Music 230

Prof. Freedman

Nov. 25, 1997

NOTE: PLEASE USE "THE CASTLE OF FAIR WELCOME" MCD84 FOR MUSIC SAMPLE OF MORTON'S "LE SOUVENIR DE VOUS METUE"

Both Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye by Dufay and Le souvenir de vous me tue by Morton are the songs of the courtly love and, they are composed in the rondeau form. From one point of view, the form of the music, rondeau, may be too specific in terms of the melody order to express the poem of the courtly love which is about a man's feelings of distant love. However, in these two specific songs, Dufay and Morton used their clever criativities to let the repetition of the melodies and the poem fit natulally to the overall flow of the songs.

According to Michael Freeman in "The World of Courtly Love," the style of music of the courtly love was developped by the "troubadours" who were musicians as well as poets in the first half of the twelfth centry. The courtly love is a particular music which the "troubadour" idolises a woman who is in a higher social status than he is. He loves her and admires her but, the difference in their social stauses makes him away from the woman. Therefore, he puts his feeling from love for her to jerous for rivals in his music and, he performs for himself or for a small audience.

Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye by Dufay and Le souvenir de vous me tue by Morton are songs of the courtly love in rondeau form. Rondeau is a form of song which is created by two melodies (supporse they are A and B) and several sets of verses of poem. The combination of the melody and the verse of poem will come out as A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B. For example, in Le souvenir de vous me tue, there are two melodies, A and B. Then, there are several sets of verses of poem;

Le souvenir de vous me tue, Mon seul bien, quant je ne vous voy,

Car je vous jure sus ma foy Que sans vous ma joye est perdue.

Quant vous estes hors de me veue Je me plaing et dis a par moy:

Le souvenir . . .

Seulle demeure despourveue, De nully confort ne recoy;

Ce deul porte sans faire effroy Jusques a vostre revenue.

Le souvenir . .

Car je . . .

The first set of the poem goes with the melody A, the second set goes with the melody B, the third set goes with the melody a (*since this poem is different from the first set of the poem, even though the melody is the same, it needs to be indicated with "small a".) Then, the poem from the first set returns with the melody A again. The fifth set of the poem comes in with the melody a (*) then, the sixth set of the poem comes in with the melody b (**since this poem is different from the second set of the poem, even though the melody is the same, it needs to be indicated with "small b".) Finally, the same sets of poem and the melodies from the first and the second combinations return at the end. Then, the form of rondeau, A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B, is completed.

However, why did Morton, in the case of Le souvenir de vous me tue, need to have this specific combinations of the verses of the poem and the melody? Every section of the poem only contains two lines and, there are more notes in the melody than the numbers of the syllable in the poem. So, if he wants, it may be possible to exchange the melody A for melody B in any part of the song. In case of the Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye, the difference in number of lines of poem would specifies the combinations of the poem and the melody in its basic level. However, it is not the only reason to decide the combination between the poem and the melody.

In case of these two songs, a close attention to the poem will explain the reasons of the specific combination of the poem and melody. First of all, what is the difference between the part of poem which is associated with melody A and the one which is associated with the melody B? In Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye, as I mensioned before, the part of the poem which is constructed with three line is associated with the melody A and, the one which is constructed with two lines is associated with the melody B. Moreover, the part of the poem which is associated with the melody A is his statement of levingthe woman. He says "Adieu ma leale mastresse! (farewell my loyal mistress)", "Quant vous eloigne ma princesse (when I depart from you, my princess)", and "Et doint que briefment vous revoye (and grant me a reunion with you soon)". Still wishing for the reunion later in his life, he tells her that he is leaving in the part of the poem which is associated with the melody A.

On the other hand, the part of the poem which is associated with the melody B is about his feelings. He says in those part of the poem that "tant forte me blesse Qu'il me semble que morirdoye (so deeply wounds me I feel I should die)" and "Qu'apres ma payne joye aroye (and that after my pain joy will come)." Therefore, in this song, Dufay distinguishes the use of the melody A and B by associating his action or associating his feeling.

In Le souvenir de vous me tue, Morton distinguishes the use of the melody A and B in the very similar way as Dufay does in Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye. First of all, the parts of the poem which are associated with the melody A are about the statement of her absense. For example, he says "quant je ne vous voy (when I do not see you)", "Quant vous estes hors de me veue (When you are out of my sight)," and "Seulle demeure despourveue (I remain alone and deprived)" in these parts.The melody A is clearly associated with the fact of her absense.

On the other hand, the parts of the poem which are associated with the melody B is about his sad feeling. He sings "Que sans vous ma joye est perdue (that without you my happiness is lost)" and "Ce deul porte sans faire effroy (I bear this sadness quietly)" with the melody B. Therefore, Morton dittinguishes the use of the melody A and B by associating the absense of the woman or associating hi sad feeling. In these two songs, Dufay and Morton use two different melodies not only because of the rule of the rondeau form but also, because there are two different elements expressed in the songs.

Moreover, one of the rules of the rondeau form is that the first phrase of the song needs to be repeated in the middle and at the end of the song (A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B). However, Dufay and Morton use some keywords to make those repetitions flow naturally in these two songs. For example, Dufay puts the phrase "Quant vous eloigne ma princess (when I depart from you, my princess)" and "Car l'adquis m'est de ce que laisse (For I am aware of what I am leaving)", in order to bring in the repetitions which begin with "Adieu (Farewell)." In case of Le souvenir de vous me tue, the use of the keywords are somehow more direct. For example, he puts the phrase "Je me plaing et dis a par moy: (I weep and say to myself)" right before the repetition, so that the repetition can be brought into the song naturally. Also, he puts te phrase "Jusques a vostre revenue (until your return)" right before the last repetition, so that the song can go back to the repetition smoothly.

After all, Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye and Le souvenir de vous me tue are the songs of the courtly love which Dufay and Morton use the characteristics of the rondeaus form fully and effectively. They associate two different elements of the poem to the two different melodies of the song. Therefore, the melody means more than just a simple melody; it represents the certain element of the poem; for example, the melody A in Adieu m'amour, adieu ma joye represents the action of him leaving the woman. Moreover, the rondeau form has a specific order of the melodies and the sections of the poem; A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B. A certain parts of the song are forced to repeat because of its rules. However, both Dufay and Morton use some keywords to make the repetition to come back smoothly into the song.