air and aria added to french opera from the death of lully to 1720

Société Française de Musicologie

Air and Aria Added to French Opera from the Death of Lully to 1720Author(s): James R. AnthonySource: Revue de Musicologie, T. 77, No. 2, Musique Française Et Musique Italienne Au XVIIeSiécle (Villecroze, 2-4 octobre 1990) (1991), pp. 201-219Published by: Société Française de MusicologieStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/947422 .

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James R. ANTHONY

Air and Aria added to French Opera from the Death of Lully

to 1720

In 1686 with the performance of Acis et Galatee, the first glorious epoque of French opera came to a close. The master architect of the genre, the Florentine Lully, more French than the French, appeared to have left a legacy in which all influence of his native Italy had either been totally absorbed or entirely eradicated. Or had it ? The problem of pin-pointing influence is difficult at best. Documentation is often lacking, and, at times, it seems that there must be a leap of faith that accepts (or rejects) the emergence of the melodic shape of " Bois epais " (Amadis, 1684), for example, from " Ah Rinaldo e dove sei ? " (Ballet des Amours diguisez, 1664).

The larger events in the incursion of Italian influences on French opera in the 17th century are there for all to observe. There was a 37 year hiatus that saw no Italian opera in Paris (always excepting Paolo Lorenzani's pastoral, Nicandro e Fileno, of 1681) between Cavalli's Ercole amante of 1662 and the single act Italian opera, Orfeo nell' inferi, that forms part of the final divertissement of Campra's lyric comedy, Le carnaval de Venise, of 1699 1. These years saw the creation of French stage genres such as the pastoral, the pastorale-heroi'que, the tragedie- en-musique and the opera-ballet. Yet during those same years, the influence of Italian music was never absent. It continued to operate at various levels, some more obvious than others.

There is only one example of an Italian text in a Lully opera. It is, of course, the " Plainte italienne " that comprises the second scene of

1. The first full length Italian comic opera performed in Paris after 1662 was Orlandini's II marito giocatore (1729) ; Italian serious opera was not heard again in Paris until 1811 with Paisiello's Pirro. See Neal Zaslaw, " The First Opera In Paris : A Study In The Politics of Art ", in Jean-Baptiste Lully and the Music of the French Baroque : Essays in Honor of James R. Anthony (Cambridge, 1989), p. 11.



202 Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Act I of Psyche, the tragedie-ballet of 1671 that became the tragedie- en-musique of 1678. The opening lament, " Deh, piangete al pianto mio " sung by " une Femme affligee ", and the subsequent music of the scene afford a classic example of what Bourdelot labeled the nouvelle methode of Lully (and Cambert and Lambert) : " en prenant ce qu'il y avoit de plus excellent dans la musique Italienne, pour le joindre 'a la Frangoise, dont le melange a form6 le bon gofit que nous voyons r6gner aujourd'hui dans la musique "2. Bourdelot undoubtedly had in mind the coexistence of French and Italian taste. In my view, however, the lament is a synthesis in which French elements dominate. In spite of the Italianate repetition of text, as Ex. la reveals, the range is narrow, the melismas discreet and the use of dissonance, restrained. It embraces as much an elegiac air sbrieux of Lambert or Le Camus as it does a lament of Rossi, Savioni or Carissimi. Furthermore, in the best tradition of the air sbrieux, it is followed by a double (see Ex. lb) and by a recitative with typical French meter changes and an alexandrine couplet (Ex. Ic). The double, provided by Lambert, appears after the trio of " hommes affligez" ; the recitative is sung at the end of the scene by a " femme desolbe "

The ABA form of the lament is identical to the rondeau form found in many Lully operatic airs. It is worth noting that, in the 17th and 18th centuries in France, no distinction was made between this simple type of rondeau and the Italian da capo form. As Louis Auld has observed, Pierre Perrin " always referred to the ABA structure as a rondeau " in his Recueil de paroles de musique 3. Typical is the definition of rondeau given by Rousseau in his Dictionnaire, to wit : " Sorte d'Air 'a deux ou plusieurs Reprises... Les grands Airs Italiens et toutes nos Ariettes sont en Rondeau ".

To conclude this brief look at Lully's Italian lament, recall Lecerf de La Vibville's words about this piece : "Lulli en a banni les faux agremens et la badinage Italien, pour n'y mettre qu'un beau chant, des tons Frangois" 4

It was Henry Prunieres who first observed that Lully " en 6crivant ses operas se sourcit fort peu des oeuvres qui naissaient en Italie la mime epoque, il tournait ses regards vers le pass6" 5.

" Vers le pass6 " can only mean the airs of Cavalli, Cesti, Rossi, Carissimi or Savioni rather than those of Stradella or the young Scarlatti. I have dealt elsewhere with the Italian origins of the extended binary air (ABB') whose French version appears to have been shaped by Lully as early as 1663 in the

2. " Pierre Bourdelot and Jacques Bonnet, Histoire de la musique et de ses effets (Amsterdam, 1725), Vol. I, p. 18.

3. Louis Auld, The Lyric Art of Pierre Perrin (Henryville, 1986), Vol. ii, p. 141.

4. Jean-Laurent Lecerf de La Vieville, Comparaison de la musique italienne et de la musique franpoise (Amsterdam, 1725), Vol. I, p. 93.

5. Henry Prunieres, L'Opira italien en France avant Lulli (Paris, 1913), p. 363.



James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera 203

Ex. la : "Deh, piangete al pianto" from Act I, scene 2 of Lully's "Psyche"

A I I

Deh, pian - ge - te al pian to mi - o, Deh, pian-

4

L

v IIII I i I' I+ " '

-ge-te alpian-to mi - o, pian-ge- - - - te al pian - to

6 7 6 6 6

mi - - o, Sas-si du - ri, an-ti-che sel-ve, La-gri - ma-te,_ fon-ti e

S4 3 b 6 7b 5

bel -ve, La - gri-ma - te, La - gri-ma - te,_ fon-ti e bel -ve, D'un bel

9 8 6 6 6.

i 1 - I r I vol -to il fa - to ri - o, il fa - to ri - o, Deh, pian-ge - te al

N L-

7 6 6

pian - to mi - o, Deh, pian - ge - te al pian-to mi - o, pian-

.6 6 .

AII 0

-ge

-.-

te al pian - to mi -

- - o.

7 6 6 6 4 3




Ex. lb : "Double" by Lambert to "Deh, piangete al pianto"

Ris - pon- de- - - - te a mie- - - - i la-

-men - ti, Ris - pon -de - - te a mie - ilarnen-

- ti, Ris- pon - de - - te a

mie - - - i la - menl - - ti.

4x 5 4 3x

Ex. ic : Recitative from Act I, scene 2 of Lully s "Psych6"

-- ' ?r

De - i mor-ta - le a R-fet - to, Al-to im-pe - ro ne sfor - za,



James R. Anthony .- Air and Aria added to French Opera 205

Ballet des Arts 6. Out of a total of 432 binary airs found in Lully's operas, 275 are of the extended binary type. If the minuet is of Italian origin as Julia Sutton suggests, then an interesting parallel exists between this most popular of Lully's stage dances and the extended binary air with regard to national origin and the naturalization process itself7. This process is complex. Melodic shape, range, textural considerations, harmonic treatment, rhythmic organization and instrumental timbre all contribute to the conversion from Italian to French. Formal considerations aside, there is no denying the Italian character of the two Luigi Rossi extracts that follow; the first because of its extended vocalises and the second because of its circle of fifths - a product of a sequential bass line (Ex. 2ab). On the other hand, the B and B' sections of an air by Mario Savioni (Ex. 2c), with their syllabic treatment of text, narrow range, symmetrical phrase structure and dance-like rhythm, would seem to be from an air by Lully if one merely changed the language of the text.

The second part of this paper deals with the use of Italian arias in the operas of preramiste composers from 1687 to 1700. Fossard, one of Louis XIV's royal copyists, had already included a " Table Des Airs Italians " in his manuscript, Liste de Plusieurs Operas, 1680, found today in the Bibliotheque Municipale de Versailles (M.M. 138). The table lists over 30 Italian airs including nine by Luigi Rossi, nine by Lully, nine by Michel de La Barre, three by Carissimi and one by Antonio Favina.

In 1695, Philidor and Fossard brought out the first (and only) volume of Airs italiens published by Pierre Ballard, and, in that same year, Christophe Ballard published a collection of Airs italiens de Monsieur Lorenzani. It should be added that both of the above are modest collections. The former contains 12 airs preceded by ritournelles a 3 s. Of these airs, only six bear attributions (two by Lorenzani, one each by Lully and Rossi, and two by La Barre). With regard to formal structure, only four of the airs are da capo ; the remainder being either rondeau or binary forms. The Lorenzani collection contains only six airs. All but one are in binary form, again illustrating that we are still far from any standardization of the da capo form in the Italian aria. Ballard's reference, in the preface to his Lorenzani collection, to " cette sorte d'ouvrage que je continueray de Recuiller et d'Imprimer de temps en temps ", clearly anticipates his first volume of the Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens of 1699.

6. James R. Anthony, " Lully's airs - French or Italian ? ", The Musical Times, CXXVIII (1987), 126-129.

7. Julia Sutton, " The Minuet : an Elegant Phoenix ", Dance Chronicle, 8/3-4 (1985), 119-152.

8. Although Michel-Richard de Lalande contributed six ritournelles to airs lacking attribution, there is no reason to assume that these Italian airs are by him.




Ex. 2a : Extract from "Gelosia ch'a poco" by Rossi

[gelosi-la, La - scia-mi, la-scia-mi ge - lo - si-- - - - - a!

ge

6 6

lo - - - - -si- - -a

4 3

Ex. 2b : Extract from "M'uccidite begli occhi" by Rossi

m'uc-ci - di - te be - gli oc- - - chi

e pur v do - - ro, m'uc- ci-di - te be-gli oc

chi e pur vA dor- - o.



James R. Anthony ." Air and Aria added to French Opera 207

Ex. 2c : Extract from "O mia tarda pieta" by Savioni

B

Os - cu - ra - to mio ciel d'al -

B'

- to bel - t; Os - cu - ra -to mio

ciel d'al - - to bel - tI . ciel d'al---- ---to bel- t.

Table I below lists those operas performed at the Academie Royale de Musique to which Italian arias were added up to the year 1706. The sources used to compile this table are the following : subsequent editions of the same opera; Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens (C. Ballard, beginning in 1699); Recueil d'airs serieux et a" boire de diffgrents autheurs (C. Ballard, from 1698 through 1706); Recueil d'airs ajoutez a diffirents opera, Depuis l'Annke 1698 (J. B. C. Ballard, 1734); and book I of Quatre livres separez des Nouveaux airs italiens (included in Recueils d'airs ajoutez...). Dates inside brackets are those of the first performance. Airs found opposite the bracketed dates were included in the first performance of the opera and, therefore, cannot be considered to be added airs. Table I does not present a complete picture of the introduction of Italian arias into French stage music. For that, one would have to examine the many divertissements performed at the homes of wealthy patrons or at court. Campra's Venus, feste galante, for example, a divertissement performed in 1698 for the dauphin at the home of the Duchesse de la Fert6, contains an aria da capo (" No, non si puo ve- der un volto "). In addition, one would have to plumb the pages of the Mercure and other journals and memoires, paying particular attention to accounts of the revivals of the most popular operas.

Table I illustrates the rapid proliferation of added Italian arias in the last decade of the 17th century in those stage works that are not tragedies-en-musique. If J. B. C. Ballard's table in the Recueil d'airs ajoutez... is complete and correct, it was not until 1708 and 1709 that




Italian arias worthy of the name (and French ariettes) were added to tragedies-en-musique (see Table II).

In spite of its prologue and three act structure, Collasse's tragedie, Astree, is entirely in the style of his late master. Three short Italian dialogue airs (see Table I) culminating in a trio make a timid appearance in the divertissement of scene vii of Act III. With the exception of some repeated text fragments, there is little here that could be labeled Italian. The first air, " Chi per mogl'mi " is a syllabic, French rondeau air (ABACA) - a sung loure; the second, " Di voi sono inamorato " is a three part structure (ABC) which, as in so many Lully bass airs, is a " double continuo " air accompanied by violins; the third air, " Lizetto, e fatta per me ", is the most original. It is a short binary air in which Part B contains textual and melodic fragments borrowed from Part A, but in reverse order (see ex. 3).

TABLE I : Italian Arias Added to French Operas (1691-1706)

Date Opera Composer/ Genre Title and Composer Librettist

[1691] Astree Collasse/ tragedie " Chi par mogl'mi " La Fontaine (Collasse) " Di voi sono inamorato "

(Collasse) " Lizetto, e fatta per me " (Collasse)

[1694] Midke Charpentier/ tragedie " Chi te me d'amore" T. Corneille (Charpentier)

[1695] Ballet des Collasse/Pic ballet none Saisons

1700 " Fra le tenebre del duolo " (?) " Danzie goda " (?) "Mi prepata amor" (?) " Liberta " (Rossi?) " Ditto o cieli " (Rossi)

[1697] L'Europe Campra/ opera- " Ad un cuore " (Campra) galante La Motte ballet

1698 " Si scherzi " (Campra) " Io provo nul core " (Marchand) " Amor, da mi consiglio " (Marchand)

1698 " Se potro sul dolce Labro " (?) " Vuo vendetta e voglio straggi " (?)





1703 " Canta, canta O mio cuore" (Campra) " Ardi cor mio " (Campra) " Ferma, ferma il corso " (Campra)

1706 " Non vol piu languir" (?)

[1698] Lesfestes ga- Desmarest/ comkdie- " Ebro far voglio il lantes de Vancy lyrique mio core " (Desmarest)

" Numi voi ch'ognor vedere " (Desmarest) " Chi di morte" (Desmarest)

[1699] Le carnaval Campra/ comndie- "Amor, amor, t'el de Venise Regnard lyrique guiero a fe" (Campra)

" Luci belle dormite" (Campra) " Mi dice la speranza" (Campra) 6 arias in Orfeo nell'inferni

1699 " Purche, rie da nel mio seno " (?)

Despite increased harmonic interest and superb characterization, Charpentier's MMdke lies wholly within the Lully orbit. In scene vii of Act II, an Italian air, " Chi te me d'amore " sung by " une italienne ", is a dance song following a chaconne which dance was thought to be of Italian origin (" La Chaconne est nee en Italie ", Rousseau). Charpentier introduces such Italianate features as an over-all da capo form and the use of a sequentially derived melisma of four measures over a chromatic bass line.

L'Europe galante, the first opera-ballet, is also the first stage work which overtly employs Italian arias (based, presumably, on those by contemporary Italian composers). The built-in ethnographic structure of the entrees gave Campra an excuse for including an Italian aria as an integral part of the third entree (" L'Italie "). " Ad un cuore " appears in all five editions (1697/1698/1699/c. 1700/1724) 9. Its unequal A and B sections (each containing two lines of text), its use of ritornelli, its devise, its melismas, its text repetitions and its 12/8 meter (see Ex. 5a) make it the first totally convincing Italian aria da capo to be found in French opera.

9. See this author, " Printed Editions of Andre Campra's L'Europe galante" The Musical Quarterly, LVI (1970), 54-73.




Ex. 3 : "Lizetta, e fatta per me" from Act III, scene 7 of "Astr6e" by Colasse

a b

Li-zet - ta 4 fat - ta per me, com' io son

AI

Pa IIIrI r

fat - to per_ el - la: Li- el - la: Son gio-ven'

+

le e gio-ven-nel - la son fe - del le pien' di

Fb a

fe com' io son fat - to per el- la, Li-zet - ta e

ft - t p r m i-ze - t a -

t

t a +

I +

fat-ta per me, Li-zet- ta 4 fat - ta per me.




In the second edition of L'Europe galante of 1698, a second aria da capo, " Si scherzi ", was added to "Ad un cuore ". A supplement to this edition contains two additional arie da capo " qui ne sont point de l'Europe galante 10o. Also added in 1698, and printed in the Recueil d'airs serieux for that year, were two airs by organist Louis Marchand. The first of these airs, " Io provo nel cuore ", enjoyed a great success according to Lecerf de la Vi6ville who chose it as an example of counterfeit so clever that even " les plus fines adorateurs de l'Italie y sont trompez" ". The third edition of 1699 contains the same two Italian arias as are found in the second edition, but, at the end of the table of " Airs a chanter ", we read the following "Dans la longue espace de temps que cette Piece a ete represent6e, on y a adjout6 plusieurs Airs Italiens qui se trouvent dans le Recueil des meilleurs airs Italiens et ainsi il ne les faut point chercher dans la table cy-dessus ". The reference here is to Christophe Ballard's first book of the Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens, qui ont este publiks depuis quelques annees (1699). This collection contains 21 arias of which only 9 are da capo. It includes none from Astree or Midde but does include the three arias from Desmarest's Les festes galantes, the aria from Campra's Vinus, feste galante and four arias from L'Europe galante.

To complete the 17th century list of Italian arias added to Campra's L'Europe galante, it was necessary to turn to a much later source, that is, to J. B. C. Ballard's Recueil d'airs ajoutez a diffirents opera, Depuis l'An- nee 1698 (1734) and its important separate books, " qu'on peut joindre a ce recueil ", containing " airs ajoutez " to various operas. The first of these books contains two " Nouveaux airs italiens ajoutez 'a l'Europe galante, au mois d'Octobre 1698 ". These airs are found neither in the Bal- lard Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens nor in the Recueil d'airs serieux et a boire for the year 1698. Yet, these two airs do have some stylistic significance to our study. The first, " Se potro ", is a rounded binary form with the return to A elegantly varied (see Ex. 4a below) and with a final cadenza-like flourish provided. The second air, " Vuo vendetta ", an aria da capo notated " presto ", is clearly a virtuoso piece with long, rather tiresome sequential patterns in the extended melismas.

A happy synthesis of French and Italian elements is found in the three airs from Desmarest's Les festes galantes. " Numi voi ch'ognor vedere " (Act II, scene viii) is a French " double-continuo " air built over a free chaconne bass. The repeated text and rapid melismas of the " presto " ending are Italian; the changes of meter are French. " Chi di morte " (Act III, scene viii) sung by C6line, a major character in the

10. These airs, presumably by Campra, are a second version of " Ad un cuore " and " Neri son'e son'di fuoco >>. This version of " Ad un cuore " is, if anything, more consciously Italian than the first version.

11. Comparaison de la musique Italienne..., Vol II, p. 94. See also Lionel de La Laurencie, " Notes sur la jeunesse d'Andr& Campra ", Sammelbdinde der internationalen Musikgesellschaft (1908-1909), 208-213, where the entire air is transcribed.




Ex. 4a : Extract from "Se potro sul dolce Labro" added to "L'Europe galante" in 1693

Se po-tro sul dol - ce la-bro, di col-

[...]mo. Se po-tro sul dol - ce la-bro, di col-

-ei che mi dif - fa - ce, Am-mor[zar]

-ei che mi dif - fa - ce, Am-mor[zar]

Ex. 4b : Extract from "Vuo vendetta" added to "L'Europe galante" in 1698

Strag - -- - - (gi)

opera, is Italian in its disjunct vocal line, short phrases, repeated text, long sequential melismas, - all accompanied by the French a 5 orchestra; its organization as an extended binary, which, as we have seen, has dual nationality.

Le carnaval de Venise by Campra contains several innovations not the least of which is to remove the Italian aria from its strictly decorative function in the divertissement to a position of importance in the drama itself. There is a certain poetic justice in the fact that Leandre and two musicians sing a classical French sommeil in the Italian language (" Luci belle dormite "), thus bringing the sommeil back full circle to its origin in Luigi Rossi's Orfeo (1647). This " Serenade " is scored for three male voices accompanied by two recorders. In response, Isabelle appears on her balcony and sings the beautiful " Mi dici la speranza ", a da capo aria worthy of a Scarlatti 12

A glance at Table I reveals that several Italian arias have no attribution. There is no reason to assume that the composer, himself,

12. Campra's Le carnaval de Venise is available in a facsimile edition with introductory notes by James R. Anthony and Jer6me de La Gorce. It is Volume XVII of the series, " French Opera in the 17th and 18th Centuries ", ed. by Barry S. Brook (New York, 1989).




provided the additional arias for later revivals. The first three books of Ballard's Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens have only two attributions (" Dite o Cieli " is by " D'el Signor Luigi ", the perennial Luigi Rossi, and " Fami contento Amor" is an " Aria composta di sua Maesta Imperiale ", Leopold I). A few names are added by consulting the monthly Recueil d'airs serieux et a boire, and some others are found in the Recueil d'Airs ajoutez a differents opera. Among the French composers of Italian airs found in these sources are Campra, Mar- chand, Brossard, Gillier, La Barre, Clerambault, Bouvard and Grand- val; the Italians are represented by Rossi, Scarlatti, Pollarolsi, Carissimi, Savioni, Bononcini, Stefani, Carisio and Torino. To attempt to fix attribution on the basis of stylistic criteria is fraught with danger, for in H. C. Robbins-Landon's words : " stylistic evidence is a very subjective and - for the purpose of drawing any definite conclusions - a very limited criterion. It does not seem to matter how brilliant the critic is : when dealing with works of doubtful authenticity the stylistic element almost invariably leads to the wrong conclusion " 13

To conclude this paper, I will touch upon the origins and development of the ariette, the most important French progeny of the Italian aria da capo. Although much has been written about the genre, especially with regard to its later appearances in the operas of Rameau, there has been little attempt to research its origins.

In 18th century definitions, two aspects of the ariette dominate : 1) it was composed to " faire briller la voix " (Remond de Saint-Mard, Chastellux, Nougaret); and 2) it was normally " en rondeau ", that is, an ABA form (Brossard, Lacassagne, Rousseau, Lacombe) 14

Clearly, the genesis of the ariette is found in those Italian arie da capo added to French operas discussed earlier. The development and eventual standardization of the genre can be traced in the Ballard Recueil d'airs serieux et a boire, in the French cantata and, beginning in 1707, in those French airs added to earlier French operas. As will be demonstrated, the later 18th century definitions of the ariette describe a text book form that scarcely existed in the first decade of the century.

It is appropriate that the first French air to bear all the stylistic elements of the later ariette is itself a parody of the popular " Ad un cuore ", Campra's aria da capo found in all editions of L'Europe galante. The parody, " Je vous aime " is found in the Recueil d'airs serieux for February 1698 (pp. 26-29).

13. H. C. Robbins-Landon, " Problems of Authenticity in 18th-Century Mu- sic ", Instrumental Music, ed. David G. Hughes (Cambridge, MA 1959), p. 36.

14. Remond de Saint-Mard " Reflexions sur l'opera " in (Euvres, (Paris, 1749), vol. V, p. 257 ; Frangois-Jean Chastellux, Essai sur l'union de la poesie et de la musique (Paris, 1765), p. 50; Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Nougaret, De l'art du thiatre (Paris, 1769), vol. II, p. 297; Sebastien de Brossard, Dictionnaire de musique (Paris, 1703); L'abbe Joseph Lacassagne, Traite gineral des elhmens du chant (Paris, 1766), p. 150; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Dictionnaire de musique (Paris, 1768), p. 34; Jacques Lacombe, Dictionnaire portatif des beaux-arts (Paris, 1753), p. 38.




Ex. 5a : Extract from "Ad un cuore" from "L'Europe galante"

Ad un cuo - re, Ad un cuo - re, tut-to ge -

-lo - so, De - ve'a-mor ne gar pie- t- :

6 6x 6 6 x

Ex. 5b : Extract from parody of "Ad un cuore" in "Recueil d'airs s(rieux" (Feb., 1698)

Je vous ai - me, Je vous ai - me Plus que moi-

6 6 6 6 6

0 v I I 1

m - me, Li - zet- te, n'en dou - tez pas

6 6 6x 6 6

In the Recueil d'airs serieux for April 1704, the term, " Ariette ", is given to a short Italian air in binary form : " Nel porto gradito ". In the Recueil for August 1706 the term, " Arietta ", is used to identify a short French binary air, " Pourquoy se contraindre ", but the French binary air, " L'Abeille sur les fleurs " by Collet, is called " Ariette " in the Recueil for February 1707. Italian features begin to dominate the six ariettes of the Recueil for 1708 15, although there is still no true aria da capo. The most interesting of these ariettes, " Quittez, quittez le reste de la terre ", was added to Collasse's tragedie, Thetis et Pelhe, for the revival of 1708. This long ariette (140 measures, including repeats)

15. These are : " Printems " by Bertin (May); " Vous n'avez point " by Cochereau (June); " A l'ombre d'un ormeau " (Sept.); " Quittez le reste de la terre " (Sept.); " Abaissez la Lanterne " (Nov); and " Buvons, point de guerre " (Dec.).




appears to be a synthesis between an Italian aria da capo and a French rondeau air. Its structure and measure distribution follow :

Rit A B A Rit C A Rit 7 21 28 21 6 28 21 9

Italian are the motto beginning and the text repetitions ; French are the accompaniments using flute with violin, and French are the choice of clich6 words such as " tonnerre " and " volez " for melismas that seem to have been composed with a conscious effort to avoid sequences.

The Recueil for 1709 contains three " Ariettes ". The first two (" Helas, la pauvre fille " by Clerambault [Feb] and " Quand ton Iris sommeille " by D.L.T [Sept]) are clear examples of what will become the standard ariette, that is a French da capo air to " faire briller la voix ". The third ariette in this collection (" L'Amour trouble tout le monde " by Du Careau [Dec]) is a classic example of the second type of ariette already found in the Recueils for April 1704, August 1706 and February 1707, that is : a short and simple song in binary form.

Collections of French cantatas appeared between 1706 and 1709 with the first books of Morin, Bernier, Stuck, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Campra, Bourgeois, Brunet de Moland and Monteclair. All contain examples of ariettes, although, as in the Ballard recueils, the term is not always consistently applied. Of the 75 airs in Campra's three books of cantatas, 26 are labeled ariettes. At the same time, many of the da capo airs themselves resemble ariettes. In Campra's collections, the main difference appears to be a preference for compound meter, a faster tempo and a lighthearted text in the ariette. On the other hand, the three ariettes in Monteclair's first book (c. 1709) are all symmetrical binary airs of 12 or 14 measures.

The Cantades et Ariettes Frangoises (1708) by Brunet de Moland points up the vagueness of terminology. Almost all the airs found in the four cantatas (Apollon et Daphnk Pyrame et Tisbk, Le jugement de Paris, Le Destin de Narcisse) are da capo airs with strong Italianate features, yet none is labeled " ariette ". The collection closes with six " ariettes frangoises " independent of the cantatas. Although all but one are da capo airs, they are simple in style and less overtly Italian than the cantata airs ! A related problem is found in the first book of Cantates frangoises, sur les sujets tirez de I'Ecriture (1708) of Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. Presumably, M11e de La Guerre (in frustration ?) was willing to let her readers determine which of her da copo airs are ariettes, for, although none is labeled as such, her table at the end of the collection is entitled " Airs et Ariettes detachez ".

Turning now to French airs added to earlier operas, it is necessary to consult again the table found in J.B.C. Ballard's Recueil d'airs ajoutez a diffgrents opera. Table II, below, is a continuation of Table I above. It shows the domination, beginning abruptly in 1707, of French airs over Italian arias in the additions.




TABLE II : Airs added to French operas (1707-1720)


[1705] La La Barre / comedie- Vinitienne La Motte lyrique

1707 << Quand je revois ? (La Barre)

[1689] Thisis et Collasse / tragedie Pelee Fontenelle

1708 << Regnez, belle Thetis >> (Campra) << Trompettes, eclatez>> (Campra) <<Venez, regnez aimables jeux >> (Campra) << Non sempre guerriero >> (Stuck) <<Quittez, le reste de la terre >>(?)

[1709] M?lkagre Stuck/Jolly tragedie July 1709 << Acceso dal diletto >>

(Stuck) << D'un tendre amour>> (?) << Tous les moments du Printems >> (Stuck) Sarabande parodies : << La jeune Aminte >>, << Ah ! que de flamme >> Parodies : <<Les plaisirs qu'on gofite >>, <<Vien par le vin >>, <<Dans les yeux de Philis >>, << Amour, ton empire >>, << Armons-nous chacun >>

[1685] Roland Lully/ tragedie Quinault

1709 << Son come farfalleta >> (Stuck)

[1683] Pha'ton Lully/ tragedie Quinault

1709 << Nouveau Soleil >> (Campara) << Navicella frascoglie >> (Caldara)





[1700] Hesione Campra/ tragedie Danchet

1709 << La terre sur les cieux>> (Campra) << Charmante mere des amours >> (Campra) << L'Amour s'envole>> (Campra)

[1676] Atys Lully/ tragedie Quinault

1709 << Reine des Dieux >> (Bertin) << Dieux de l'Hymen >> (Bertin)

[1712] Amours de Campra/ ballet Mars et de Danchet Venus

1712 ? Eclatantes Trompettes ? (Le Comte)

[1678] Psyche Lully/ tragedie Corneille

1713 I Aimee, regnez >> (Bertin) [1688] Ziphire et Lully/ tragedie

Flore DuBoullay 1715 ((Amours, amours volez >>

(Dutartre) 1715 << Puissant fils >> (Dutartre) [1697] L'Europe Campra/ opera-

galante La Motte ballet 1716 ?I Si lietto si contento

(Bertin) [1716] Ajax Bertin/ tragedie

Menesson 1716 << Amours, volez >> (Bertin) [1720] Amours de Gervais/ ballet

Protee La Font

1720" * Pour regner sur les coeurs >> (Gervais ?)

* ? ajoutez depuis l'impression de ce Ballet >>

It would be an error to assume that the majority of these airs closely resemble ariettes. None is so labeled. All the airs added to MHlhagre, for example, are parodies of existing dances found in the opera. Of the remaining airs (see Table III, below), seven are da capo, six are rondeau airs and three are simple binary airs. Most of the da capo airs make use




of the devise, repeated texts and extended melismas commonly found in the ariette. Campra's " Trompettes 6clatez " (added to ThItis et Pelke) is a brilliant, large scale da capo air prefaced by an introduction of 53 measures for solo trumpet, violin and continuo. However, Campra's " La terre sur les cieux " (added to Hisione) and Dutartre's " Puissant fils " (added to Zephire et Flore) are more French than Italien. Both make use of an accompaniment of flutes and/or violins; both utilize a viola basse-continue. " Puissant fils " is actually a " double continuo " air with the soprano doubled by " les hautes-contres, les quintes de violons et les violles ". This texture reaches back to the Campra of L'Europe galante (" Faisons r6gner l'amour ") and foreshadows Ari- cie's " Hippolyte amoureux " of Rameau, thus reaffirming the French tradition in the midst of any ultramontane influences.

TABLE III : Formal Structure of Airs Added to French Operas

Binary Rondeau Da Capo << Quand je revois >> << Regnez belle Thetis >> << Trompettes, eclatez >> << Charmante mere des << Venez, regnez aimables << Nouveau Soleil >> Amours >> jeux >> << clatantes Trompet- << Dieu de l'Hymen >> << Quittez le reste de la tes >

terre >> << Amours, volez >> << Aimez, regnez >> << La terre sur les << Reine des Dieux >> cieux >> << Amour, amour volez >> << L'Amour s'envole >>

<< Puissant fils >>

While the added Italian arias and French airs desbribed above played a small role in changing the style of French preramiste opera, we must not over estimate their importance in this regard. They functioned, rather, as a means of bringing the divertissements of earlier operas closer to contemporary tastes. As such, they are part of the same impulse noted by Parfaict who, in describing a revival of Lully's Bellkrophon in April, 1728, wrote : " On fit ia cette reprise quelques changemens ia cet Opera... On substitua aussi au IVe Acte un nouveau Divertissement compose des peuples des campagnes de Lycie... Cette ffte parut assez bien imaginee, & plus satisfaisante que celle des Faunes et des Napees qui paroissoient autrefois. " 16

16. Claude and Frangois Parfaict, Histoire de l'Acaddmie Royale de Musique, Paris, Bibliotheque nationale, Ms. n. a. fr. 6532, vol. II, p. 45.




SUMMARY

After the death of Lully, French composers beginning with Collasse composed Italian arias for their operas thus giving us another measure of Italian influence on French stage music during the preramiste period. At first these arias were merely rondeau and binary airs of the French type composed to an Italian text and restricted to the divertissement. The first to model his Italian arias on those of contemporary Italian masters was Campra in l'Europe galante (1697).

This paper identifies more than 30 Italian arias in French operas composed between 1691 and 1709. Beginning abruptly in 1707, French airs composed in the Italian style to " faire briller la voix " were added to earlier operas. Ballard's Recueil d'airs ajoutez a" diffirents opera identifies 17 such airs added to 13 different operas between 1709 and 1720. These airs were an important source for the ariette, the most important French progeny of the Italian aria da capo.

Apres la mort de Lully, les compositeurs frangais a partir de Collasse ont compose des airs italiens pour leurs operas, revelant ainsi l'importance de l'influence italienne sur la musique franqaise durant la periode pr6-ramiste. Ces airs &taient alors avant tout des rondeaux et des airs binaires a la franqaise, composes sur des textes italiens et limites aux divertissements. Avec l'Europe galante (1697), Campra a 6t6 le premier compositeur a concevoir ses airs italiens sur le modele de ceux des maitres italiens de son 6poque.

Cette contribution identifie plus de trente airs italiens extraits d'operas franqais composes entre 1691 et 1709. A partir de 1707, des airs franqais composes dans le style italien et destines a << faire briller la voix >> furent ajoutes a des operas plus anciens. Le Recueil d'airs ajoutez a' diffirents opera de Ballard permet d'identifier 17 de ces airs ajoutes entre 1709 et 1720 a 13 operas diff6rents. Ces airs constituent une source importante pour les ariettes, forme franqaise la plus proche de l'aria da capo italien.



air and aria added to french opera from the death of lully to 1720

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