L'homme armé
Encyclopedia
L'homme armé was a French secular song from the time of the Renaissance
. It was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass
: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L'homme armé
survive from the period.
(c.1425 – c.1496) seems to have intended that allusion in his Dum sacrum mysterium/Missa l'homme armé based upon the melody, which incorporates various additional trope
texts and cantus firmus
plainchants in honour of St Michael the Archangel. Others have suggested it merely represents the name of a popular tavern (Maison L'Homme Arme) near Dufay
's rooms in Cambrai. It may also represent the arming for a new crusade against the Turks. There is ample evidence to indicate that it held special significance for the Order of the Golden Fleece
. It is useful to note that the first appearance of the song was exactly contemporaneous with the fall of Constantinople
to the Ottoman Turks
(1453), an event which had a huge psychological effect in Europe; composers such as Guillaume Dufay
composed laments for the occasion. Yet another possibility is that all three theories are true, given the feeling of urgency in organizing a military opposition to the recently victorious Ottomans which permeated central and northern Europe at the time.
Another recently proposed theory for the origin of the tune is that it is a stylised combination of a street cry and a trumpet call, and may have originated as early as the late 14th century, or perhaps early 15th, due to its use of the major prolation
, which was the commonest metre at the time. Richard Taruskin
noted that the tune was a special favourite of Charles the Bold and suggested that it may have been composed for him (or, at very least, that he had identified himself with the titular man at arms). This however has come to be refuted by several key researchers who show it was used before Charles the Bold's ascension to Duke of Burgundy.
for the Latin Mass
. It was probably used for this purpose more than any other secular song: over 40 settings are known. Many composers of the Renaissance set at least one mass on this melody; the two settings by Josquin, the Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales
, and the Missa L'homme armé sexti toni
are among the best known. Other composers who wrote more than one setting include Matthaeus Pipelare
, Pierre de La Rue
, Cristóbal Morales, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
. A cycle of six settings, all anonymous but probably by the same composer, survives in a Neapolitan manuscript which was supposedly a gift to Beatrice of Aragon of some of the favorite music of Charles the Bold.
While the practice of writing masses on the tune lasted into the seventeenth century, including a late setting by Carissimi
, the majority of mass settings of "L'homme armé", approximately 30, are from the period between 1450 and 1510.
One of the earliest datable uses of the melody itself was in the combinative chanson
Il sera pour vous conbatu/L'homme armé ascribed to Robert Morton
, which now is believed to probably date from around 1463, due to historical references in the text. Another possibly earlier version of the tune is an anonymous three-voice setting from the Mellon Chansonnier, which also cannot be precisely dated. In 1523 Pietro Aron
, in his treatise Thoscanello suggested that Antoine Busnois
was the composer of the tune; while tantalizing, since the tune is stylistically consistent with Busnois, there is no other source to corroborate Aron, and he was writing approximately 70 years after the first appearance of the melody. Taruskin has argued that Busnois wrote the earliest known mass on the melody, but this is disputed, many scholars preferring to see the older Guillaume Dufay
as the creator of the first L'homme armé Mass. Other composers whose settings of the tune may date from the 1450s include Guillaume Faugues
, Johannes Regis
, and Johannes Ockeghem
.
The tune is singularly well-adapted to contrapuntal
treatment. The phrases are clearly delineated, and there are several obvious ways to construct canons. It is also unusually easy to recognize within a contrapuntal texture.
includes settings of L'homme armé in his Deploration Passacaglia
s (1992) in the first (Ockeghem) and tenth (Bach
) movements. The Welsh
composer Karl Jenkins
continues a 600-year tradition with The Armed Man
: A Mass for Peace, written in 1999 to a commission from the Royal Armouries
to mark the millennium
. Christopher Marshall
wrote L'homme armé: Variations for Wind Ensemble in 2003.
The song is part of the repertoire of Italian ensemble Camerata Mediolanense
. A modern arrangement of the song, with both the original French and an English translation, was recorded by self-styled folk boyband Mawkin:Causley
on their 2009 album "The Awkward Recruit" (Navigator Records). The English translation of the French verse above is rendered as follows:
Additional verses follow in English about the fear instilled by the man-at-arms in the civilian population. Mawkin:Causley learned this version from Rick and Helen Heavisides, historical musicians who perform as Hautbois.
Hautbois, on their 1994 CD Stella Splendens, credit this translated version to Robert Morton (died 1476).
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. It was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L'homme armé
Missa L'homme armé
Over 40 settings of the Ordinary of the Mass using the tune L'homme armé survive from the period between 1450 and the end of the 17th century, making the tune the most popular single source from the period on which to base an imitation mass....
survive from the period.
Origin
The origins of the popularity of the song and the importance of the armed man are the subject of various theories. Some have suggested that the 'armed man' represents St Michael the Archangel. The composer Johannes RegisJohannes Regis
Johannes Regis was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay.-Life:...
(c.1425 – c.1496) seems to have intended that allusion in his Dum sacrum mysterium/Missa l'homme armé based upon the melody, which incorporates various additional trope
Trope (music)
A trope or tropus may be a variety of different things in medieval and modern music.The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος , "a turn, a change" , related to the root of the verb τρέπειν , "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change"...
texts and cantus firmus
Cantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
plainchants in honour of St Michael the Archangel. Others have suggested it merely represents the name of a popular tavern (Maison L'Homme Arme) near Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
's rooms in Cambrai. It may also represent the arming for a new crusade against the Turks. There is ample evidence to indicate that it held special significance for the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
. It is useful to note that the first appearance of the song was exactly contemporaneous with the fall of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
(1453), an event which had a huge psychological effect in Europe; composers such as Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
composed laments for the occasion. Yet another possibility is that all three theories are true, given the feeling of urgency in organizing a military opposition to the recently victorious Ottomans which permeated central and northern Europe at the time.
Another recently proposed theory for the origin of the tune is that it is a stylised combination of a street cry and a trumpet call, and may have originated as early as the late 14th century, or perhaps early 15th, due to its use of the major prolation
Prolation
Prolation is a term used in the theory of medieval music to describe its rhythmic structure on a small scale. The term is derived from the Latin prolatio, first used by Philippe de Vitry in describing Ars Nova, a musical style that came about in 14th-century France.Prolation, together with tempus,...
, which was the commonest metre at the time. Richard Taruskin
Richard Taruskin
Richard Taruskin is an American-Russian musicologist, music historian, and critic who has written about the theory of performance, Russian music, fifteenth-century music, twentieth-century music, nationalism, the theory of modernism, and analysis. As a choral conductor he directed the Columbia...
noted that the tune was a special favourite of Charles the Bold and suggested that it may have been composed for him (or, at very least, that he had identified himself with the titular man at arms). This however has come to be refuted by several key researchers who show it was used before Charles the Bold's ascension to Duke of Burgundy.
Use in the Latin Mass
L'homme armé is especially well remembered today because it was so widely used by Renaissance composers as a cantus firmusCantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
for the Latin Mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
. It was probably used for this purpose more than any other secular song: over 40 settings are known. Many composers of the Renaissance set at least one mass on this melody; the two settings by Josquin, the Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales
Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales
The Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales is the first of the two settings of the Ordinary of the Mass, by Josquin des Prez, which use the famous L'homme armé tune as their cantus firmus source material; . The setting is for four voices...
, and the Missa L'homme armé sexti toni
Missa L'homme armé sexti toni
Missa L'homme armé sexti toni is probably the later of two L'homme arme masses by Josquin des Prez - 'sexti toni' refers to the use of the 'sixth mode'. The theme is shared between all voices rather than being confined to the tenor, as in Josquin's earlier L'homme armé mass...
are among the best known. Other composers who wrote more than one setting include Matthaeus Pipelare
Matthaeus Pipelare
Matthaeus Pipelare was a Flemish composer, choir director, and possibly wind instrument player of the Renaissance.He was from Louvain, and spent part of his early life in Antwerp. Unlike many of his contemporaries, many of whom traveled to Italy, Spain or elsewhere, he seems never to have left...
, Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de la Rue , called Piersson, was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the...
, Cristóbal Morales, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
. A cycle of six settings, all anonymous but probably by the same composer, survives in a Neapolitan manuscript which was supposedly a gift to Beatrice of Aragon of some of the favorite music of Charles the Bold.
While the practice of writing masses on the tune lasted into the seventeenth century, including a late setting by Carissimi
Giacomo Carissimi
Giacomo Carissimi was an Italian composer, one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque, or, more accurately, the Roman School of music.-Biography:...
, the majority of mass settings of "L'homme armé", approximately 30, are from the period between 1450 and 1510.
One of the earliest datable uses of the melody itself was in the combinative 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...
Il sera pour vous conbatu/L'homme armé ascribed to Robert Morton
Robert Morton
Robert Morton was an English composer of the early Renaissance, mostly active at the Burgundian court. He was highly regarded at the time. Only secular vocal music, all Rondeaux for three voices, survive.-Life:...
, which now is believed to probably date from around 1463, due to historical references in the text. Another possibly earlier version of the tune is an anonymous three-voice setting from the Mellon Chansonnier, which also cannot be precisely dated. In 1523 Pietro Aron
Pietro Aron
Pietro Aron, also known as Pietro Aaron , was an Italian music theorist and composer. He was born in Florence and probably died in Bergamo .-Biography:...
, in his treatise Thoscanello suggested that Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois was a French composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motets, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons...
was the composer of the tune; while tantalizing, since the tune is stylistically consistent with Busnois, there is no other source to corroborate Aron, and he was writing approximately 70 years after the first appearance of the melody. Taruskin has argued that Busnois wrote the earliest known mass on the melody, but this is disputed, many scholars preferring to see the older Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
as the creator of the first L'homme armé Mass. Other composers whose settings of the tune may date from the 1450s include Guillaume Faugues
Guillaume Faugues
Guillaume Faugues was a French composer. Very little is known of his life, however a significant representation of his work survives in the form of five mass settings...
, Johannes Regis
Johannes Regis
Johannes Regis was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay.-Life:...
, and Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most...
.
The tune is singularly well-adapted to contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
treatment. The phrases are clearly delineated, and there are several obvious ways to construct canons. It is also unusually easy to recognize within a contrapuntal texture.
Modern treatments
Composers still occasionally turn to this song for spiritual or thematic inspiration. In 1968 the British composer Peter Maxwell Davies wrote his Missa super l'homme armé. American composer Mark AlburgerMark Alburger
Mark Alburger is a San Francisco Bay Area composer and conductor. He is the founder and music director of the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, as well as the music director of the San Francisco Cabaret Opera...
includes settings of L'homme armé in his Deploration Passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
s (1992) in the first (Ockeghem) and tenth (Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
) movements. The Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
composer Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
continues a 600-year tradition with The Armed Man
The Armed Man
The Armed Man is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace". The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, and to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis...
: A Mass for Peace, written in 1999 to a commission from the Royal Armouries
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
to mark the millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
. Christopher Marshall
Christopher Marshall (composer)
Christopher Marshall is a New Zealander Classical composer who currently resides in Orlando, Florida USA.His works include choral works, works for chamber ensemble, orchestral music and works for concert band/wind ensemble for which he is most notable. His most notable composition to date is...
wrote L'homme armé: Variations for Wind Ensemble in 2003.
The song is part of the repertoire of Italian ensemble Camerata Mediolanense
Camerata Mediolanense
Camerata Mediolanense is an ensemble of musicians enstablished in Milano in 1994. Its music can be classified as darkwave/neoclassical, with folk elements....
. A modern arrangement of the song, with both the original French and an English translation, was recorded by self-styled folk boyband Mawkin:Causley
Jim Causley
Jim Causley is an English folk singer, songwriter, and musician from Whimple, East Devon, England.-Biography:Jim Causley is a folk singer and musician from Devon who specializes in the traditional songs and music of the West Country and Devon in particular...
on their 2009 album "The Awkward Recruit" (Navigator Records). The English translation of the French verse above is rendered as follows:
"Oh, the Man, the Man-at-arms
Fills the folk, fills the folk with dread alarm,
With dread alarm.
Everywhere I hear 'em wail
Find a good strong coat of mail
Perhaps you'll then prevail."
Additional verses follow in English about the fear instilled by the man-at-arms in the civilian population. Mawkin:Causley learned this version from Rick and Helen Heavisides, historical musicians who perform as Hautbois.
Hautbois, on their 1994 CD Stella Splendens, credit this translated version to Robert Morton (died 1476).
External links
- The translation above is adapted slightly from program notes for the early musicEarly musicEarly music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
group Capella Alamire.
- An extensive listing of sources and critical commentary on Masses based on the L'homme armé tune, created as part of a Spring 2002 seminar by Mary Kay Duggan at the University of California, Berkeley, is available at Reform and music: 1450-1600 (accessed 3/18/08).
- Mawkin:Causley on MySpace (including audio file of L'homme armé, accessed August 2009)
- Hautbois historical musicians, whose 1994 CD Stella Splendens includes the version of L'homme armé also recorded by Mawkin:Causley