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JE NE CUIT PAS
Detail from P
aris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 9221, f. 147.v
Introduction 2
Historical Context 2
Form: The Ballade 3
Performance 6
Lyrical Analysis 6
Works Cited 7
Appendix 8
Score 8
Full Lyrics & Translation 10
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 2
Introduction
‘ Je ne cuit pas ’ is a polyphonic b allade for a feminine voice,1 written by the prolific 14 th century
French composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut. It is commonly referred to in academic circles as B14
(for b allade fourteen), based on the catalogue system for Machaut’s works developed by E. Hoepffner
during the early twentieth century and largely adopted thereafter.
The composition was written sometime between the years 1324 through 1349 (Reaney G
uillaume
de Machaut 74), and can be found in six extant manuscripts2 compiled in the later years of Machaut’s life.
The vocal line of ‘J e ne cuit pas ’ is accompanied by an untexted line below it, which for my performance
will be played on a medieval reproduction lute by my accompanist. Please note that the vocal performance
alone is the entry, and the lutenist is not an entrant for the purposes of this performance.
Historical Context
Guillaume de Machaut was born c. 1300 in France, with a lifetime and career spanning the A
rs
Nova p eriod, a time of musical innovation during which he reigned as the single most influential composer
in Western Europe. He traveled across Europe in his young adulthood as secretary to the king of Bohemia,
until he settled in Reims in the 1340s as a canon, continuing to enjoy the patronage of royals and dukes
through to the end of his life (Reaney G
uillaume de Machaut 7).
Machaut’s secular chansons were predominantly composed for these noble patrons, and were
performed both by the highest ranks of professional court musicians/singers in the employ of the nobility,
and perhaps by noble dilettantes with sufficient education and talent for the task.3
1
“In B14 the feminine voiced j e praises Love for bestowing her goods so generously” (Leach 189).
2
This b allade can be found within each source on the following folio pages: M S C: ff.163v164r; M S Vg: f.303r ; M S B: f.301r ;
MS A: f.461v ; M S G: f.139r ; M
S E: f.147v . (14. Je ne cuit pas qu'onques a creature).
3
“While the circumstances of fourteenthcentury music point to the highest social class of patronage in Avignon, Cyprus,
Florence, Ferrara, etc., it is clear to me that its notes point to an aristocracy of the musical profession as well, an elite of
composer and performer,” (White 85). Furthermore, “the long lines of Machaut’s ballade J e sui aussi ravi ...demand sustained
vocal control that is not generally considered an aspect of “medieval life.” It seems obvious that this music could not be shouted
or hummed with a folksinger’s unpracticed equipment,” (ibid 86).
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 3
Form: The Ballade
exact origins and timelines of these forms are disputed, they were most certainly settled into their ‘fixed’
states by the early fourteenth century, and became, largely through Machaut’s prolific work, the signature
forms of the A
rs Nova period (Reaney G
uillaume de Machaut 3 9). Reaney describes b allades and r ondeaux
as “doubtless the most distinctive and advanced contribution made by Machaut to the art of composition”
(ibid).
ababccdD carried throughout each stanza, in which the final line (D) is a refrain repeated at the close of
each stanza. The first two lines of a stanza form a musical phrase (the A section), which is repeated for
lines three and four, but with a different ending cadence leading into the B section. The fifth through
seventh lines introduce a new musical phrase for this B section, ending with the refrain for the eighth line
(ibid 1415). The refrain often closes by repeating the second ending cadence found in line four, giving an
overall AAB musical pattern in which lines four and eight have a musical ‘rhyme.’ In ‘J e ne cuit pas ,’ this
musical rhyme appears in the final two bars of lines four and eight (ibid 40).4
Performance
I aim to perform ‘ Je ne cuit pas ’ as faithfully as possible per the manuscript sources, as vocal
ornamentation is unnecessary in art song from this period, and goes against Machaut’s own instructions for
performers.5 My only intended deviation is to perform the piece transposed down a fifth,6 to better suit to
4
“Repetition of musical phrases is a natural means of formal unity in musical compositions, and the ballade as cultivated by
Machaut increasingly employs the technique known as musical rhyme, in which the end of the first half and the end of the second
half of the work are musically identical.” (Reaney 40)
5
In V
oit Dit, M
achaut instructs a singer to sing his b allade ‘N
és que on porrit,’ “ without adding or taking away.” (Ludwig II 55,
qtd. ibid 42).
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 4
my vocal range (mezzosoprano).
Voice & Instrument in Ars Nova Polyphony
The art songs of Machaut are ideally performed by a soloist on each part, so as not to obscure the
text and complexity of the polyphony with multiple voices (Page 486). As to whether it is appropriate to
combine solo voice with an instrument for a piece such as ‘J e ne cuit pas ,’ as I will combine voice with lute
for my performance, is somewhat debated within musicology.
For the majority of the 20th century Early Music scholars largely understood any polyphonic lines
absent text to be instrumental lines, a premise which began to be challenged in the 1970s in favor of a
capella vocal performance.7 By the late 1980s, the generally accepted understanding became that A
rs Nova
songs should ideally be performed by vocalists only, one to each part, “often with women, girls or boys on
the top line,” (Kreitner 325).
However, while solo voice paired with a stringed instrument may not have been considered ‘ideal,’
that is not to say it did not happen, as medieval performers were forced to compromise with the instruments
and singers available just as we are today in our recreation.8 For my purposes with this performance, I
believe lute9 to be appropriate, as it allows my vocal performance to stand apart from the instrumental
accompaniment. It is my intention to provide a clear visual and audial delineation between my performance
and that of my lutist with this choice.
6
This could be viewed as transposing up a fourth if one assumes a tenor vocal range rather than a soprano, as is typically
assumed for pieces by Machaut. However, given that the manuscripts often have no indication of octave, many lyrics reflect a
feminine point of view, and at least one of Machaut’s patrons was a woman herself (Bonne of France), it is exceedingly unlikely
that these pieces were performed exclusively by men. What’s more, we know from V oir Dit that the fictional Machaut composed
chanson for his fictional Tout Belle to sing, presumably within her own natural range (White 89).
7
In “M
achaut’s ‘Pupil’ Deschamps on the Performance of Music: Voices or instruments in the 14thcentury chanson,” Page
translates and interprets a musical treatise written 1392 by Deschamps, a student and contemporary of Machaut. His findings
indicate that wordless vocalization was performed at this time, offering a possible explanation as to why so many pieces appear
in manuscripts with no text ascribed to lower voices, within a vocal a capella paradigm.
8
“In the practical sense, it would be good to be able to model our compromises on theirs just as we now try to model our ideals
on theirs. But it may also be that the compromise is where history happensthat trying to understand their musical reality by
concentrating on their ideals is like studying my driving only when there's a state trooper behind me.” (Kreitner 326).
9
Machaut himself listed the lute, amongst other instruments, within the context of courtly performances during royal feasts (L a
prise d’Alexandrie a nd L a Remede de Fortune, q td Reaney ‘Voices and Instruments ’ 1 0). ‘Soft band’ instrumentalists such as
lutenists were known to read and play polyphonic pieces from notation in the 14th century (Kreitner 329).
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 5
Costume
My intention is to represent the style of dress French courtiers might have worn while performing
secular courtly music from the fourteenth century. Therefore, my lutenist and I are both dressed as befitting
aristocratic ladies of the late fourteenth century, in gowns suitable for court, cut to achieve the signature
formfitting Gothic silhouette. My lutenist wears a wimple and veil in deference to her status as a married
lady, while mine is uncovered as would have been appropriate for a maiden. As I hold higher rank, I am
dressed richly in brocade, while my lutenist wears a comparatively simple blue wool.
Performing from Notation
There is some discussion as to whether the surviving manuscripts were or were not used for
performance within their time, and supportive evidence both for and against.10 Extant images depict choirs
during the fourteenth century and all throughout the SCA period singing sacred music from notation, and
likewise a smattering of secular singers and instrumentalist are seen reading from chansonniers and single
pages during this period, so it stands to reason that pieces as complex and challenging as ‘J e ne cuit pas ’
may well have been performed from a score rather than from memory.
It is my decision for the purposes of this performance to emphasize the intellectual nature of the A
rs
Nova chanson, and the musical education of its historic performers, by acknowledging my study of the
score as guide rather than committing the piece to memory for ‘offbook’ performance.
Pronunciation
My pronunciation of the text of ‘J e ne cuit pas ’ is based on the Middle French (12501450) section
outlining appropriate vowel and consonant pronunciations in Timothy McGee’s S inging Early Music: The
Pronunciation of European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, w
hich indicates that the
form of French spoken & sung during this period had not yet developed the signature nasal consonants
associated with Modern French.
10
See pages 165167 of the Round Table section in A
tti del XIV Congresso della Societa Internazionale di Musicologia for
rigorous debate on this topic.
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 6
Furthermore, during the fourteenth century certain terminal letters continued to be fully voiced as
they traditionally had been in Old French for purposes of verse and song, despite the fact that in common
speech these terminal consonants had weakened and were treated as silent, mutated to the unvoiced
equivalent, or halfvoiced (as we see in Modern French). This is particularly true for the consonants ‘n,’ ‘t,’
and ‘s,’ the clusters ‘nt’ and ‘st,’ and voiced/unvoiced mutations like d/t, g/k, v/f and b/p.’ The terminal ‘e’
in particular was nearly always voiced as a distinct syllable in singing and poetry, as an unaccented sound
similar to the English schwa. This is a practice which continues to some extent even in Modern French
singing, despite it being unvoiced in speech (unless accented) and as a rule not considered a syllable for
poetic syllable counts (McGee 7071). Additionally, some vowels and vowel combinations have shifted
since the fourteenth century (such as ‘oi’ and ‘oy,’ which in Middle French are pronounced with a ‘w ɛ’
sound as opposed to the Modern ‘wa’ diphthong) (McGee 78).
Lyrical Analysis
My interpretation of the piece, in terms of its mood and my emotional expression, is informed by
the ‘Hope: Loving’ chapter from Leach’s G
uillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician (188196).
Through Machaut’s lyrics, “the lady tells of Love’s gifts without mentioning a lover directly,” instead
erci in granting ‘my heart, my love, and all that I desire,’11 a wordplay allusion to the
focusing on Love’s m
paramour. The love described here is therefore pure, noble and courtly, wherein the lady does not debase
herself with passion, instead epitomizing the contemporary ideals of honorable merci b y finding joy in
“simply seeing and hearing” her lover (Leach 189).12
For full lyrics and translation, see Appendix.
11
m
on cuer, m’amour, et quanque je desir
12
v eoir seulement et oïr
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 7
Works Cited
“ 14. Je ne cuit pas qu'onques a creature” T he Works of Guillaume de Machaut: Music, Image, Text in the
Middle Ages . Accessed Feb 26 2017. http://machaut.exeter.ac.uk/?q=node/1697
Kreitner, Kenneth. ‘Bad News, or Not?: Thoughts on Renaissance Performance Practice.’ E arly Music ,
Vol. 26, No. 2 (May, 1998), pp. 322333. Oxford University Press. Accessed via JSTOR
3/19/17.
Leach, Elizabeth Eva. G uillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician. Cornell University Press,
2011.
Ludwig, Friedrich, ed. Guillaume de Machaut, Musikalische Werke . 4 vols. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1954.
McGee, Timothy J., Arthur George Rigg and David N. Klausner. Singing Early Music: The
Pronunciation of European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Vol. I.
Indiana University Press, 1996.
Page, Christopher. “M achaut’s ‘Pupil’ Deschamps on the Performance of Music: Voices or instruments
in the 14thcentury chanson.” E arly Music (1977) 5 (4): 484491. O
xford University Press.
Print.
Reaney, Gilbert. G uillaume de Machaut. O xford Studies of Composers 9. Oxford University Press,
1974.
Reaney, Gilbert. “Voices and Instruments in the Music of Guillaume de Machaut.” R evue belge de
Musicologie / Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap Vol. 10, No. 1/2 (1956), pp. 317.
Atti del XIV Congresso della Societa Internazionale di Musicologia. E DT: Bologna. 1990. Google Book.
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 8
Appendix
Score
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 9
Score provided here is an original edition, transposed into the key of my performance, based on the
modern notation edition published by Friedrich Ludwig in M usikalische Werke ( 1213) .
Note: The parts marked here ‘Soprano’ and ‘Alto’ should more properly be labeled as ‘Cantus’ and
‘Tenor’ respectively. In performance, the top (texted) line is the ‘Cantus’ and is intended for a vocalist,
while the ‘tenor’ line is untexted for instrumental accompaniment or wordless vocalization.
Vocal Performance: Je ne cuit pas | 10
Full Lyrics & Translation
Lyrics Rhyme Translation
Je ne cuit pas qu’onques à creature A I do not believe that Love has distributed
Amours partist ses biens si largement B her goods so generously to any creature
Comme à moy seule, et de sa grace pure; A as she does, out of her pure grace, to me
Nom pas qu’aie deservi nullement B alonenot that I have at all deserved
Les douceurs qu’elle me fait, C the sweetness that she bestows on me,
Car gari m’a de tous maulz et retrait, C for she has protected me from all ills,
Quant elle m’a donné, sans retollir, D because she has given without demur
Mon cuer, m’amour et quanque je desir. D My heart, my love, and everything I hold dear.
Et pour ce sui pleinne d’envoyseüre A And because of this I am full of joy, light
Gaye de cuer et vif tres liement B of heart, and I live most happily;
Et ren toudis à Amours la droiture A and I always give Love the dues
Que je li doy: c’est amer loyaument B which I owe her: that is, I love loyally,
En foy, de cuer et de fait; C faithfully, with all my heart and in all I do.
Et ceste amour pensée ne me lait C In this love, no thought is left to
Qui joieuse ne soit pour conjoïr D me that is not joyful for welcoming
Mon cuer, m’amour et quanque je desir. D My heart, my love, and everything I hold dear.
Si qu’il n’est riens où je mette ma cure A So there is nothing on which I would fix my
Fors en amer et loer humblement B attention except on loving and humbly praising
Amours, qui me norrist de tel pasture A Love, who feeds me with such pasture
Com de mercy donnée doucement B as m
erci given sweetly
D’amoureus cuer et parfait; C from a loving and perfect heart;
Mais la mercy qui einsi me refait, C but the m
erci which thus renews me
C’est de veoir seulement et oïr D consists in simply seeing and hearing
Mon cuer, m’amour et quanque je desir. D My heart, my love, and everything I hold dear.
Above lyrics and translation appear in G uillaume de Machaut: Secretary, Poet, Musician, and are
based on the text from M
S C: ff.163v164r ( Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS fonds français
1586) ( Leach 189).
Note: There are some minor spelling variances between these lyrics and the Ludwig text used in my
score, due to variances between the extant manuscript sources which were standardized in Ludwig’s
edition. These variances do not affect the pronunciation or meaning of the text.