je ne fay plus extime de ma vie Mon povre sens a tous coupz se devie Entre les gens ne scay ma contenance De m’espjoyr n’ay jamais esperance Puis qu’a deul est ma personne asservie
All sorrows, come back, I invite you Come back quickly I have an urge to see you More than ever I want your acquaintance For in every way I renounce happiness Since death has stolen my lady She will always be served with my sighs After her death that led In giving him cries in abundance I don’t respect my life any longer My poor senses drift all the time Among the people I do not know my place There is no hope of rejoice Since mourning has enslaved myself
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