Sandrin, Pierre (EN)

Sandrin Pierre, real name Pierre Regnault (?), *between 1488 (?) and 1498, Saint Marcel (?) near Paris, †after 1560, Italy (?), French composer and actor (?). All writers on Sandrin since 1957 have repeated the information from F. Lesure’s article, in which the facts, often unclearly presented in the numerous cited documents, are not distinguished from their interpretation. Therefore, it is unclear what the basis and degree of certainty are for the information that the composer, together with his three siblings (!), took the pseudonym (or even a new surname) from the musical and clever shoemaker Sandrin, a character from a 15th-century farce. It is also uncertain whether the royal French court account of 16 December 1506 for his training refers to the future composer, rather than his brother, also named Pierre (!). From this, it is inferred that he was a boy singer at court at that time (before his voice changed), that it was he, not his brother, a clergyman, who became dean of the chapter at St. Florent-de-Roye in Picardy in 1539, and that he simultaneously joined the royal chapel as a singer. Since nothing is known about his brother’s musical qualifications, this last piece of information most likely refers to the composer, as does the fact that he was already employed as an adult singer at the French court of Queen Louise of Savoy in 1517. H.M. Brown suggests that between 1517 and 1539 Sandrin may have traveled with a theater troupe, as one of the plays from the mid-16th century mentions a “former actor” named Pierre Regnault. In a panegyric from 1543, Sandrin is listed as the most outstanding musician at court alongside Sermisy, and in 1547 – on the occasion of the funeral of François I – as the composer (“composent”) of the chapel. In 1549 and 1560, he is also referred to as a singer and canon of the royal chapel, but in 1554 he was in Siena as maestro di cappella to Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, which did not necessarily mean a break with the French court, as the cardinal had represented that court in the Vatican since the end of 1549. If he was still with Ippolito after 1554, he must have been working in Ferrara. In the fall of 1560, he was in Paris, where, among other things, he drew up his will, and in 1561, he was in Rome with the cardinal. The literature does not indicate whether the identification of Pierre Sandrin with Pierre Regnault is possible solely on the basis of the surviving will, or also (?) on the basis of other sources.

The editor of Sandrin’s complete works, A. Saey, includes among them fifty 4-voice chansons (six of which are attributed, perhaps erroneously, to other composers in certain sources) and one 4-voice madrigal, whose authorship is given in its only known source – the fourth book of madrigals by C. de Rore (1557) – as “Sandrino” (a name interpreted by A. Einstein as referring to Alessandro Striggio). A. Saey does not specify in what form the composer is mentioned in French music sources (Sandrin?, Pierre Sandrin?, or sometimes Pierre Regnault?). All of Sandrin’s chansons have been preserved in printed anthologies. Forty-nine were first published in Paris by P. Attaingnant in a book of chansons numbered 1–3, 5–7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 26, 29, and 30 (1538–49); at the same time or slightly later, 16 of them were published in Lyon by J. Moderne in books 1, 2, 5, and 7–9 of Le Parangon… (1538–41); they were reprinted by various publishers, including in the 17th century. Only one chanson is known solely from a print issued by the Le Roy & Ballard in 1556. 

Sandrin, alongside C. Janequin and C. de Sermisy, is one of the most important creators of the style of song known as Parisian chanson, i.e., songs with romantic (often humorous) or festive lyrics, in which chordal texture predominates. In his works, set mostly to sentimental texts, imitation does appear but plays only a minor role. Instead, there are phrases in which the voices move more freely than in homorhythmic sections, alternating in melismatic phrases, sometimes paired in parallel tenths. Rhythm is an important element in Sandrin’s work. Sharply defined rhythmic groupings, usually related to the rhythm of the poem, as well as the alternation of duple and triple meters, play a significant role. In terms of architectonics, frequent repetitions of the first and last phrase are noteworthy, as well as Sandrin’s characteristic emphasis on the first half of the opening line (4 syllables) by separating it with a pause, a longer note, or a change in texture from the rest of the line. A. Seay distinguishes three stylistic categories among Sandrin’s chansons, linking them to stages of his work, while F. Lesure and others find stylistic differences, Italian influences, chromaticism, and particular expressiveness in the chanson Amour si haut, known only from a late source (1556), however, a comparison of all Sandrin’s works does not confirm any differences related to the year of publication, and certainly none of them contain chromaticism. On the other hand, Avant l’aymer (from the 1545 collection) should be considered exceptionally complex, with a high degree of voice mobility. Sandrin’s songs are among the most frequently reprinted and copied. His chanson Doulce memoire, with lyrics by King François I, beginning with a chordal passage, enjoyed extraordinary popularity; it has also been preserved in numerous versions in organ and lute tablatures, including The Tablature of Jan of Lublin, the so-called Krakow Lute Tablature, and in arrangements by V. Bakfark, with the inscription: “D[oulce] M[emoire] A[liud] albo Już dalej trwać nie mogę”, it became the basis for numerous parodies in the form of 2-6-voice chansons, masses, and magnificats.

Literature: F. Lesure Un musicien d’Hippolyte d’Este, Pierre Sandrin, «Collectanea Historiae Musicae» II, 1957 (print 1956); H.M. Brown Music in the French Secular Theater, 1400–1550, Cambridge 1963; F. Dobbins “Doulce memoire” – a Study of the Parody Chanson, “Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association” XCVI, 1969/70; V. Gutmann Improvisation und instrumentale Komposition. Zu drei Bearbeitungen der Chanson “Doulce mémoire”, in: Alte Musik. Praxis und Reflexion, eds. P. Reidemeister and V. Gutmann, “Basler Jahrbuch für Historische Musikpraxis” special issue, Winterthur 1983; B. Brzezińska Repertuar polskich tabulatur organowych z pierwszej połowy XVI wieku, Krakow 1987; G. Houle “Doulce memoire”. A Study in Performance Practice, Bloomington 1990; L. Bernstein Melodic Structure in 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; E. Deák “Albo Juss Dalej”. Ein Chanson von Sandrin in Bakfarks Transkription, “Die Laute” I, 1997; C. Cazaux La musique à la cour de François Ier, Paris 2002.