When it comes to medieval music, people always think of simple and solemn religious music. In fact, just like our modern society, secular entertainment such as songs and dances were also full of life at that time, starting from the south of France. This can be seen in the colorful songs of the troubadour and trouvère of the north.
Active in the Longuedoc region of southwestern France from the 12th to the early 13th century, Trobado, created in the Occitan language, was mainly a court noble. The earliest known Troubadour was William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (1071-1126), whose granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine was also a famous patron of the arts. Important Trobados include Marcaburu, Jaufre Rudel, Bernard de Ventadorn and others. However, the Albigensian Crusade War of 1209-1229 brought the prosperous culture of the south to an abrupt end, but the spirit and form of Trobado's secular songs have radiated to northern France, the Iberian Peninsula and Italy.
Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Louis VII of France and brought the style of "Courtly Love" to the French court. Her son Richard the Lionheart composed some songs, and her two daughters Mary, Countess of Champagne and Aelis, Countess of Brois also played an important role in the spread of secular song art, making Champagne and Arras respectively the Important center of Trowell activity. Thibaut, Marie's grandson, Count of Champagne and later King of Navarre, was one of the most prolific Trowells known. Most of the early Trowells were also nobles, but starting from the 13th century, some creators from the civil class, universities and clergy began to become active. They also organized some guilds of poets and singers called "puy" and a poetry contest.
The secular song collection of Troubadour and Trowell is called chansonnier (chanson means song). Many Shangsongji appeared in the second half of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century, but their copying time was tens or even hundreds of years away from the active period of Trobado and Trowell. These collections of Shang Song not only record poems and some melodies, but are also "encyclopedias" recording the poet's life and genre development. The organizational form of Shang Songji is relatively complex and very attractive. It is usually arranged according to the status of the creator. For example, Thibaut, Count of Champagne, is ranked first in many Chanson collections. The collection also includes miniature paintings of the poet, prose biographies (vida, "deeds"), and commentaries (razo) that tell stories about the songs, the poets, the cultural world of poetry, and traditions. These are not reliable historical materials and are full of illusory legends and romantic stories. Famous Chansonnier collections include Cangé Chansonnier, Chansonnier de Arras, Noailles Chansonnier, etc., and the one introduced in this article "Chansonnier du Roi" (Chansonnier du Roi or Manuscrit du Roi) is one of the Chansonnier collections with the largest number of tracks and the widest range of genres.
The origin of "The Collection of King Shang Song" is not entirely certain. What is certain is that the oldest part of the manuscript was written after 1253, probably between the 1260s and 1270s, possibly in Artois or Arras, like many other Oy (Northern French dialect) songbooks. John Haines, through the research of musicography, believes that this collection of songs was a gift to William of Villehardouin (Guillaume de Villehardouin) who ruled the Morea Peninsula in Greece from 1245 to 1278, and was later dedicated to Anjou. Charles d'Anjou (1226-1285). But there is not enough evidence whether the place of origin is Artois or Arras.
The Collection of the Kings is very similar to the Collection of Noailles from Artois, but also has significant differences in calligraphy, decoration, and theme. Later, this collection of works was purchased by Cardinal Mazarin (Mazarin), who was the former Prime Minister of France in 1640. In 1668, it entered the royal library of King Louis XIV of France, hence the name "King's Collection of Jeans".
This collection of Shangsong is now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Bibliothèque Nationale de France), numbered fr.844. It consists of 216 parchments measuring 310 × 215 mm (previously about 360 × 240 mm), recording more than 600 songs of various genres, including songs by Troubadour and Trowell, and even classics Literary songs and some instrumental music, this situation is very rare. Of the original 428 Old French Trowell songs (the academic identifier is M), due to some pages being torn, 404 remain (including complete and fragmentary pieces), of which 365 have melodies and 27 are unique. ; There are 61 Trobado songs (the academic identifier is W), 51 of which have melodies, and 31 only exist in this collection; three lai songs (lai), one in French and two in French - Proven?al; among the motets (the academic identifier is R), there are 45 two-part French motets and three three-part French motets; there are 33 additional rondos, chansons and lais. ; In addition, there are nine instrumental dances estampie (only fragments of the first one survive), two dances and one royal dance (danse royal).
This large manuscript has experienced nearly 800 years of wind and rain, and its current condition is very poor. Many pages have binding errors in order, 18 pages have been lost, and many remaining pages of miniature paintings have been torn. Most of the initials bearing Trowell's portrait were lost. Many poems and melodies were also affected. Relatively lucky is the small collection of poems (the academic identifier is Mt) that contains the works of Count Thibault of Champagne. All 60 poems are intact, 56 of which have melodies. It seems that this collection of Shang Song has not yet been completed, and there are still many gaps left waiting for copying. The formatting method adopts two columns per page and 41 lines in each column. The manuscripts are arranged in order according to the social status of the poets, and Thibaut naturally ranks first. The first composition of each author in M ??begins with a drawing of the initials with a portrait. Most of the melodies were recorded in square notation, and three melodies in measured notation were added later.
The Trowell who contains the most works in "The Collection of Kings of Champagne" belongs to Thibault, 4th Count of Champagne (1201-1253), who later became the king of Navarre. His family line produced many bards or patrons. Thibault's works appear in at least 32 manuscripts, and the number of works is also the largest among Trowells, which is enough to illustrate his popularity at the time. Influenced by Gace Brulé, Thibaut met other famous Trowells, such as Philippe de Nanteuil and Raoul de Soissons. and Thibaut de Blaison, and perhaps Guillaume le Vinier. Both the "Grand Chronicle of France" and Dante's "On the Sayings" classified him as an "outstanding poet", which shows the extent to which he was respected during his lifetime. A skilled poet, Thibault worked in a variety of poetic genres, from court songs, refrains, pastoral songs, jeu parti and tenson songs, to lairds and songs of the Virgin Mary, which can be found in the Collection of King Shangsong. He knew how to express his creativity in his writing, never hesitating to rewrite classic poetry templates with a humorous touch. His poetry shines with an unusually free rhyme, a refined rhetorical technique, and a condescension from the count himself, who often makes witty remarks that do not make anyone forget his high status and political status.
In Thibault's poems, he often shows different aspects of his identity: lover, cultural person, politician, wise man, devout Christian, soldier, etc. Like many of Trowell's contemporaries, he sang of "elegant love," and most of his poems were dedicated to his female lovers.
For example, in canso "Chan?on ferai" (I Want to Make a Song), he calls his lover the best in the world. The first two melodies of the song are repeated, in decasyllable lines, with each stanza ending in a different refrain. In the polemic song "Dame, merci," Thibault pokes fun at his ample girth. The pastoral song "L'autrier par la matinee", in which each word corresponds to a different note (called "syllabic"), describes a poor knight who is either threatened by a shepherd or a shepherdess. Laugh at him and run away. "Dou tres douz non" (In the Most Glorious Name) is a song in adoration of the Virgin Mary, composed syllabically for each letter of "Maria", displaying complex wordplay. The Crusader song "Au tans plain de felonie" (Au tans plain de felonie) describes a fighting monarch defending the Holy Land.
There are other songs by famous Trowells included in "The Collection of Kings". Richard de Fournival was neither an aristocrat nor a professional poet, but a surgeon, but he was active in writing literature and music. Guillaume le Vinnière, the most important Trowell of Arras, was famous for his penchant for debating with other poets in the Arrasses. Conon de Béthune had a brilliant political career and even became the regent of the Eastern Roman Empire. He was the highest-ranking Trowell, and his Chanson often showed harsh and misogynistic tendencies. . Blondel de Nesle is even more legendary. It is said that he heard a song outside the castle that only he and his master Richard the Lionheart knew, and thus discovered the whereabouts of his master.
"The Collection of King Shangsong" also rarely includes Trobaldo's songs. For example, "Mayday Long" by Jofre Rudel is one of the most famous songs in the Occitan (the southern French dialect used by Troubadour) song tradition. It is a beautiful elegiac song, which is repeated a lot. The word lonh” (distant) laments a love that is out of reach. Geoffrey Rudel was also an outstanding member of the first generation of Trobados. It is said that he participated in the Crusades in 1147 and never returned. Peire Vidal, the son of a furrier, belongs to the third generation of Troubados and is good at vitriolic sirvente. "When We Saw the Wrath of Winter" (Pos?vesem?que?l'iverns?s'irais) only exists in "The Collection of King Shangsong". The theme is about disappointment in love and revenge against betrayers. "The Collection of Kings" contains eight songs by Bernard de Ventadoun, who fell in love with Eleanor of Aquitaine and eventually fled to a monastery to live out his life.
Another feature of "The Collection of King Shang Song" is that it contains 12 instrumental dances. Judging from the handwriting, it should have been added in the early 14th century, but historically it was almost only added after the 15th century. A collection of purely instrumental music. Highlights here are eight complete Estanbies and a royal dance. The Latin equivalent of the French word estampie is stantipes, Proven?al estampida, and Italian writing istanpitta. Judging from the root, it may imply "stamping" or "standing" (stamping or standing). The latter may be related to the 15th century Standing and gracefully bowing to the bass dance music.
Early music theorists classified estambier as a genre of Troubado and Trowell songs, but no related music has survived. The music structure of Estanbie is similar to that of La Ge, with repeated passages called "puncta" (points). They often share melodic material and are only distinguished by the first few notes. The estambier here has 4 to 7 points, and the length also varies.
Only melodies exist in these Estanbies, and there are many difficulties in reconstructing a playable score. Almost all music before the 16th century is not orchestrated. Judging from the evidence of music iconography in the 13th and 14th centuries, the royal court should have had many instrumentalists, and the types of musical instruments also had a certain range, especially percussion, which was an important accompaniment for dances.
How to add complex accompaniment is also a problem, these unrecorded parts may be improvised from memory. There is no precise pitch in early manuscripts. The clef marks the position of the semitone in the pitch group, and there is no absolute pitch relationship. Even the shape of the melody is not entirely clear, and due to the false tone system and certain other traditions, the position of the semitones cannot be clearly judged. No one knows the tuning system used by the instrumentalists of that era. Some say it is a pure temperament, while others prefer the interval combination of Arabic music. Rhythm problems also troubled musicians, and natural flaws in pre-Franco notation prevented scholars from achieving complete understanding. Without ornamentation, these simple melodies would not be able to meet the timing requirements of the dance. These various problems have resulted in the diversity of medieval dance music interpretations, and the choice can only be made by different people.
There are three main album recordings of "The Collection of King Shang Song", and scattered tracks are scattered in many collections. Alla Francesca, directed by Brigitte Lesne, specially recorded "Thibaud of Champagne - The Collection of King Chanson" (Aeon 1221, 2012), which includes 10 songs of the famous aristocrat Trowell, with some instrumental music interspersed in between. Motets and dances. The group's sound is transparent and beautiful, and they also use some antique instruments to accompany Shang Song in an improvised way. Their rhythm choices are also convincing, and the performance and recording are excellent.
The Ensemble Perceval, conducted by Guy Robert, recorded an album titled Trobaldo and Trowell - The Manuscript of the King (Arion 68225, 1993). The 10 pieces they selected are all about the linguistic connections between the Occitan and Oi song traditions. As a somewhat uncertain experiment, they used a certain number of French words while maintaining as much as possible the elements and characteristics of the original.
Jordi Savall and the "Evening Star 21" ensemble (Hespèrion XXI) contributed a wonderful album of instrumental improvisations "Estanbie and Royal Dances" (Alia Vox AV 9857, 2008). Although Savall has always been criticized for his less "authentic" playing style and far-fetched repertoire, this recording gives him the freedom to create art, and his free-spirited improvisation is just right, so that we modern people can also Immerse yourself in the vitality and energy of medieval secular dance.
Troubadour's poetry marks the beginning of a new era in the history of Western literature and music. Trowell's songs influenced by it have evolved into modern French Chanson (the translation of "chanson" is often used in popular music). The historical process of France has never been interrupted. These medieval songs have always echoed in the ears of modern people, as evidenced by this famous "King Shang Song Ji".
(Originally published in the 2021 Issue 2 of Sanlian's "Philharmonic" magazine)