Sermisy, Claudin de (EN)

Sermisy, Cermisy, Sernisy, Servyzy, Claudin, Claude, de, Sermisius Claudius de, *c. 1490, †13 October 1562 Paris, French composer. In July 1508, he worked as a clergyman in Paris, at Sainte Chapelle. Probably from the autumn of that year, and certainly in 1510, he was a singer at the French court in the chapel of Queen Anne of Brittany. Most likely after her death (1514), he joined Louis XII’s ensemble, sang at his funeral (January 1515), and then became a musician for François I. On the list of the king’s chapel musicians in 1517/18, he was mentioned as second after J. Mouton, and in 1533 he took on the position of “sous-maistre”, the actual head of the ensemble, which consisted of about 40 adult singers and 6 boys, whose education and upbringing he was also responsible for. He retained this position after the death of François I (1547), at the court of Henry II, at least until 1555. His service at court and numerous church benefices brought him considerable wealth; during his lifetime, he enjoyed great fame not only in his own country, but also in northern Italy and at the court of the music lover Pope Leo X. He was also probably an influential man, since a collection of compositions (P. Certon, 1542) and a treatise (M. Guilliaud, 1554) were dedicated to him, which was generally a privilege reserved for the powerful. After his death, he was largely forgotten, and it was not until the second half of the 20th century that his work – initially secular, later mainly sacred – was restored to its rightful place in the history of music.

Sermisy’s sacred works are an important phenomenon in this field of French music and contrast with the preceding works of J. Mouton (†1522). Stylistically, they are relatively consistent. Although Sermisy demonstrates a perfect mastery of polyphonic technique (canons, free imitation), according to J.T. Brobeck, he usually avoids its complexity in favor of more frequently used chordal settings, formal clarity, song-like melodies with simple rhythms and modest melismas. His concern for the clear presentation of the liturgical text, manifested in this way, distinguishes him from composers in other countries and anticipates the recommendations of the Council of Trent by several decades. Nine of Sermisa’s masses are so called ‘parody’ masses (two of them based on several models), but in many cases the composer drew only melodic material from the model, simplifying the texture. In the odd verses of the Magnificats, he most often used a 4-voice falsobordone settings, while in the even verses he employed 2- and 3-voice imitation, increasing the number of voices to 5 only in the widely-known text of the final doxology. The Passion consists of short sections in which all fragments of the oratio recta are set to music, with the exception of the words of Christ; here, imitation is limited to 2- and 3-voice sections, while in the 4-voice sections an expressive texture close to strict homorhythm prevails. Even in his motets, considered Sermisa’s finest works, with their more varied texture, the composer makes sure to emphasize the syntactic and rhetorical elements of the texts. Some musicologists see in this a conscious effort to clearly highlight the text, in accordance with the recommendations of the French church hierarchy, while others see the influence of Sermisy’s own secular music, since all the features mentioned also characterize his chansons. According to I. Cazeaux, although free imitation dominates in about 50 motets (2 even feature canons), more than 20 are completely homorhythmic, and the rest are dominated by “homorhythmic texture animated by contrapuntal elements”. Sermisy’s secular works form the core of the so-called Parisian chanson and, in musical terms (texture and architectonics, with characteristic repetition of the last section and often the earlier ones), are also representative of the works of other composers practicing this genre; however, they stand out in terms of the choice of texts. Sermisy rarely sets to music drinking-songs or frivolous anecdotes; he focuses on the theme of unhappy love, presented in a courtly manner (in which one can even discern references to the Burgundian chanson) or in a simpler style. He is regarded as the leading representative of the lyrical chanson of his period.

Literature: M. Brenet Claudin de Sermisy (1490 (?)–1562) d’après de nouveaux documents, “Guide musical” XLIV, 1898; D. von Bartha Probleme der Chansongeschichte im 16. Jahrhundert, “Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft” XIII, 1930/31; E.E. Stein The Polyphonic Mass in France and the Netherlands, c.1525 to c.1560, thesis, University of Rochester, 1941; E.B. Helm The Sixteenth Century French Chanson, “Proceedings of the Music Teachers National Association” XXXVI, 1942; F. Lesure Autour de Clément Marot et de ses musiciens, “Revue de Musicologie” XXXIII, 1951; F. Lesure Musicians and Poets of the French Renaissance, New York 1955; J.A. Parkinson A Chanson by Claudin de Sermisy, “Music and Letters” XXXIX, 1958; G. Allaire The Masses of Claudin de Sermisy, thesis, Boston University, 1960; I.A.M. Cazeaux The Secular Music of Claudin de Sermisy, thesis, Columbia University, 1961; H.M. Brown The Genesis of a Style. The Parisian Chanson, 1500–1530, in: Chanson and Madrigal, 1480–1530, ed. J. Haar, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1964; G. Allaire Les Messes de Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490–1562), “Revue de Musicologie” LIII, 1967; D. Heartz “Au pres de vous”– Claudin’s Chanson and the Commerce of Publisher’s Arrangements, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XXIV, 1971; U. Hertin Die Tonarten in der französischen Chanson des 16. Jahrhunderts, Munich 1974; I. Cazeaux French Music in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Oxford 1975; L. Bernstein The “Parisian Chanson”: Problems of Style and Terminology, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XXXI, 1978; L. Bernstein French Duos in the First Half of the Sixteenth Century, in: Studies in Musicology in Honor of Otto E. Albrecht, ed. J.W. Hill, Kassel 1980; T.D. Brothers Two “chanson rustiques” à 4 by Claudin de Sermisy and Clément Janequin, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XXXIV, 1981; L. Bernstein Notes on the Origin of the Parisian Chanson, “Journal of Musicology” I, 1982; H.C. Slim Paintings of Lady Concerts and the Transmission of Jouissance vous donneray, “Imago musicae” I, 1984; J.P. Ouvrard Du narratif dans la polyphonie au XVIe siècle: Martin menoit (…) – Clément Marot, Clément Janequin, Claudin de Sermisy, “Analyse Musicale” IX, 1987; L. Perkins Toward a Typology of the “Renaissance” Chanson and R. Sherr The Membership of the Chapels of Louis XII and Anne de Bretagne in the Years Preceding their Deaths, “Journal of Musicology” VI, 1988; L. Bernstein Melodic Structure of the Parisian Chanson. A Preliminary Study in the Transmission of a Musical Style, in: Studies in Musical Sources and Style Essays in Honor of Jan LaRue, eds. E.K. Wolf and E.H. Roesner, Madison 1990; J. Brobeck The Motet at the Court of Francis I, thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1991; R. Heyink Zur Wiederentdeckung der Motu proprio-Erlasse Papst Leos X. an Jean Mouton und weitere Mitglieder der französischen Hofkapelle, “Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch” LXXVI, 1992; J. Brobeck Some “Liturgical Motets” for the French Royal Court. A Reconsideration of Genre in the Sixteenth-Century Motet, “Musica Disciplina” XLVII, 1993; G. Allaire A Sample of Hexachordal Modal Analysis for Vocal and Instrumental Polyphony of the Renaissance, “Musica Disciplina” XLVIII, 1994; J. Brobeck Musical Patronage in the Royal Chapel of France under Francis I (r. 1515–1547), “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XLVIII, 1995; J. Brobeck Style and Authenticity in the Motets of Claudin de Sermisy, “Journal of Musicology” XVI, 1998 (includes motet Praeparate printed in 1529); E. Rice Tradition and Imitation in Pierre Certon’s déploration for Claudin de Sermisy, “Revue de Musicologie” LXXXV, 1999; C. Cazaux Le musique à la cour de François Ier, Paris 2002; P. Poźniak The Kraków Lute Tablature. A Source Analysis, “Musica Iagellonica” vol. 3, Krakow 2004; T. Dumitrescu Who was Prioris? A Royal Composer Recovered, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” LXV, 2012; J. Brobeck Antoine de Févin and the Origins of the Parisian Motet, in: On the Relationship of Imitation and Text Treatment: the Motet around 1500, ed. T. Schmidt-Beste, Turnhout 2012; S. Rice Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490–13 October 1562). Missa pro defunctis, in: Book of requiems, 1450–1550. From the earliest ages to the present period, ed. D.J. Burn, Leuven 2022.