Grimace (composer)
Encyclopedia
Grimace was a French
composer
active in the mid-to-late 14th century.
Grimace was active in the period of music history known as the ars nova
and was probably a contemporary of Guillaume de Machaut
, since his compositions lack the complicated rhythms of the Ars subtilior
(Günther 2007). Grimace's birth and death dates are not known; little is known about him outside of attributions in medieval music
manuscripts. Five works are attributed to him securely; two doubtful attributions have been proposed based on stylistic similarities. His virelai
, A l'arme, A l'arme, is his most often performed work in modern times.
The works attributed to Grimace are:
Doubtful works:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
active in the mid-to-late 14th century.
Grimace was active in the period of music history known as the ars nova
Ars nova
Ars nova refers to a musical style which flourished in France and the Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages: more particularly, in the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel and the death of the composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377...
and was probably a contemporary of Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut was a Medieval French poet and composer. He is one of the earliest composers on whom significant biographical information is available....
, since his compositions lack the complicated rhythms of the Ars subtilior
Ars subtilior
Ars subtilior is a musical style characterized by rhythmic and notational complexity, centered around Paris, Avignon in southern France, also in northern Spain at the end of the fourteenth century. The style also is found in the French Cypriot repertory...
(Günther 2007). Grimace's birth and death dates are not known; little is known about him outside of attributions in medieval music
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
manuscripts. Five works are attributed to him securely; two doubtful attributions have been proposed based on stylistic similarities. His virelai
Virelai
A virelai is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three formes fixes and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the late thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.A virelai is similar to a rondeau...
, A l'arme, A l'arme, is his most often performed work in modern times.
The works attributed to Grimace are:
- Dedens mon cuer (balladeBalladeThe ballade is a form of French poetry. It was one of the three formes fixes and one of the verse forms in France most commonly set to music between the late 13th and the 15th centuries....
) - Des que buisson (ballade)
- Se Zephirus/Se Jupiter (ballade)
- Je voy ennui (rondeauRondeau (music)The rondeau was a Medieval and early Renaissance musical form, based on the contemporary popular poetic rondeau form. It is distinct from the 18th century rondo, though the terms are likely related...
) - A l’arme/A l’arme/Tru tru (virelai)
Doubtful works:
- C’estoit ma douce (virelai)
- Rescoés: Horrible feu d’ardent desir/Rescoés: Le feu de mon loyal servant (virelai)