The ''formes fixes'' (; singular: ''forme fixe'', "fixed form") are the three 14th- and 15th-century French poetic forms: the '' ballade'', '' rondeau'', and '' virelai''. Each was also a musical form, generally a ''

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

'', and all consisted of a complex pattern of repetition of verses and a

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

with musical content in two main sections. All three forms can be found in 13th-century sources, but a 15th-century source gives

Philippe de Vitry Philippe de Vitry (31 October 12919 June 1361) was a French composer-poet, bishop and Music theory, music theorist in the style of late medieval music. An accomplished, innovative, and influential composer, he was widely acknowledged as a le ...

as their first composer while the first comprehensive repertory of these forms was written by

Guillaume de Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...

.Fallows The ''formes fixes'' stopped being used in music around the end of the 15th century, although their influence continued (in poetry they, especially the rondeau, continued to be used). Sometimes forms from other countries and periods are referred to as ''formes fixes''. These include the Italian 14th-century

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...

and later

ballata The ''ballata'' (plural: ''ballate'') is an Italian poetic form, poetic and musical form in use from the late 13th to the 15th century. It has the musical form AbbaA, with the first and last stanzas having the same texts. It is thus most similar ...

and barzelletta, the German

bar form Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB. Original use The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...

, Spanish 13th-century cantiga, and the later

canción ''Canción'' ("song") is a popular genre of Latin American music, particularly in Cuba, where many of the compositions originate.Orovio, Helio 2004. ''Cuban music from A to Z''. p42 Its roots lie in Spanish popular song forms, including tiranas, P ...

, and

villancico The ''villancico'' ( Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, P ...

Notes

References

* David Fallows. "Formes Fixes", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed September 16, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).

Notes

References

Further reading