Music of France
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In
Classical music
Medieval
French
Renaissance
Burgundy, which was the mostly French-speaking area unified with the Kingdom of France in 1477, had become a major center for musical development in the musical continent Europe. This was followed by the rise of chansons and the Burgundian School.
Baroque
Influential composers included
Opera
The first French opera may be Akébar roi du Mogol, first performed in Carpentras in 1646. It was followed by the team of Pierre Perrin and Cambert, whose Pastoral in Music, performed in Issy, was a success, and the pair moved to Paris to produce Pomone (1671) and Les Peines et les Plaisirs de l'Amour (1672).
Lully also developed the common beat patterns used by conductors to this day and was the first to take the role of leading the orchestra from the position of the first violin.
The French composer Georges Bizet composed Carmen, one of the best-known and most popular operas.
Classical era
Claude Balbastre was an organist, harpsichordist and fortepianist. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time.
Henri-Montan Berton, son of Pierre, is principally remembered as a composer of operas, most of which were first performed at the Opéra-Comique.
Chélard earned his living for much of his career as a violist at the Paris Opera. His 1827 opera Macbeth was a flop in Paris, but a great success in Munich.
Jeanne-Hippolyte Devismes married the director of the Paris Opéra. Her only known works are a song, "La Dame Jacinthe", and an opera, Praxitėle, which was a success and ran for 16 performances.
Harpsichordist and composer Jacques Duphly contributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau dictionary, for articles relating to the art of playing the harpsichord.
Romantic era
One of the major French composers of the time, and one of the most innovative composers of the early Romantic era, was Hector Berlioz.
In the late 19th century, pioneers such as Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy revitalized French music. The last two had an enormous impact on 20th-century music - both in France and abroad - and influenced many major composers such as Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. Erik Satie was also a very significant composer from that era. His music is difficult to classify.
20th century
The early 20th century saw neo-classical music flourish in France, especially composers such as
The most important French contribution to musical innovation of the past 35 years is a form of
Folk music
Traditional styles of music have survived most in remote areas such as the island of Corsica and mountainous Auvergne, as well as the more nationalistic regions of the
Paris
In 1900 in Paris, a new style of waltz emerged, the "Valse musette" an evolution of Bal-musette also known as "French Waltz". Aimable, Émile Vacher, Marcel Azzola, Yvette Horner, André Verchuren were famous accordionists who played valse musette. There is also Yann Tiersen and its Amélie (soundtrack) of Amélie from Montmartre.
West France
The West of France comprises the Pays de Nantes, the provinces of Vendée, Anjou and Maine, and the Poitou-Charentes region. Traditions of ballad-singing, dance-songs and fiddle-playing have survived, predominantly in Poitou and the Vendée. Jérôme Bujeaud collected extensively in the area, and his 2-volume work "Chants et chansons populaires des provinces de l'ouest: Poitou, Saintonge, Aunis et Angoumois" (Niort, 1866) remains the principal scholarly collection of music and songs. In recent decades John Wright and Claude Ribouillault (amongst others) have done much to collect, analyse and promote the surviving traditions.
The
Notable contemporary folk musicians include Christian Pacher and Claude Ribouillault (Poitou) and the group La Marienne (Vendée.)
Brittany
Distinctly Celtic in character, the folk music of Lower Brittany has had perhaps the most successful revival of its traditions, partly thanks to the city of Lorient, which hosts France's most popular music festival: Festival Interceltique de Lorient.
The documented history of Breton music begins with the publication of
Probably the most popular form of Breton folk is the
In later years much has been done to collect and popularize the musical traditions of the Pays Gallo of Upper Brittany, for which the singer Bertran Ôbrée, his group Ôbrée Alie and the association DASTUM must take much credit. The songs of Upper Brittany are either in French or in Gallo.
Modern Breton folk music includes harpists such as
Central France
Central France includes the regions of
Bagpipe and Hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy, or vielle-à-roue, is essentially a mechanical violin, with keys or buttons instead of a fingerboard. It is made up of a curved, oval body, a set of keys and a curved handle, which is turned and connected to a wheel which bows the strings that are stopped by the keys. There is a moveable bridge, a variable number of drones and optional
The bagpipe is found in a wide array of forms in France. The cabrette and grande cornemuse from
The regions of Morvan and Nivernais have produced some traditional stars, including Faubourg de Boignard and Les Ménétriers du Morvan, respectively. The Nivernais collector Achille Millien was also notable in the early part of the 20th century.
South France
Basque Country
The music of the
Mixel Etxekopar or Jean Mixel Bedaxagar have played a major role in Basque traditional music as xirula players as well as traditional singers. Other popular performers such as
Music from the
Corsica
Corsican polyphonic singing is perhaps the most unusual of the French regional music varieties. Sung by male trios, it is strongly harmonic and occasionally dissonant. Works can be either spiritual or secular. Modern groups include Canta u Populu Corsu, I Muvrini, Tavagna and Chjami Aghjalesi; some groups have been associated with Corsican nationalism.
Corsican
Popular music
The 19th century saw the apogee of the Cabaret style with Yvette Guilbert as a major star. The era lasted through to the 1930s and saw the likes of Édith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Maurice Chevalier, Tino Rossi, Félix Mayol, Lucienne Boyer, Marie-Louise Damien, Marie Dubas, Fréhel, Georges Guibourg and Jean Sablon.
During the 50s and 60s, it was the golden age of Chanson Française:
.Cabaret
Cabaret is a typical form of French musical entertainment featuring
Cancan
The Cancan, also called French-Cancan, is a high-energy and physically demanding musical dance, traditionally performed by a
Chanson
Chanson Française is the typical style of French music (chanson means "song" in French) and is still very popular in France. Some of the most important artists included:
During the 1970s, new artists modernized the chanson Française (Michel Fugain, Renaud, Francis Cabrel, Alain Souchon, Jacques Higelin, Alain Chamfort, Joe Dassin) and also in the 80s (Étienne Daho, Têtes Raides) till now (Benjamin Biolay, Zaz, Vincent Delerm, Bénabar, Jean-Louis Murat, Miossec, Juliette, Mano Solo, Jacques Higelin, Matthieu Chedid, Mathieu Boogaerts, Daniel Darc, Maurane, Christina Goh, Renan Luce). Singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg began as a jazz musician in the 1950s and spanned several eras of French popular music including pop, rock, reggae, new wave, disco and even hip hop.
Musette
Musette is a style of French music and dance that became popular in Paris in the 1880s. Musette uses the accordion as main instrument, and often symbolizes the French art of living abroad. Émile Vacher (1883-1969) was the star of the new style.[2] Other popular musette accordionists include Aimable Pluchard, Yvette Horner and André Verchuren. In 2001, the musette-style was a huge international success through the album Amélie composed by Yann Tiersen.
Yéyé
Yéyé is a style of popular music that emerged from France in the early 1960s. The yé-yé movement had its origins in the radio programme
Contemporary music
Nouvelle Chanson
Jazz
Pop
The more commercial and pop part of Chanson is called Variété in French, and included
More recently, the success of musical television shows have spawned a new generation of young pop-music stars including
. Michel Sardou is also known for his love songs ("La maladie d'amour", "Je vais t'aimer").Rock
Rock'n Roll started to become popular in the 60s with singers like
- Progressive Rock
France became one of the leading producers of
- Eighties Rock (1980)
In the 1980s, French rock spawned myriad styles, many closely connected with other Francophone musical scenes in Switzerland, Canada and especially Belgium.
Punk rock had arisen in the 1970s and continued into the next decade, perhaps best represented by Minimum Vital who are sill active, Oberkampf and Métal Urbain. 80s progressive rock peaked early in the decade, with Dün's Eros, Emeraude's Geoffroy and Terpandre's Terpandre, all from 1981, representing the genre's pinnacle, in French West Indies (Guadeloupe Island) The Bolokos represent the genre.
Metal
French heavy metal bands include Gojira, Dagoba, Anorexia Nervosa, Hacride, Eths, Loudblast, Carcariass, Massacra, Gorod, Kronos, Yyrkoon, Benighted, Necrowretch,[3] and Fairyland. Many of these bands play in the death metal, thrash metal and/or power metal styles.[4]
France also has a large black metal movement, including, Belenos, Deathspell Omega, Nocturnal Depression, Blut Aus Nord, Peste Noire, Vorkreist, Arkhon Infaustus, Merrimack and Antaeus, and the organization known as Les Légions Noires made up of such bands as Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes and Torgeist. The 'shoegaze' black metal movement also has many bands hailing from France, such as Alcest, Les Discrets and Amesoeurs.
Electronic
Dance
The first French house experiments (at the time called "disco house" and "neu disco") became notable in the international market between 1997 and 1999.
Several artists played important roles in popularizing the genre, which, in 2000, achieved international success.
Today most French house bands and artists have moved on to other music styles, notably a French variation of
Disco
The
Hip-Hop
Overseas music
French Polynesia
Réunion island
Martinique and Guadeloupe
- Zouk
Zouk is a fast jump-up carnival beat originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, popularized by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the 1980s. Very rapid in tempo, the style lost ground in the 1980s due to the strong presence of kadans or compas, the main music of the French Antilles. Today, zouk is the French Antilles compas,[6] also called zouk-love In Africa, Kassav's zouk and the Haitian
- Bouyon
Bouyon (Boo-Yon) is a form of popular music of Dominica, also known as jump up music in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The best-known band in the genre is Windward Caribbean Kulture (WCK), who originated the style in 1988. Over the years, thanks to inter-trade with the Dominicans and the mass participation of Guadeloupe at the World Creole Music Festival, the flagship group as Triple kay and MFR band began to democratize and local artists were inducted including the remix Allo Triple kay with Daly and "Big Ting Poppin 'Daly alone. A popular offshoot within the bouyon is called bouyon hardcore, a style characterized by its lewd and violent lyrics. Popular Bouyon gwada musicians include, Wee Low, Suppa, Doc J, Yellow gaza, etc.
- Antilles hip hop
The French Antilles hip hop is a style of
- Rock In Gwada
Although a minority genre, French Antilles rock groups participate in the broadening of the Caribbean musical spectrum. The spearheads like The Bolokos[7][8] or Livestocks include themes, rhythms or Caribbean melodies on British or American influences. The "Rock In Gwada" collective brings together some of these groups whose first festival took place in Petit-Bourg in 2016.[9]
International music
French language is spoken worldwide and many international artists contribute to French music.
Europe
The greatest Belgian chansonnier was Jacques Brel, whose classic songs have been covered by several international artists. Others such as Salvatore Adamo, Axelle Red, Lara Fabian, Maurane, Selah Sue, Frédéric François and Annie Cordy have also enjoyed some success in France and other French-speaking countries.
North America
Quebec singers are very popular in France, and both nations have influenced each other in terms of music styles. Quebec artists have been taking the French stage quite extensively. Notable singers that have performed in France included:
Asia
One of the most famous French-speaking Asian artists is
Africa
Beginning in the 1920s, Raï music developed in Algeria as a combination of rural and urban music. Often viewed as a form of resistance towards censorship, many of the conventional values of the old raï became modernized with instruments, synthesizers and modern equipment. Later performers added influences from funk, hip hop, rock and other styles, creating most notably a pop genre called lover's raï. Performers include Rachid Taha and Faudel. Originating of the city of Oran, raï shot to the top of the French, Swiss and Dutch charts in 1992 with the release of Khaled's single Didi.
Music journals
Volume!
One journal that provides coverage of popular music in France along with popular music history is
See also
References
- ^ "On the (medieval) fiddle: a short introduction to the vielle". Early Music Muse. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- ^ World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East Page 113 Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo - 1999 "Emile Vacher Once the accordion took over from the cabrette in the bals-musette, Vacher (1883-1969) was the star of the new style."
- ^ "Necrowretch (Vlad - Noisefull)". Noisefull.com. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Adrien Begrand. "Gojira, The Way of All Flesh". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ "village voice > music > Daft Punk by Scott Woods". Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ Peter Manuel, Musics of the Non-Western World, Chicago press University 1988p74
- ^ "The Bolokos : Véritable succès pour les guadeloupéens au festival anglais Rebellion".
- ^ "The Bolokos s'est produit au Jardin d'EAU dans une ambiance punk rock - Culture en Guadeloupe".
- ^ "Près de 800 spectateurs au Rock in Gwada festival - Culture en Guadeloupe".
- ^ Lavigne, April (9 February 2011). "Interview on NRJ Radio". Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
I love France, in fact my father was born here, so I have applied for my French passport. I love this country so much that I am getting a French passport
- ^ Lavigne means "Vineyard", and Avril means "April", in French language
- ^ Cairn.info Thomas, 2010: 404.
- ^ List of articles in English can be found
- University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
- ^ Transcript of Guibert's presentation during the 2007 francophone IASPM conference. (English translation)
- ^ Philippe Le Guern (2003), ""The Study of Popular Music between Sociology and Aesthetics: A Survey of Current Research in France", in Hugh Dauncey & Steve Cannon (eds), Popular music in France from chanson to techno : culture, identity, and society, Burlington, Ashgate: 7-26.
- ^ "[…] de nouvelles revues ont réussi à voir le jour et constituent des lieux d’expression appréciables, notamment pour les jeunes chercheurs qui peuvent y faire leurs premières armes, ou pour des auteurs étrangers peu ou mal connus en France. [footnote:] On pense notamment à la revue Volume dont le premier numéro voit le jour en 2002 et qui a su accompagner la diversification des musiques actuelles." Philippe Le Guern (2007).
- Boll, André, and Émil Damais. Répertoire analytique de la musique française, des origins à nos jours. Paris: Horizons de France, 1948.
- Krümm, Philippe and Jean-Pierre Rasle. "Music of the Regions". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 103–113. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
- French-kisses, A blog in English dedicated to French music
- BBC Radio 3 Audio (105 minutes): Marseille - Mahgreb Rap, Algerian Rai, Pacific Creole, Congolese Rumba. Accessed November 25, 2010.
- (in French) Audio clips: Traditional music of France. Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.