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Clerambault Cantates
Clerambault Cantates
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THE CANTATASOF
LOUISNICHOLASCLERAMBAULT
By DAVID TUNLEY
The cantata, like opera, was late in taking root in French soil. In
the case of the former nearly a century was to elapse before French
composers followed the example of the Italians, by which time Ales-
sandro Scarlatti was bringing the cantata to its height. A direct imita-
tion of Italian models, the cantatefranGaise, unlike the tragedie lyrique,
did not evolve through the transformation of an existing national
form, but was born, so to speak, fully fledged. Thus some of its earliest
examples are, at the same time, the most highly developed. Despite
the existence of Charpentier's Orphee descendant aux enfers, which
Crussard' dates from about 1683, the French cantata was essentially
an 18th-century form, and during the first thirty years of the century
most of the leading composers of the day (with the notable exception
of Couperin) contributed to its repertory. The names of Rameau, Bla-
mont, Bernier, Campra, Destouches, Mont6clair, are among the hun-
dred or more that appear in its published pages, but contemporary
opinion unanimously awarded the palm to Louis Nicholas Clerambault
(1676-1749), organiste de la Maison Royale a St. Cyr and at St.
Sulpice in Paris.
Clerambault's cantata output was not large, however. He published
twenty-five of them, twenty of which are to be found in his five books
of cantates franGaises, described by Bukofzer as "the most valuable
French contributions to the cantata."2 The Bibliotheque Nationale
Claude Crussard, Un Musicien franqais oublie-Marc-Antoine Charpentier,Paris, 1945,
pp. 17-18.
2
ManfredBukofzer,Music in the Baroque Era, New York, 1947, p. 258.
313
314 The Musical Quarterly
faced work, for it looked back some thirty years to the best musical
traditions of the form, while its text, breathinga kind of revolutionary
fervor, looked some thirty years ahead. The remaining cantatas, pub-
lished separately, were Le Bouclier de Minerve (1714), La Muse de
l'Opera (1716), and Le Soleil vainqueur des nuages (1721). The latter
two cantatas, by their scoring alone, seem to shatter the spirit of in-
timacy that is one of the features of the cantatefranqaise, and signifi-
cantly enough, Le Soleil was described by the Mercure de France4 as
a divertissementallegorique, although the score reads cantateallegor-
ique sur le retablissementde la sante du Roy. Scored for soprano solo,
oboes, flute, violins, basse de violon, bassoon, and continuo, it was
first performed at the Opera in 1721 and later at Court. Two further
performances were recorded by the Mercure de France, these taking
place at Philidor'sconcertsat the Tuileries5on December 6, 1728, and
October27, 1729. La Muse de l'Opera (ou les caractWres liriques) in-
vokes some of the stock operatic characters and situations (Mars,
Diana and the hunters, shepherds, storms, sleep, etc.) to the accom-
paniment of appropriate music. The score calls for soprano solo, flute,
violins, trumpet,drums, basses de viol, and continuo.
The polarity of French and Italian musical styles in the 17th and
18th centuriesis a subject so often discussed by modern scholars that,
in a short study of this kind, it would seem superfluous to add more
words to the mountain of articles that already threatens the earlier
period's reputation for dissertation-writingon the same subject. Yet a
few remarks are necessary for, in a sense, the cantatefranqaise grew
from the controversy.Or at least, it blossomed in the same atmosphere.
Through their contact with Rome, it was natural that some of the
most enthusiastic supporters of Italian music belonged to the Church.
In the mid-17th century, criticisms of French "timidity" in music had
been made by Abbe Mersenne and Prieur Maugars, while later in-
fluential devotees had included Abbe Raguenet and Abbe Mathieu.
Raguenet's Parallele had appeared four years before J. B. Morin's
first book of cantates franqaises in 1706 (although according tQ his
Preface, these works had been circulating in manuscript for a good
many years) and, as we shall see in Orphee,his criticisms of French
composers who "think themselves undone if they offended in the least
Mercurede France,Dec. 1728.
5 For a
description of these concerts and their programs see the presentwriter'sPhilidor's
ConcertsFrancais, in Music Letters,April 1966.
316 The Musical Quarterly
against the rules"6 must have stung Clerambault into writing passages
of the utmost boldness and intensity. The concerts given by Abbe
Mathieu in his presbytery at Saint Andre des Arts in Paris are reputed
to have been the most important source of the dissemination of Italian
music in late 17th-century France. Looking back to the changes that
had come over French music at the turn of the century through the
infiltration of music from the south, one musician wrote: "All the con-
certs changed: scenes and symphonies taken from the opera gave way
to the new preference for sonatas. M. Morin, following the example of
the Italians, produced his cantates franfaises, and next appeared those
by Bernier, Clerambault, and Battistin. M. Dornel and M. Dandrieux,
organists, wrote trio sonatas."7
The same source mentions that it was at Mathieu's presbytery that
a Corelli sonata was heard in Paris for the first time, stimulating a
desire on the part of such celebrated French instrumentalists as Rebel
the elder to emulate its more brilliant style. Thus the music of certain
French composers begins to exhibit the driving rhythms characteristic
of the trio sonata and the concerto grosso, violinistic figuration that
owes much to Corelli, instrumental-like vocal passages built upon pat-
terned sixteenth notes, and a more intense expression arising from
bolder harmonies.
Morin explains in the preface to his first book of cantatas his aim
in attempting to write a new kind of French music based upon Italian
practice.
Several years ago, I planned to compose, if our language vWouldpermit it, that
kind of mlusic gellerally known in Italy as cantatas, in which poetry is set to recita-
tives and arias. Several of my works enjoyed success in various places, but as manu-
script copies usually contain errors, it has been suggested that I publish this volume.
Some people have expressed the hope that the novelty of this kind of music will please
the public, most of whom do not fully enjoy Italian music because they do not under-
stand the words.
I have done all that I can to retain the sweetness of our French style of melody,
which I have accompanied in various ways that display those rhythms and modula-
tions characteristic of the Italian cantata. ..
His words became a kind of manifesto that seemed to proclaim the
coming of a new era in French music, and many composers indeed
echoed his ideas implicitly in their music and, sometimes, explicitly
6 Francois Raguenet,Parallele des Italiens et des Franqais(1702), transl. by Oliver Strunk in
SourceReadings in Music History, New York, 1950, p. 477.
7 Quoted by the Mercure de France, Nov. 1753, from Corrette'sLe Maitre de clavecinpour
I'accompagnement,Paris, 1753.
The Cantatas of Clrambault 317
n , J
IMt1IJ ij
7 6 7 6_ 7 etc.
6 5 6 6 , 5
9"In the enchanted gardens of Cythera, Venus gathered togetherthe Cupids; cold reserve
and stern judgment are banished forever from thesedelightfulplaces. By the rules oi the young
Flora, an eternal spring detains the gentle breezes, and the flowers that bloom there are the off-
spring of their sighs. The gentle, loving murmuroi the streams mingles with the concerts of the
birds who sing night and day; the sun shines with a brighterlight borrowed from the fires that
love lends."
10
Quotedin the Prefaceto Bachelier,Recueilde Cantates,The Hague, 1728.
The Cantatas of Clrambault 319
~7~CL I
6 6 4 3
3
Ex. 3
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moy ma cher-e Eu-ri - di - ce Ne se-pa - res pas nos deuxcoeurs.
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("Let my tears move you: make amends for the whims of a hideous fate: Give me
back my dear Euridice;do not separatetwo loving hearts.")
t
passages of such an extent as will perfectly confound his auditors at first, and upon
such irregular tones as shall instil a terror as well as surprise into the audience, who
will immediately conclude that the whole concert is degenerating into a dreadful dis-
sonance; and betraying 'em by that means into a concern for the music, which seems
to be upon the brink of ruin, he immediately reconciles 'em by such regular cadences
that everyone is surprised to see harmony rising again, in a manner out of discord
itself and owing its greatest beauties to those irregularities which seemed to threaten
its destruction. 2
He may well have been talking of the French composer of the fol-
lowing example. In this section of Clerambault's masterpiece, the biting
dissonance of the falsely related A$ and AUat the words d'un sort af:
freux ("of a hideous fate")-and here it should be noted that the dis-
sonant appoggiatura was probably sung as a long note-and the
impassioned, unresolved chord played by the continuo at the repeat
of the words laisses vous toucher par mes pleurs ("let my tears move
you") are as bold and effective as any music of the period. The pas-
sage is so striking that it must be quoted in its entirety (Ex 4).
Similar words ("Ah, rendes moy votre presence") in the next can-
tata, Poliphemne, again draw from Clerambault some very moving
music even though it does not quite match Orphee in originality. The
fifth cantata, Medee, is in many respects the most Italianate cantata
in the book from the point of view of its vocal melismas, its fiery vio-
linistic passage-work and its rhythmic vivacity. Its first air is like a
miniature concerto. The "ritornello" theme (Ex. 5) crowns each vocal
climax, provides much of the material for development, and is the driv-
ing force of a movement that dances its way from the first note to the
last.
Ex. 5
Vivement et viste
Violin
-
b
6=* n J I-j J
J|JiJ J J_ _J _
6 6 6 etc.
5
("O Cupid, can you suffer the sea to part two loving hearts that you wish to bless?' )
The same term, ritournelle,is used again in this cantata at the head
of another movement. On this occasion, however, it refers not merely
to the prelude, but to the music that accompanies and frames the sec-
tions of an air fort tendre. Its exquisite tone-painting(Ex. 7) aptly
illustrates the scene where Leandre is swimming through the calm sea
to meethis beloved Hero.
The Cantatas of Clkrambault 323
Ex. 7a
(Fort doucement)
Flutes and Violins
> LJ IIr
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TI r -fJ i
Dieu des Mers, sus-pen - dez l'in - con - stan - ce de
bJ j iJ I I I I f I'r'
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4 4
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l'on - de Cal - mez les vents im-pe-tu - eux
-TJ
Jl J iJ i ir- ' l
Ij~'l'
t 3sX 3 7 6 $
4 65 ---- 64
3 etc.
("O God of the Seas, hold in check the restless wave, calm the violent winds." )
.$ j r Ir r ri ir r LIJrx1 r J ,- ,
6 7_ 6 5 - +4 6
and on the other hand, the heart-rending plainte that sets the mood
for the scene where Pirame discovers the blood-soaked veil and sings
of his grief at the thought of Tisbe's fate (Ex. 9).
Ex. 9
Lentement
Flutes I
,? ra.. f I1 Ir r 1 ! r! D
Flutes II (or a Violin)
7b, J 1 J |i f F fI r 2I r t l H
+4 6 +4 6 b7
+2 4 b
Ex. 10
Flutes
S?? I dI J J I
67 6 7 6
Over the closing scene of the two dead lovers the "moral" is sung,
but in this case it is really a reproach to the God of Love who could
allow such tragedy to strike two of his most zealous subjects.
In the company of Alphee et Arethuse, Lkandre et Hero, Pirame et
Tisbe, and Pigmalion, the third cantata, La Musette, is slight indeed.
Nevertheless, it was one of Clerambault's most popular works and
remained in the public's affection for a good many years, as shown
by its four performances at Philidor's concerts in the Tuileries in 1728.
The poem concerns the shepherd Mirtel who, after fretting over the
absence of Amarillis, tries to forget his loneliness by inviting the shep-
herds to join him in some merrymaking. Then follows the movement
that certainly led to the title of the cantata, and probably to its suc-
cess. It is a rondeau in which the singer is joined by a musette (or in
the regrettable absence of this charming bagpipe, a solo violin), and
in phrases that recall the delightful naivete of traditional chansons
enfantines, the song (see Ex. 13) brings the cantata to a close. Of no
great consequence musically, the rondeau is, nevertheless, very inter-
esting formally and will be referred to in some general remarks on the
composer's style at the end of this study. The first air of the cantata
displays some unusual touches. In progressions where one expects a
6 chord, Clerambault often
replaces it with a 6 chord, lending a certain
rustic gaucherie to the harmony.
Le Triomphe de la Paix for two sopranos, bass, violins, and con-
tinuo, in which the composer shows his mastery of concerted writing,
brings the second book to a spectacular close. We are left in no doubt
that the composer's high reputation was well earned.
It comes, therefore, as something of a shock to find that the can-
tatas of the third book (1716) appear to have lost that vivid imagin-
ation and boldness characteristic of the first two volumes. Are his
powers failing? Certainly there are only four cantatas in the third book
(and in the later ones only two apiece). Yet on the evidence of two
other cantatas written during the same period (but published separ-
326 The Musical Quarterly
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9 8 l7 3 2 , +4 etc.
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("[Cupid, inconstant lovers do disservice to your name, and] when you give them
happiness you spoil your victory.")
The fifth book of cantatas was dedicatedto the new Queen, who was
reputedto be fond of music and who, accordingto the Duc de Luynes,"
played several instruments"indifferently.""The Queen says she loves
music, and indeed there are some operas whichplease her, as well as
some petits airs for the viol; but she likes cavagnole better. .."15
Certainly, some twentyyears later the Queenwas to support the Italian
cause in la guerre des bouffons, but, as is often pointed out, Italian
music in the middle of the century was a very differentmatter from
that in vogue at the beginning. Music a la Serva padrona was not
the style that had stimulated the cantate franqaise in its early days.
Do we detect in this book another tactful gesture to accommodate the
taste of a patron? It is tempting to follow this line of thought, but so
speculativeis it that it must sufficeto say that the cantatas are pleasant
enough melodically and could well have appealed to the woman who
was so taken by the directness and simplicity of Pergolesi's famous
opera buffa twentyyears later. It is hard to resist pointing out that the
first cantata of the collection, Clitie, is scored for soprano, viol, and
continuo, suggesting that the Queen's passion for petits airs de viol
noted by the Duc de Luynes in 1746 may have been lifelong and fed
by Clerambaultas far back as 1726, when this final book appeared.
Despite the "period charm" of the two cantatas, it is doubtful whether
they contain those elusive qualities that raise any work above the
limitationsof its particularstyle.
Les Forges de Vulcainthen brings the five volumes of Clerambault's
cantatas to a close, and while it is less subtle musically than the work,
L'Amour pique par une abeille, that opens the collection, nevertheless
the first and the last works are joined together by that literary thread
mentioned earlier in this study- CythWre.Les Forges de Vulcain com-
mences with a scene portraying the noise, darkness, and stifling heat
of the interior of the mountain (Mt. Etna) where the cyclops are forg-
ing their metal. Hardly the place for love, one would imagine! But,
behold...
f=4 fr i r fT r If :I j
da Capo
Rondo form was a happy choice for this fairly extensive movement,
for the musette was confined to the key of C. It joins in the "chorus"
and some of the episodes, but in those that modulate it is silent.
Apart from his harmonic boldness when the need arose, the most
striking aspect of Clerambault's style is the shapely span of his melody
The Cantatas of Clerambault 331
and bass lines. Writing at a time when the long strands of Baroque
texture were dissolving into the short-windedphrases of the Rococo,
Clerambault was old-fashioned enough to delight in drawing out long
lines of melody. He seemed to think naturally in terms of six-, seven-,
and eight-measurephrases (Ex. 8 illustrates this perfectly).Yet, at the
same time, his habit of rounding off his phrases by a trilled cadence,
like a formal courtly bow, marks him as a man of his own time and
society.