Antoine de Bertrand
Encyclopedia
Antoine de Bertrand (1530/1540 – probably 1581) was a French
composer of the Renaissance
. Early in his life he was a prolific composer of secular chanson
s, and late in his life he wrote hymn
s and canticle
s, under the influence of the Jesuits. He was murdered by Protestants during the French Wars of Religion
.
, in Auvergne
, and from about 1560 he lived in Toulouse
. Details of his death are not known, but that he was martyred for his Jesuit-inspired songs by Protestants is attested by several writers of the time. According to Michel Coyssard, writing in 1608, he was traveling between Toulouse and one of the farms he managed when he was attacked and killed. This event was also mentioned in the preface to his posthumously published Airs spirituels (1582), but neither of these sources gives the date of his assassination.
have survived of his secular music, and one chanson spirituelle,in French, 10 hymns in Latin, 14 canticle
s, and three Latin motet
s, of his sacred music (Dobbins 2005). Most of his music is for four unaccompanied voices. He wrote in the preface to his first book of chansons (1576) that he intended to publish five or six books in total, including many pieces which he wrote much earlier in his life; this would seem to indicate that about half of his music has not survived (Dobbins 2005).
His first two volumes of chansons are for four voices, and are settings of the Amours of Pierre de Ronsard, poems which describe the stages and incidents in a love affair gone sour. Some of the harmonic language used in the chansons is daring, and approaches the experimental level of Vicentino
; Bertrand uses microtones, including quarter-tones, as an expressive device in two of the pieces from the second book (1578). The most extreme example of this is the last seventeen measures of the chanson Je suis tellement amoureux, in which Bertrand completely avoids diatonic writing, using "only chromatic
and enharmonic
, with no mixture of diatonicism except in an interval in the bassecontre and another in the hautecontre, made to express the word 'death'". However, in a later edition of the same songs (published posthumously in 1587) his publisher removed the dots used as microtone accidentals; evidently they were either too hard to sing, or the notation was too unfamiliar. In the preface he also mentions that music is best when it appeals to the senses, and avoids mathematical subtleties.
Although Bertrand only wrote one Italian madrigal
—actually a villanella
—he was clearly influenced in his chanson-writing by the Italian concern for text-painting and careful underlining of words and phrases with appropriate and symbolic melodic and harmonic material. He was careful to use contrasting textures and meters, for example switching from duple to triple meter several times during the course of a composition.
Bertrand's sacred works, contained in his three publications of Airs spirituels and sonets chrestiens, are closely related stylistically to the contemporary psalm-settings by the Huguenot
s: they are simple both melodically and harmonically, and usually maintain a homophonic texture throughout. The melodies are mostly from Gregorian chant
. Except for the origin of their tunes, they are very similar to some of the psalm settings by the Huguenot composer Claude Goudimel
, who had been killed by Catholics in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
a decade earlier.
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 of the 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...
. Early in his life he was a prolific composer of secular 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, and late in his life he wrote hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s and canticle
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
s, under the influence of the Jesuits. He was murdered by Protestants during the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
.
Life
Details of his life are relatively scanty for an otherwise prominent composer of the period, probably because he never held a salaried position as a musician at an establishment whose records have survived. He was born at FontangesFontanges
Fontanges is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:...
, in Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, and from about 1560 he lived in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. Details of his death are not known, but that he was martyred for his Jesuit-inspired songs by Protestants is attested by several writers of the time. According to Michel Coyssard, writing in 1608, he was traveling between Toulouse and one of the farms he managed when he was attacked and killed. This event was also mentioned in the preface to his posthumously published Airs spirituels (1582), but neither of these sources gives the date of his assassination.
Music and influence
Bertrand published three large books of chansons between 1576 and 1578, and, two years later, two books of sacred music (a third was published posthumously, in 1582). A total of 83 chansons and one Italian madrigalMadrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
have survived of his secular music, and one chanson spirituelle,in French, 10 hymns in Latin, 14 canticle
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
s, and three Latin motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, of his sacred music (Dobbins 2005). Most of his music is for four unaccompanied voices. He wrote in the preface to his first book of chansons (1576) that he intended to publish five or six books in total, including many pieces which he wrote much earlier in his life; this would seem to indicate that about half of his music has not survived (Dobbins 2005).
His first two volumes of chansons are for four voices, and are settings of the Amours of Pierre de Ronsard, poems which describe the stages and incidents in a love affair gone sour. Some of the harmonic language used in the chansons is daring, and approaches the experimental level of Vicentino
Nicola Vicentino
Nicola Vicentino was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most visionary musicians of the age, inventing, among other things, a microtonal keyboard, and devising a practical system of chromatic writing two hundred years before the rise of equal...
; Bertrand uses microtones, including quarter-tones, as an expressive device in two of the pieces from the second book (1578). The most extreme example of this is the last seventeen measures of the chanson Je suis tellement amoureux, in which Bertrand completely avoids diatonic writing, using "only chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
and enharmonic
Enharmonic
In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
, with no mixture of diatonicism except in an interval in the bassecontre and another in the hautecontre, made to express the word 'death'". However, in a later edition of the same songs (published posthumously in 1587) his publisher removed the dots used as microtone accidentals; evidently they were either too hard to sing, or the notation was too unfamiliar. In the preface he also mentions that music is best when it appeals to the senses, and avoids mathematical subtleties.
Although Bertrand only wrote one Italian madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
—actually a villanella
Villanella
In music, a villanella is a form of light Italian secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century...
—he was clearly influenced in his chanson-writing by the Italian concern for text-painting and careful underlining of words and phrases with appropriate and symbolic melodic and harmonic material. He was careful to use contrasting textures and meters, for example switching from duple to triple meter several times during the course of a composition.
Bertrand's sacred works, contained in his three publications of Airs spirituels and sonets chrestiens, are closely related stylistically to the contemporary psalm-settings by the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s: they are simple both melodically and harmonically, and usually maintain a homophonic texture throughout. The melodies are mostly from Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
. Except for the origin of their tunes, they are very similar to some of the psalm settings by the Huguenot composer Claude Goudimel
Claude Goudimel
Claude Goudimel was a French composer, music editor and publisher, and music theorist of the Renaissance.-Biography:...
, who had been killed by Catholics in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations, followed by a wave of Roman Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots , during the French Wars of Religion...
a decade earlier.
Sacred
- Premier livre de sonets chrestiens mis en musique (4vv, LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, 1580) - Second livre de sonets chrestiens mis en musique (4vv, Lyon, 1580)
- Airs spirituels contenant plusieurs hymnes et cantiques (4vv and 5vv, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1582)
Secular
- Les amours de Pierre de Ronsard (4vv, 1576) (second edition 1578) (contains 35 chansons)
- Second livre des amours de Pierre de Ronsard (4vv, 1578) (total of 25 chansons)
- Tiers livre de chansons (4vv, 1578)
- Three chansons also published separately in 1570