Explore: Virelais (polyphonic Chansons)

Machaut did any composer write a significant number of polyphonic chansons. A broad term, the word chanson literally means "song" in French and can thus less

(12th–13th centuries) was in many respects the predecessor of the polyphonic chanson of the Late Middle Ages (14th–15th centuries). O'Neill, Mary (2006)

bourgeois class. Dissemination of chansons, motets, and masses throughout Europe coincided with the unification of polyphonic practice into the fluid style

400 poems, including 235 ballades, 76 rondeaux, 39 virelais, 24 lais, 10 complaintes, and 7 chansons royales, and Machaut did much to perfect and codify

development of polyphonic forms is often associated with the Ars antiqua style associated with Notre-Dame de Paris, but improvised polyphony around chant

numerous French chansons, for three to six voices, some of which were probably intended for instrumental performance as well. In his chansons, he often used

antiphons within the area of sacred music, and rondeaux, ballades, virelais and a few other chanson types within the realm of secular music. None of his surviving

include chansons and jeux-partis (poetic debates) in the style of the trouvères; polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony; and

were the four formes fixes (rondeau, ballade, virelai, and bergerette), all generically known as chansons. Of the four, the rondeau was by far the most

textures of polyphonic language, thus his madrigals were like motets, although he varied the compositional textures, between homophonic and polyphonic passages