Trouvère

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Trouvère (MWCD: /trü'ver, trü'vər/), sometimes spelled trouveur, is the Northern French (langue d'oïl) form of the word troubadour (as spelled in the langue d'oc). It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France. The word trouvère comes from the Old French trovere, from the Provençal word trobaire, meaning "to find or invent (rhetorically)". The first known trouvère was Chrétien de Troyes (fl. 1160s-80s) (Butterfield, 1997) and the trouvères continued to flourish until about 1300. Some 2130 trouvère poems have survived; of these, at least two-thirds have melodies.

Other important trouvères were:

In addition, there existed a group of trouvères around the city of Arras that included:

  • Adam de la Halle (c.1240–88)
  • Andrieu Contredit d’Arras († c.1248)
  • Jehan le Cuvelier d’Arras (fl c1240–70)
  • Guillaume le Vinier (fl c1220–45; †1245)
  • Audefroi le Bastart (fl c1200–1230)
  • Jehan Bretel (c1200–1272)
  • Jehan Erart († c1259)
  • Moniot d'Arras (fl c1250–75)

The popular image of the troubadour or trouvère is that of the itinerant musician wandering from town to town, lute on his back. Such people existed, but they were called jongleurs and minstrels — poor musicians, male and female, on the fringes of society. The troubadours and trouvères, on the other hand, represent aristocratic music making. They were either poets and composers who were supported by the aristocracy or, just as often, were aristocrats themselves, for whom the creation and performance of music was part of the courtly tradition. Among their number we can count kings, queens, and countesses. The texts of these songs are a natural reflection of the society that created them. They often revolve around idealized treatments of courtly love ("fine amors") and religious devotion, although many can be found that take a more frankly earthy look at love.

The performance of this style of music is a matter of conjecture. Some scholars suggest that it should be performed in a free rhythmic style and with limited use of accompanying instruments (especially those songs with more elevated text). Other scholars, as well as many performers, believe that instrumental accompaniment and a more rhythmic interpretation is equally valid. From a listener's point of view, either can be convincing and enjoyable.

Johannes de Grocheio, a Parisian musical theorist of the early fourteenth century, believed that trouvère songs inspired kings and noblemen to do great things and to be great: "This kind of song is customarily composed by kings and nobles and sung in the presence of kings and princes of the land so that it may move their minds to boldness and fortitude, magnanimity and liberality..." (Page, 1997)

[edit] See also

[edit] Reference works

  • Akehurst, F.R.P. and Judith M. Davis, eds. A Handbook of the Troubadours. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. ISBN 0520079760
  • Butterfield, Ardis. "Monophonic song: questions of category", Companion to Medieval & Renaissance Music. Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0198165404.
  • Page, Christopher. "Listening to the trouvères". Early Music. Vol. 25, No. 4, November 1997.
  • Goldin, Frederick, translator. Lyrics of the Troubadours and Trouvères: An Anthology and a History. Glouchester, MA: Peter Smith, 1983. ISBN 0844650366
  • Hasenohr, Geneviève and Michel Zink, eds. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Age. Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1992. ISBN 2253056626
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