Pierre Fontaine (composer)
Encyclopedia
Pierre Fontaine was a French composer of the transitional era between the late Middle Ages
and early Renaissance
, and a member of the Burgundian School
of composers. While he was well-known at the time, most of his music has probably been lost. All of his surviving music is secular, and all his compositions are chanson
s.
and is presumed to have had his early musical training there. By 1403 he was a singer at the large and splendid chapel of Philip the Bold
, and after it was disbanded in 1404 he became a clerk at Ste. Chapelle in Bourges
, where he served at least until 1407.
He was a singer at the court chapel of Burgundy
when it was reconstituted, after a period of inactivity, by John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy in 1415. When John died in 1419 Fontaine left the chapel and went to northern Italy, joining the singers in the chapel of Pope Martin V, where he probably remained through the early 1420s. Around the end of the decade he came back to Burgundy, where he sang in the chapel yet again, this time under Philip the Good, and where he remained at least until 1447. No record of his death survives, but a replacement for him was hired in 1451.
x and a ballade
, two of the three types of chansons known as the formes fixes
. All of Fontaine's pieces are for three voices.
These pieces contain some unusual features. J'ayme bien celui, a rondeau, includes the unusual direction "contra tenor trompette" for the lowest voice, indicating that it was to be performed on a slide trumpet, an instrument related to the trombone
(by the late 15th century, this instrument had been named the sackbut
). Not only is this a rare case of a specific instrument being required in an early 15th century composition, but the piece contains notes outside of the gamut
, the range of pitches to which most music of the time was restricted: the part for "contra tenor trompette" goes down to D below the bass staff. It has been suggested that Fontaine may not have written this part, since it appears only in one of the sources in which the rondeau survives, the Escorial V.III.24 manuscript.
Most of Fontaine's pieces are concise: a transcription of Pastourelle en un vergier in modern musical notation only consists of 11 bars. The texture of his music is simple, with the melodic line on top, as is typical of secular Burgundian music of the period.
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...
and early Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
, and a member of the Burgundian School
Burgundian School
The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The main names associated with this school are Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois,...
of composers. While he was well-known at the time, most of his music has probably been lost. All of his surviving music is secular, and all his compositions are chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s.
Life
He was born in RouenRouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
and is presumed to have had his early musical training there. By 1403 he was a singer at the large and splendid chapel of Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
, and after it was disbanded in 1404 he became a clerk at Ste. Chapelle in Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
, where he served at least until 1407.
He was a singer at the court chapel of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
when it was reconstituted, after a period of inactivity, by John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy in 1415. When John died in 1419 Fontaine left the chapel and went to northern Italy, joining the singers in the chapel of Pope Martin V, where he probably remained through the early 1420s. Around the end of the decade he came back to Burgundy, where he sang in the chapel yet again, this time under Philip the Good, and where he remained at least until 1447. No record of his death survives, but a replacement for him was hired in 1451.
Music and influence
Eight compositions by Fontaine survive, including six 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...
x and a ballade
Ballade
The 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....
, two of the three types of chansons known as the formes fixes
Formes fixes
A Forme fixé is any one of three fourteenth and fifteenth centuries French poetic forms, the ballade, rondeau and virelai...
. All of Fontaine's pieces are for three voices.
These pieces contain some unusual features. J'ayme bien celui, a rondeau, includes the unusual direction "contra tenor trompette" for the lowest voice, indicating that it was to be performed on a slide trumpet, an instrument related to the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(by the late 15th century, this instrument had been named the sackbut
Sackbut
The sackbut is a trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, i.e., a musical instrument in the brass family similar to the trumpet except characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, thus allowing them to obtain chromaticism, as...
). Not only is this a rare case of a specific instrument being required in an early 15th century composition, but the piece contains notes outside of the gamut
Hexachord
In music, a hexachord is a collection of six pitch classes including six-note segments of a scale or tone row. The term was adopted in the Middle Ages and adapted in the twentieth-century in Milton Babbitt's serial theory.-Middle Ages:...
, the range of pitches to which most music of the time was restricted: the part for "contra tenor trompette" goes down to D below the bass staff. It has been suggested that Fontaine may not have written this part, since it appears only in one of the sources in which the rondeau survives, the Escorial V.III.24 manuscript.
Most of Fontaine's pieces are concise: a transcription of Pastourelle en un vergier in modern musical notation only consists of 11 bars. The texture of his music is simple, with the melodic line on top, as is typical of secular Burgundian music of the period.
Works
- A son plaisir volentiers serviroye (rondeau)
- De bien amer (rondeau)
- J’ayme bien celui qui s'en va (contains the performance indication for slide trumpet in the lowest part) (rondeau)
- Mon cuer pleure (rondeau)
- Pastourelle en un vergier (ballade)
- Pour vous tenir/Mon doulx amy
- Sans faire de vous departie (a separate arrangement of this piece, using the tenor as a basse danseBasse danseThe basse danse, or "low dance", was the most popular court dance in the 15th and early 16th centuries, especially at the Burgundian court, often in a combination of 6/4 and 3/2 time allowing for use of hemiola...
has survived in a manuscript from Brussels which belonged to Margarete of AustriaMargarete of AustriaMargaret of Austria was, by her two marriages, Princess of Asturias and Duchess of Savoy, and was appointed Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1515 and again from 1519 to 1530.-Early life:...
, granddaughter of Charles the Bold) - Fontaine a vous dire le voir