Baude Cordier () was a French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

in the style of late

medieval music Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...

. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier's life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and had a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. Some scholars identify him with Baude Fresnel, a harpist and organist in the court of

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II was ...

, though other scholars have rejected this. He is best known for his unique and experimental notational methods, often with shapes relating to the subject matter. These include a heart-shaped staff in ''Belle, Bonne, Sage'', a rondeau about love, and numerous circles in the ''Tout par compas suy composés'' rondeau. Such an approach is thought to have inspired later composers, ranging from

Gilles Binchois Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois and his colleague Guillaume Du Fay were deeply influenced by the ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Identity

It has been suggested that Cordier was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Baude Fresnel.

Music

Cordier's works are considered among the prime examples of ''

ars subtilior ''Ars subtilior'' (Latin for 'subtler art') is a musical style characterized by rhythmic and notational complexity, centered on Paris, Avignon in southern France, and also in northern Spain at the end of the fourteenth century.Hoppin 1978, 47 ...

''. In line with that cultural trend, he was fond of using red note notation, also known as coloration, a technique stemming from the general practice of

mensural notation Mensural notation is the musical notation system used for European vocal polyphonic music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. The term "mensural" refers to the ability of this system to describe precisely measured rhythm ...

. The change in color adjusts the rhythm of a particular note from its usual form. (This musical style and type of notation has also been termed "mannerism" and "mannered notation.") Ten of Cordier's

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

pieces survive, most of which are rondeaux: * some are in the rhythmically complex late fourteenth-century French style of

, such as "Amans amés secretement" (Lovers, love discreetly). * others are simpler, with greater emphasis on lyrical melody, such as "Belle, Bonne, Sage", also transcribed in HAM, and characterized with "Amans" as a rondeau. Two of the composer's

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

s are in the Chantilly Manuscript and are well-known examples of

eye music Eye music (often referred to in English by its exact German translation ''Augenmusik'') describes graphical features of scores which when performed are unnoticeable by the listener. Difficulties in defining eye music By simple definition eye music ...

: * the love song "Belle, Bonne, Sage" ("Beautiful, Good, Wise"). The

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

is in the shape of a heart.The text and English translation of the song
/ref> Cordier circular canon

* a circular

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

"Tout par compas suy composés" ("With a compass was I composed")—more eye music, in which the manuscript is written in a circle. Many commentators have speculated that Cordier's unique and experimental notation inspired certain notation by later composers, such that in as ''

Refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

'' by

, and

's ''Je ne pouroye''. Cordier's work was among the earliest Western compositions to include performance instructions to explain how to use the specialized notation. His mass movement in the

Apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

MS is in the later, simpler fifteenth-century style.

Works

Editions

''Cordier's works are included in the following collections:'' *

Notes

References

Sources

;Books * * ;Journals and articles * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Works by Baude Cordier
in the Medieval Music Database from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordier, Baude French composers French classical composers French male classical composers Renaissance composers Ars subtilior composers 14th-century births 15th-century deaths 15th-century French composers