0:06 Tourdion “Magdalena”: recorders, harp, lute, bass viol, percussion
2:07 “Quand je bois du vin claret”: 4 male voices
This well-known Tourdion is a lively conclusion to the Basse danse “La Magdalena” from one of Pierre Attaingnant’s many meticulously printed volumes of French and Italian Renaissance dance music. The “Quand je bois du vin claret,” on the other hand, is a short satirical piece by the 20th Century French composer and choirmaster César Geoffray based on the Tourdion and written in the style of a drinking song from the early 16th century. The upper voice has a different set of lyrics than the lower voices. The rhythm and melody in the lower voices is somewhat similar to the “L”homme arme” tune of the late 15th century. Geoffray’s lyrics are based on an anonymous chanson published by Ottaviano Scotto in Venice in 1535 — a song that has an entirely different tune.
The vocal simulation was created using the Maika Spanish language voice bank and the Vocaloid voice encoder program. Other than for the trilled “r” sound, I used modern French pronunciation to respect the song’s 20th Century origins.
Text:
Countertenor:
Quand je bois du vin clairet, (When I drink the Bordeaux red)
Ami tout tourne, tourne, tourne, tourne… (my friend, everything turns…)
Aussi désormais je bois (Now I also drink)
Anjou ou Arbois. (Anjou or Arbois wines)
Chantons et buvons: (We sing and drink)
À ce flacon faisons la guerre! (We declare war on this flask of wine)
Chantons et buvons (We sing and drink)
Mes amis; buvons donc! (My friends, then we drink)
De ce gras jambon (From that fatty ham)
Mangeons pour oublier nos peines! (We eat to forget our pains)
De ce gras jambon
Mes amis, mangeons donc!
Chantons et buvons:
Vive l’amour et la bouteille! (Long live love and the bottle)
Chantons et buvons
Mes amis; buvons donc!
Description of the photos:
1. “Tourdion” superius part, Basse dances, P. Attaingnant, 1530
2. Couple dancing, Ambrosius Benson, 1545
3. Concert, Niccolo dell’Abbate, Fontainbleau School, c1550
4. Wedding dance, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566
5. Temperate and Intemperate, Anon. Flemish, c1480
6. Grapes on the vine in the area of Lyon, the locale where César Geoffray was music director at the time of this composition.