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The term lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
to early
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in
strophic form
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, w ...
or verse repeating with a
homophonic
In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...
texture. The composition was written for a solo voice with an accompaniment, usually the
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
. It was not uncommon for other forms of accompaniments such as
bass viol
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...
or other string instruments, and could also be written for more voices. The composition could be performed either solo or with a small group of instruments.
The basic style of lute songs is light and serious, with poetic lyrics that usually followed word-setting to composed music. In England, the songs tended to range from extended
contrapuntal
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
compositions to short harmonized tunes. The text could be written by the composer or most often borrowed from a poem, set in verse form. These songs were composed for professional and amateur performers, which had variations for solo and ensemble. The lute song was popular among the Royalty and nobility. King
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
was believed to be fond of the simple songs, which led to a volume of work during his reign.
Composers of the lute song usually composed other forms of music as well such as
madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...
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, and
consort songs. The consort song, popular in England, is considered to be closely related to the lute song. This was an earlier strophic form of music that was for a solo voice accompanied by a small group of string instruments. In France, the chanson is a precursor to the lute song or
air de cour
The ''air de cour'' was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant ...
. Collections of airs de cour were used in other countries, besides England and France. Collections of the French airs were published in England, Germany and Holland. Italy had forms of song such as the
frottola
The frottola (; plural frottole) was the predominant type of Italian popular secular song of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It was the most important and widespread predecessor to the madrigal. The peak of activity in composition ...
that were much like the lute song, but the lute song seemed more prominent in England and France.
The English lute ayre
In England, the lute song was usually called an "ayre", possibly borrowed from the French word, ''air''. The first written record of the lute songs or ayres is a 1597 publication ''
First Booke of Songes or Ayres'', which was composed by
John Dowland
John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...
. This is considered the beginning of the popularity of the lute songs, that set the standard for other composer’s songbooks of English ayres. The music was printed on the page, so that when placed in the center of a table it could be read by the performers around the table. John Dowland's ayres, like other composers, used music from dance forms such as
pavane
The ''pavane'' ( ; it, pavana, ''padovana''; german: Paduana) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance).
The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, ...
,
galliard
The ''galliard'' (; french: gaillarde; it, gagliarda) was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy.
Dance fo ...
and
jig
The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...
, for the melody.
Philip Rosseter
Philip Rosseter (1568 – 5 May 1623) was an English composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. His family seems to have been from Somerset or Lincolnshire, he may have been employed with the Countess of Sussex by 1596, and he was l ...
, court musician, composer, and theatrical manager, published a collection in 1601, ''A Book of Ayres'', with composer and poet
Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques for ...
. The compositions were short,
homophonic
In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...
songs with minimal phrase repetition with their own lyrics. The last book published was by
John Attey
John Attey (d. c. 1640) was an English composer of lute songs or ayres.
Little is known about his life. He appears to have been patronised by John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and the Countess Frances, to whom he dedicates his ''First Booke o ...
in 1622, called ''First Book of Ayres''. The format of these songbooks was intended to be performed with a solo voice and an accompaniment, but some did include variations for multiple voices and additional instruments. It is possible that lute songs were composed before these books were published, but the written record of such songs starts with John Dowland.
The
consort song
A consort song was a characteristic English song form of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for solo voice or voices accompanied by a group of instruments, most commonly viols. Although usually in five parts, some early examples of four-par ...
, popular during the reign of
Henry the VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
, leads to some consideration that the lute songs were composed prior to 1597. Other composers of lute songs during this time include John Danyel, Robert Jones, Pilkington and Alfonso Ferrabosco.
The French air de cour
In France, the lute song was called "
air de cour
The ''air de cour'' was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant ...
". The first airs were not homophonic or solos, but rather
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
and for up to four voices. In 1571,
Adrian LeRoy
Adrian LeRoy (born May 6, 1987) is a Canadian former soccer player.
Career
College and Amateur
LeRoy began his college career at Carleton University in 2005, leading the team to an Ontario University Championship. After one season there, he m ...
published the first collection of airs de cour, a collection of 22 airs with lute accompaniment. In 1582, Composer Didier LeBlanc released a collection of 43 short airs that were strophic form, homophonic and
ametric structure. Composer Jean Planson, published 38 short airs in 1587, much like Leblanc; however, his had an ABB form.
[Fortune, N., Greer, D., & Dill, C. (2001, January 01). Air (i). Grove Music Online. Ed. Retrieved 25 Nov. 2018,] In the 17th century the popularity of the airs grew. The simple solo strophic melodies were a favorite at the court of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
(1610–1643). During this time many volumes were released from the Royal court and others. The general form was strophic, with a vocal range of one octave and a
tonal harmony, with text usually from
pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
s. Other composers of airs were Antoine Boesset, Jean Boyer, Jean-Baptiste Boessert, and Francois Richard.
See also
*
English art song
The composition of art song in England and English-speaking countries has a long history, beginning with lute song in the late 16th century and continuing today.
English Art song in the 17th Century
The composition of polyphonic music was at its ...
References
*
*
Fortune, Nigel; Greer, David. "Air" in ibid., i, 180–182.
*
Reese, Gustave (1954). ''Music in the Renaissance''. New York City:
W. W. Norton & Company. {{ISBN, 978-0-393-09530-2.
Baroque music
Renaissance music
Song forms