Richart de Semilli
Encyclopedia
Richart de Semilli was a trouvère
, probably from Paris
, which he mentions three times in his extant works. These number ten in one chansonnier
(with a few also copied into related manuscripts), and one anonymous song, "L’une est la chastelaine, devers Mont le Heri", which has sometimes been attributed to him by modern scholars, but of which most of the first strophe and music are missing.
Unusually for a trouvère, Richart used the same poetic structure and melody for his "Chancon ferai plein d’ire et de pensee" and "Je chevauchai l’autrier la matinee", and also for "De chanter m’est pris courage" and "Quant la sesons renouvele". Even within his pieces his melodies make heavy use of repetition, another departure from what was typical of the trouvères. "J’ain la plus sade riens qui soit de mere nee" uses one phrase and a variant, while "L’autrier chevauchoie delés Paris" uses three phrases and their variants for eleven lines. This last piece, along with "Molt ai chanté, riens ne m’i puet valoir" and "Nous venions l’autrier de joer", each use variations of the last melodic lines three times. All his melodies are simple, with "Molt ai chanté" being the most ornate. None survive in mensural notation
, but this has not prevented the suggestion that "De chanter" is in the second mode
. For his other pieces, Richart preferred the authentic
D mode
and plagal
F mode
. "Chancon ferai" and "L’autrier tous seus chevauchoie mon chemin" are rotrouenge
s.
Several of Richart's pieces were used as models by other trouvères. "Chancon ferai" and "Je chevauchai" served as models for an anonymous song about the Virgin Mary, "Chanter vous vueil de la vierge Marie". "L’autrier chevauchoie" was a model for the anonymous
"L’autrier m’en aloie"; "L’autrier tout seus" for the anonymous "De la tres douce Marie vueil chanter", another song about Mary; and "Nous venions" for yet another Marian praise, "On doit la mere Dieu honorer". Richart's song "Par amors ferai chanson" is similar to two other songs, but whether it was the model (earlier piece) or the contrafactum
(later) is not clear. The two other songs are "Qui veut amours maintenir" by Moniot de Paris
, a fellow Parisian, and "D’Amour me doit souvenir" by the Moine de Saint Denis, also a local.
Trouvère
Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . 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...
, probably from Paris
Paris
Paris 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...
, which he mentions three times in his extant works. These number ten in one chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
(with a few also copied into related manuscripts), and one anonymous song, "L’une est la chastelaine, devers Mont le Heri", which has sometimes been attributed to him by modern scholars, but of which most of the first strophe and music are missing.
Unusually for a trouvère, Richart used the same poetic structure and melody for his "Chancon ferai plein d’ire et de pensee" and "Je chevauchai l’autrier la matinee", and also for "De chanter m’est pris courage" and "Quant la sesons renouvele". Even within his pieces his melodies make heavy use of repetition, another departure from what was typical of the trouvères. "J’ain la plus sade riens qui soit de mere nee" uses one phrase and a variant, while "L’autrier chevauchoie delés Paris" uses three phrases and their variants for eleven lines. This last piece, along with "Molt ai chanté, riens ne m’i puet valoir" and "Nous venions l’autrier de joer", each use variations of the last melodic lines three times. All his melodies are simple, with "Molt ai chanté" being the most ornate. None survive in mensural notation
Mensural notation
Mensural notation is the musical notation system which was used in European music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600."Mensural" refers to the ability of this system to notate complex rhythms with great exactness and flexibility...
, but this has not prevented the suggestion that "De chanter" is in the second mode
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
. For his other pieces, Richart preferred the authentic
Authentic mode
An authentic mode is one of four Gregorian modes whose final is the lowest note of the scale...
D mode
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
and plagal
Plagal mode
A Plagal mode may mean different church chanting modes, depending on the context.-In Western Practice:A plagal mode is a musical mode, which is one of four Gregorian modes whose range includes the octave from the fourth below the tonic, or final, to the fifth above...
F mode
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
. "Chancon ferai" and "L’autrier tous seus chevauchoie mon chemin" are rotrouenge
Rotrouenge
In the Middle Ages, the rotrouenge or retroencha was a recognised type of lyric poetry, although no existing source defines the genre clearly. There are four conserved troubadour poems, all with refrains and three by Guiraut Riquier with music, that are labelled retronchas in the chansonniers...
s.
Several of Richart's pieces were used as models by other trouvères. "Chancon ferai" and "Je chevauchai" served as models for an anonymous song about the Virgin Mary, "Chanter vous vueil de la vierge Marie". "L’autrier chevauchoie" was a model for the anonymous
"L’autrier m’en aloie"; "L’autrier tout seus" for the anonymous "De la tres douce Marie vueil chanter", another song about Mary; and "Nous venions" for yet another Marian praise, "On doit la mere Dieu honorer". Richart's song "Par amors ferai chanson" is similar to two other songs, but whether it was the model (earlier piece) or the contrafactum
Contrafactum
In vocal music, contrafactum refers to "the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music"....
(later) is not clear. The two other songs are "Qui veut amours maintenir" by Moniot de Paris
Moniot de Paris
Moniot de Paris was a trouvère and probably the same person as the Monniot who wrote the Dit de fortune in 1278. He was once thought to have flourished around 1200, but his dates have been pushed back....
, a fellow Parisian, and "D’Amour me doit souvenir" by the Moine de Saint Denis, also a local.