In about the year 1567 a French poet, Jean-Antonie de Baif, and a musician, Thibault de Courvile, began working on the composition of "vers et musique mesures a l'antique". "Vers mesures" were French verses written in classical metres. Their metre was meant to be quantitative, but owing to the nature of the French language this was impossible. They did, however, come near to achieving an accentual version of the metrical patterns of Greek and Latin verse. Their aesthetic is very light and their importance in literary history is not great. On the other hand "musique mesuree," the settings of these verses, is much of it good music and may well be of considerable importance in the history of musical style. The great majority of these settings followed the metre of the verse exactly, a long always given to a minim and a short a crotchet, though these were often broken up into notes of smaller value. All voices sang the same syllable at the same time. The curious, often asymmetrical rhythms of these works and their severely homophonic, chordal texture distinguish them very sharply from any surrounding musical styles. These characteristics can largely be accounted for by prevalent humanist theories of music, though unfortunately no theoretical work by any of the poets and musicians of musique mesuree survives.
After Baif and Courvile traveled together a lot for three years, but before they had published any vers or musique mesures, they had enough material and enough support from royal patrons, musicians and men of letters, to open an "Academie de poesie et de musique", for which Charles IX granted Letters Patent in 1570. Our chief sources for a picture of the aims and nature of this Academy are these Letters Patent and its Statutes.
The musical and poetic theory and practice which these documents announce are dominated by two principles: first, that music and verse are to be firmly united; secondly, that this union is to produce a revival of the ethical effects of ancient music. This union differed from any previously proposed in that it was uncompromisingly Hellenistic. Only musique mesuree was to be performed at the meetings of the Academy. The chief purpose of doing this was to revive the ethical power of music. Their aims were revolutionary. They did not wish to improve or modify ordinary verse and music, but to substitute for them a new art, new both in its style and in its effect on the listener.
As an institution this academy was of a more serious and more ambitious nature than the reunions of Maurice Sceve and Tyard or than the Italian Accademie of the 15th and 16th centuries. It was a carefully planned and rigidly disciplined organization.
The members were of two kinds: the Musiciens, professionals, who performed the musique mesuree, and the "Auditeurs," gentlemen, who listened to it. The performance took place every Sunday at Baif's own house and lasted for two hours. The musicians also had to rehearse every day. In musical matters they had to obey without question the “Entrepreneurs," that is Baif and Courvile. In return for this they were paid a regular salary. They were forbidden to copy or carry away any of the books which contained the vers and musique mesuree. The Auditeurs engaged themselves voluntarily to pay a certain sum each year towards the upkeep of the Academy. They were only admitted to the performances on showing a special medal. During the performance they were to keep as quiet as possible. They were not allowed to knock on the door or enter the room while a song was being sung. They were also forbidden to go beyond the barrier of the "niche" where the musicians performed, to touch any of the books and instruments. The Entrepreneurs reserved the right to refuse membership to any prospective auditeur. Finally, neither Auditeurs nor Musiciens might invite any outsider without the consent of the Entrepreneurs.
The Academy's activities were not confined to performing and rehearsing musique mesuree; it was an educational institution, such as a university, rather than an arrangement for regular intellectual argument. It was meant to be both a "nursery" of young musicians and poets, and eventually, with the help of these, an aristocratic dictator of musical and poetic style. Its object was not to popularize musique mesuree, to bring it before larger audiences, but, on the contrary, to guard it closely within a small and powerful circle, powerful both intellectually and temporally, until its style is immutably fixed, its superiority recognized by this circle, and its exponents sufficiently trained. Hence all the rules guarding against unauthorized auditeurs, the copying of music or verse and the like. When this had been accomplished, then it would be possible to impose this new music from above to the general public.
If Charles IX had lived long enough, there might have been some hope of realizing these ambitions. The court, although already falling into some disrepute, was still the supreme arbiter of musical fashion and musicians were economically dependent on what pensions and sinecures they could collect. Moreover, the printing of music was almost a monopoly of a particular firm in Paris. Therefore, by threatening to withdraw their privilege, it would have been easy to control the style of music printed. Baif's position at court was good; but, before his goal could be reached, he had to conquer the monopolist and privileged organizations. These naturally regarded this new institution as a rival, an apparently feeble rival, but one which, with its strict discipline and royal support, was a potential danger. Parliament and the University did all in their power to prevent the Academy ever coming into being, and they very nearly succeeded.
Parliament refused to register the Letters Patent and referred the matter to the University, by which means the opening of the Academy might have been indefinitely delayed. By May 1571, however, Baif had obtained from the king new Letters Patent, in which he forbade any opposition and ordered that any disputes should be brought before his Privy Council and not before Parliament.
From February 1571 onwards the Academy had given several concerts at which the king and many noblemen were present. According to Baif, they were successful. There was, however, still so much opposition that Baif decided to issue a challenge to all the musicians of Christendom, inviting them to meet and test their music with his. It is difficult to say what this opposition consisted of. The most important of them were probably the professional musicians who had not become members of the Academy. This might have been very dangerous, as Charles was fond of music and had very Catholic taste. Charmed by some new style of composition, he might have easily neglected musique mesuree. It was perhaps as much to make sure of the king's whole-hearted and permanent support, as to confound the critics of musique mesuree, that Baif wrote him a letter proposing this meeting.
It is very unlikely that this curious proposition ever took place. If all the famous musicians of Europe had come to Paris at once, there would certainly be some record of it. It seems from Baif's point of view to be a dangerous project, and one that was not in accord with the aristocratic contempt of public opinion which one finds in the Statutes and elsewhere in Baif's writings on vers and musique mesuree. However much his pride and vanity may have distorted his musical judgment, he can scarcely have hoped that an impartial jury of musicians would prefer the work of two or three good, but comparatively obscure, French composers to all the glories of Italy and Netherlands. But, on reading his letter carefully, one realizes that Baif intended the competition to be judged according to his own aesthetic cannons: according to its success in producing an ethical or emotional "effect" on the audience. He opines that musique mesuree would have had as good a chance as any other kind of music. The concession to public opinion is only apparent. The aim, then, of this competition was largely to prevent, by a resounding if unfairly won victory, any of the small powerful band of his adherents becoming disaffected or lukewarm, and perhaps incidentally to win over a few neutrals.
The history of the Academy after 1571 can only be guessed. It probably did not survive the death of Charles IX in 1573, and Auge-Chiquet may well be right in supposing that it died from lack of money. The evidence that it did not continue to exist in the reign of Henri III is this: it was supplanted by or transformed into another Academy of a completely different character, but with many of the same members and with the same royal patronage.
Of those activities and projects not mentioned in the Statues or Letters Patents the most ambitious was that of reviving Greek drama in its entirety, complete with music and choreography mesures a l'antique. There is little doubt that it had no practical results, but Baif, in a poem published in 1573 implied that the written material was ready. He also conceived the more feasible project of arranging ballets in which the dances were to be exactly regulated by the rhythmic principles of musique mesuree. That drama should be musical was a principle solely based on classical authority; so was the close union of dancing, gesture and music. There was, apart from the expensed, no great difficulty in putting them into practice. For the music, both the drama and ballet would follow exactly the rhythmic principles of musique mesuree, and, for the dance of both, existing steps could be used and easily made to fit any metre required. There was, therefore, a reasonable chance of either a drama or a ballet mesure being performed. It appears that practical experiments were made by the Academy. Some of these dances, together with the chansons mesurees, were probably performed from time to time in some of the many ballets and masquerades about which we know no details. That Baif succeeded in turning any of these into a ballet, tragedie or comedie mesuree is extremely improbable.
As well as being a school of the drama and ballet mesure the Academy, if Mersenne is to be believed, was also intended to be a kind of miniature university. An institution was to be created which contained everything necessary for the perfect education of a man's soul and body. For this purpose teachers learned in every kind of natural science were to be engaged, also instructors of languages, music, poetry, geography, mathematics, military exercises etc. there were even to be teachers concerned with clothes, food, gardens and so forth.
It seems strange that none of these proposed activities is mentioned in the Statutes or in any other source. The vast scheme is, however, in accordance with the renaissance ideal of an education that should produce a man complete in every respect, and Baif himself certainly believed that a poet should also be a musician and a philosopher. Mersenne states that, although all these projects were approved by royal authority, they remained unfulfilled because of the ill-will of certain persons.
Another possible aim of Baif's Academy, not mentioned in the Statutes or Letter Patent, is the revival of the chromatic and enharmonic genera. Most musical humanists laid great stress on this revival and one would expect Baif's musicians to have made some attempt to achieve it. But there is no trace of the use of these genera in any surviving musique mesuree. It is, however, likely that experiments in this genera were made in the early days of the Academy and were so unsuccessful that they were never published.
In conclusion, one other fruitless project connected with the Academy may be mentioned - Mauduit's Academie de Sainte Cecile. Our sole source of knowledge for this, Sauval, is on the whole not reliable, but in this case there seems to be no particular reason for doubting him.
It seems probable that Baif and Mauduit, until the former's death in 1589, and afterwards Mauduit alone, continued to hold private concerts of musique mesuree in their own houses. The tradition of musique mesuree was thus kept alive into the 17th century and, judging from the large amount of it published in the 90's and early 1600's, it appears to have attained a considerable degree of popularity. Encouraged presumably by this, Mauduit is said to have conceived the idea of another Academy, called the "Confrerie, Societe & Academie Royale de Sainte Cecile, Vierge & Martyre." Louis XIII was its founder and the musicians of his chapel and court were to be members of it. In addition there were to be: an "abbe," a governor, thirty chaplains, fifty singers and players of instruments, three professors, two printers, clerks, an organist and a master maker of instruments. One of these professors was to teach to the academians "la Musique theorique et mathematique"; the other two "la musique en rimes & en Vers." There were to be competitions and prizes for Latin and French verse and for music. A house and a church were to be built for it on the island of Notre Dame; the latter, dedicated to Sainte Cecile, was also to serve as parish church to the inhabitants of the island.
This Academy, containing both ecclesiastical and secular members, and resting on support of both the king and the church, might well have had a longer life than Baif's, but for Mauduit's untimely death. It had also the advantage of being less exclusively humanistic: ordinary verse and vers mesures appear to be on an equal footing, and the "effects" are not even mentioned.
After Baif and Courvile traveled together a lot for three years, but before they had published any vers or musique mesures, they had enough material and enough support from royal patrons, musicians and men of letters, to open an "Academie de poesie et de musique", for which Charles IX granted Letters Patent in 1570. Our chief sources for a picture of the aims and nature of this Academy are these Letters Patent and its Statutes.
The musical and poetic theory and practice which these documents announce are dominated by two principles: first, that music and verse are to be firmly united; secondly, that this union is to produce a revival of the ethical effects of ancient music. This union differed from any previously proposed in that it was uncompromisingly Hellenistic. Only musique mesuree was to be performed at the meetings of the Academy. The chief purpose of doing this was to revive the ethical power of music. Their aims were revolutionary. They did not wish to improve or modify ordinary verse and music, but to substitute for them a new art, new both in its style and in its effect on the listener.
As an institution this academy was of a more serious and more ambitious nature than the reunions of Maurice Sceve and Tyard or than the Italian Accademie of the 15th and 16th centuries. It was a carefully planned and rigidly disciplined organization.
The members were of two kinds: the Musiciens, professionals, who performed the musique mesuree, and the "Auditeurs," gentlemen, who listened to it. The performance took place every Sunday at Baif's own house and lasted for two hours. The musicians also had to rehearse every day. In musical matters they had to obey without question the “Entrepreneurs," that is Baif and Courvile. In return for this they were paid a regular salary. They were forbidden to copy or carry away any of the books which contained the vers and musique mesuree. The Auditeurs engaged themselves voluntarily to pay a certain sum each year towards the upkeep of the Academy. They were only admitted to the performances on showing a special medal. During the performance they were to keep as quiet as possible. They were not allowed to knock on the door or enter the room while a song was being sung. They were also forbidden to go beyond the barrier of the "niche" where the musicians performed, to touch any of the books and instruments. The Entrepreneurs reserved the right to refuse membership to any prospective auditeur. Finally, neither Auditeurs nor Musiciens might invite any outsider without the consent of the Entrepreneurs.
The Academy's activities were not confined to performing and rehearsing musique mesuree; it was an educational institution, such as a university, rather than an arrangement for regular intellectual argument. It was meant to be both a "nursery" of young musicians and poets, and eventually, with the help of these, an aristocratic dictator of musical and poetic style. Its object was not to popularize musique mesuree, to bring it before larger audiences, but, on the contrary, to guard it closely within a small and powerful circle, powerful both intellectually and temporally, until its style is immutably fixed, its superiority recognized by this circle, and its exponents sufficiently trained. Hence all the rules guarding against unauthorized auditeurs, the copying of music or verse and the like. When this had been accomplished, then it would be possible to impose this new music from above to the general public.
If Charles IX had lived long enough, there might have been some hope of realizing these ambitions. The court, although already falling into some disrepute, was still the supreme arbiter of musical fashion and musicians were economically dependent on what pensions and sinecures they could collect. Moreover, the printing of music was almost a monopoly of a particular firm in Paris. Therefore, by threatening to withdraw their privilege, it would have been easy to control the style of music printed. Baif's position at court was good; but, before his goal could be reached, he had to conquer the monopolist and privileged organizations. These naturally regarded this new institution as a rival, an apparently feeble rival, but one which, with its strict discipline and royal support, was a potential danger. Parliament and the University did all in their power to prevent the Academy ever coming into being, and they very nearly succeeded.
Parliament refused to register the Letters Patent and referred the matter to the University, by which means the opening of the Academy might have been indefinitely delayed. By May 1571, however, Baif had obtained from the king new Letters Patent, in which he forbade any opposition and ordered that any disputes should be brought before his Privy Council and not before Parliament.
From February 1571 onwards the Academy had given several concerts at which the king and many noblemen were present. According to Baif, they were successful. There was, however, still so much opposition that Baif decided to issue a challenge to all the musicians of Christendom, inviting them to meet and test their music with his. It is difficult to say what this opposition consisted of. The most important of them were probably the professional musicians who had not become members of the Academy. This might have been very dangerous, as Charles was fond of music and had very Catholic taste. Charmed by some new style of composition, he might have easily neglected musique mesuree. It was perhaps as much to make sure of the king's whole-hearted and permanent support, as to confound the critics of musique mesuree, that Baif wrote him a letter proposing this meeting.
It is very unlikely that this curious proposition ever took place. If all the famous musicians of Europe had come to Paris at once, there would certainly be some record of it. It seems from Baif's point of view to be a dangerous project, and one that was not in accord with the aristocratic contempt of public opinion which one finds in the Statutes and elsewhere in Baif's writings on vers and musique mesuree. However much his pride and vanity may have distorted his musical judgment, he can scarcely have hoped that an impartial jury of musicians would prefer the work of two or three good, but comparatively obscure, French composers to all the glories of Italy and Netherlands. But, on reading his letter carefully, one realizes that Baif intended the competition to be judged according to his own aesthetic cannons: according to its success in producing an ethical or emotional "effect" on the audience. He opines that musique mesuree would have had as good a chance as any other kind of music. The concession to public opinion is only apparent. The aim, then, of this competition was largely to prevent, by a resounding if unfairly won victory, any of the small powerful band of his adherents becoming disaffected or lukewarm, and perhaps incidentally to win over a few neutrals.
The history of the Academy after 1571 can only be guessed. It probably did not survive the death of Charles IX in 1573, and Auge-Chiquet may well be right in supposing that it died from lack of money. The evidence that it did not continue to exist in the reign of Henri III is this: it was supplanted by or transformed into another Academy of a completely different character, but with many of the same members and with the same royal patronage.
Of those activities and projects not mentioned in the Statues or Letters Patents the most ambitious was that of reviving Greek drama in its entirety, complete with music and choreography mesures a l'antique. There is little doubt that it had no practical results, but Baif, in a poem published in 1573 implied that the written material was ready. He also conceived the more feasible project of arranging ballets in which the dances were to be exactly regulated by the rhythmic principles of musique mesuree. That drama should be musical was a principle solely based on classical authority; so was the close union of dancing, gesture and music. There was, apart from the expensed, no great difficulty in putting them into practice. For the music, both the drama and ballet would follow exactly the rhythmic principles of musique mesuree, and, for the dance of both, existing steps could be used and easily made to fit any metre required. There was, therefore, a reasonable chance of either a drama or a ballet mesure being performed. It appears that practical experiments were made by the Academy. Some of these dances, together with the chansons mesurees, were probably performed from time to time in some of the many ballets and masquerades about which we know no details. That Baif succeeded in turning any of these into a ballet, tragedie or comedie mesuree is extremely improbable.
As well as being a school of the drama and ballet mesure the Academy, if Mersenne is to be believed, was also intended to be a kind of miniature university. An institution was to be created which contained everything necessary for the perfect education of a man's soul and body. For this purpose teachers learned in every kind of natural science were to be engaged, also instructors of languages, music, poetry, geography, mathematics, military exercises etc. there were even to be teachers concerned with clothes, food, gardens and so forth.
It seems strange that none of these proposed activities is mentioned in the Statutes or in any other source. The vast scheme is, however, in accordance with the renaissance ideal of an education that should produce a man complete in every respect, and Baif himself certainly believed that a poet should also be a musician and a philosopher. Mersenne states that, although all these projects were approved by royal authority, they remained unfulfilled because of the ill-will of certain persons.
Another possible aim of Baif's Academy, not mentioned in the Statutes or Letter Patent, is the revival of the chromatic and enharmonic genera. Most musical humanists laid great stress on this revival and one would expect Baif's musicians to have made some attempt to achieve it. But there is no trace of the use of these genera in any surviving musique mesuree. It is, however, likely that experiments in this genera were made in the early days of the Academy and were so unsuccessful that they were never published.
In conclusion, one other fruitless project connected with the Academy may be mentioned - Mauduit's Academie de Sainte Cecile. Our sole source of knowledge for this, Sauval, is on the whole not reliable, but in this case there seems to be no particular reason for doubting him.
It seems probable that Baif and Mauduit, until the former's death in 1589, and afterwards Mauduit alone, continued to hold private concerts of musique mesuree in their own houses. The tradition of musique mesuree was thus kept alive into the 17th century and, judging from the large amount of it published in the 90's and early 1600's, it appears to have attained a considerable degree of popularity. Encouraged presumably by this, Mauduit is said to have conceived the idea of another Academy, called the "Confrerie, Societe & Academie Royale de Sainte Cecile, Vierge & Martyre." Louis XIII was its founder and the musicians of his chapel and court were to be members of it. In addition there were to be: an "abbe," a governor, thirty chaplains, fifty singers and players of instruments, three professors, two printers, clerks, an organist and a master maker of instruments. One of these professors was to teach to the academians "la Musique theorique et mathematique"; the other two "la musique en rimes & en Vers." There were to be competitions and prizes for Latin and French verse and for music. A house and a church were to be built for it on the island of Notre Dame; the latter, dedicated to Sainte Cecile, was also to serve as parish church to the inhabitants of the island.
This Academy, containing both ecclesiastical and secular members, and resting on support of both the king and the church, might well have had a longer life than Baif's, but for Mauduit's untimely death. It had also the advantage of being less exclusively humanistic: ordinary verse and vers mesures appear to be on an equal footing, and the "effects" are not even mentioned.
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