A virelai is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three formes fixes (the others were the ballade and the rondeau) and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the late thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.

What does the word virelai mean?

or vir·e·lai (vîr′ə-lā′) pl. vir·e·lays or vir·e·lais. Any of several medieval French verse and song forms, especially one in which each stanza has two rhymes, the end rhyme recurring as the first rhyme of the following stanza.

How do you write virelai?

1. nine lines per stanza.
2. lines one, two, four, five, seven, and eight have five syllables.
3. lines three, six, and nine have two syllables.
4. the five-syllable lines rhyme with each other and the two-syllable lines rhyme with each other to make the following rhyme patter: aabaabaab.

What are the 3 formes fixes?

This is a collective designation for the three chief forms of late medieval French poetry and music: ballade, virelai, and rondeau.

What is the form of a rondeau?

The full form of a rondeau consists of four stanzas. The first and last are identical; the second half of the second stanza is a short refrain, which has as its text the first half of the first stanza. ... The earliest-known rondeaux with polyphonic music are by the 13th-century poet and composer Adam De La Halle.

What are the 3 musical elements found in the rondeau?

Rondeau poems contain a fixed verse form divided into three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet. The opening words of the first line of the first stanza serve as a refrain that will be repeated in the last line of the second and third stanzas.

What does rondeau mean in English?

1a : a fixed form of verse based on two rhyme sounds and consisting usually of 13 lines in three stanzas with the opening words of the first line of the first stanza used as an independent refrain after the second and third stanzas. b : a poem in this form.

What does formes fixes mean in music?

formes fixes, Principal forms of music and poetry in 14th- and 15th-century France. Three forms predominated. The rondeau followed the pattern ABaAabAB; A (a) and B (b) represent repeated musical phrases; capital letters indicate repetition of text in a refrain, while lowercase letters indicate new text.

What is a fixed form poem?

fixed form. A poem that may be categorized by the pattern of its lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas. Ex: sonnet. couplet. Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Who did Guillaume de Machaut serve?

He took holy orders and in 1323 entered the service of John of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia, whom he accompanied on his wars as chaplain and secretary. He was rewarded for this service by his appointment in 1337 as canon of Reims cathedral.

What is the form of Douce Dame Jolie?

Douce dame jolie is a monophonic song by the fourteenth-century French composer Guillaume de Machaut. It is an example of the genre known as the virelai, one of the fixed formes of the fourteenth century (the others were the ballade and the rondeau).

Is virelai secular?

As a composer of the fourteenth century, Machaut's secular song output includes monophonic lais and virelais, which continue, in updated forms, some of the tradition of the troubadours.

What did Guillaume de Machaut play?

1300-1377) was the greatest French composer of his century, the creator of the first complete polyphonic Mass setting, and a renowned poet. Guillaume de Machaut was born in the village of Machault in Champagne, near Reims. He became a cleric, and in 1323 he joined the household of King John of Bohemia as a secretary.

What period is virelai?

virelai, one of several formes fixes (“fixed forms”) in French lyric poetry and song of the 14th and 15th centuries (compare ballade; rondeau). It probably did not originate in France, and it takes on several different forms even within the French tradition.

What is the emphasis of secular music?

Secular music is non-religious music. Secular means being separate from religion. Swaying authority from the Church that focused more on Common Law influenced all aspects of Medieval life, including music. Secular music in the Middle Ages included love songs, political satire, dances, and dramatic works.

Who is credited with the creation of plainsong quizlet?

Plainsong or plainchant. Credit given to Pope Gregory I The Great. Mandated in catholic mass until 20th century.

Is a haiku a fixed form?

The term usually refers to a class of medieval French verse forms including the ballade, chant royal, rondeau, sestina, triolet, and villanelle; but there are some other fixed poetic forms, the most significant being the sonnet, the haiku, and the limerick.

What is the form of a Villanelle?

A French verse form consisting of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas. These two refrain lines form the final couplet in the quatrain. Browse more villanelles. ...

What is Ababcdcd rhyme scheme called?

For example, a Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line poem that includes three, four-line stanzas and a concluding couplet. The sonnet follows the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This rhyme scheme and verse structure are unique to a Shakespearean sonnet.

What does the term Contenance Angloise mean?

The Contenance angloise, or English manner, is a distinctive style of polyphony developed in fifteenth-century England which uses full, rich harmonies based on the third and sixth. It was highly influential in the fashionable Burgundian court of Philip the Good, and on European music of the era.

What is ballade in poetry?

An Old French verse form that usually consists of three eight-line stanzas and a four-line envoy, with a rhyme scheme of ababbcbc bcbc. The last line of the first stanza is repeated at the end of subsequent stanzas and the envoy.

Who is ballade?

A ballade is a piece of music, usually for piano. It has several tunes, and one can easily imagine that it is telling a story (a ballade is a medieval French song which tells a story). The first composer who used the title “ballade” for his piano pieces was Frédéric Chopin.

What does Ron de VU mean?

: to meet or come together at a particular time and place : come together for a rendezvous. transitive verb. 1 : to bring together at a particular time and place : bring together for a rendezvous. 2 : to meet at a rendezvous.

What is randevu?

randevu (definite accusative randevuyu, plural randevular) date (pre-arranged social meeting), rendezvous. appointment.

What does Effendi mean?

: a man of property, authority, or education in an eastern Mediterranean country.