Overview
“Clément Janequin: Le Chant des Oyseaulx” is a collection of chansons composed by Clément Janequin, a French composer of the Renaissance, who is known for his enormous number of polyphonic secular chansons.
Commentary
Performed by Ensemble Clément Janequin, a French male vocal group led by Dominique Visse. Recorded in 1982. Released on Harmonia Mundi.
Vocal duet of countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass. Dominique Visse’s pure countertenor is impressive.
Vivid and lively performance using a lot of extempore ornaments (trills).
The album contains satirical and humorous songs, beautiful love songs, and bawdy songs with sexual contents.
The original songs are unaccompanied (a cappella), but some tracks are accompanied by a lute. There are two lute solo tracks.
The title track “Le Chant des Oyseaulx/The Song of the Birds” (published in 1528) is a famous piece of scenic program music including onomatopoeic imitations of bird calls.
