Description

Accompanied on the lute or the theorbo, the court song (air de cour), or at least the serious song (air sérieux) was the favoured channel throughout the 17th century to express the refinements of the soul. The serious song sets to music a gallant, elegiac, plaintive, spiritual or mildly erotic poem; its expression is elegant, fresh and intimate, and the lilt of the prosody guides its rhythm. Several dozen authors, most of whom remained anonymous were put to use in the course of the 17th century. Sébastien Le Camus was unquestionably among the most prolific composers of court song; he was also a virtuoso gamba player as well as theorbo player. Michel Lambert was the exact contemporary of Le Camus. Having set to music a few dozen ‘précieux’ poets, he left nearly 300 court songs.