music of the 16th century

what does the music of the 16th century sounds like?

That is exactly what I wanted to find out for myself when I attended the performance by a vocal chamber ensemble. You wonder how that term comes about, but indeed, the nature of the performance includes a chamber setting and purely vocals... the soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

They introduced 8 numbers which were revived by the printing technique (carving on wood), the oldest dated back to 1440, the earlier times before the copper engraving technique.

So what does 16th century chansons sounds like? For an instant, I thought I was in a church listening to the church choir but pay attention to the lyrics, and you know they are not. They are close to what people called the secular music. Words of love and life filled the lyrics and probably that's how joie de vivre comes about for the French.

Pierre Certon's (c.1515-1572) "La, la, la, je ne l'ose dire" is a light and rhythmic number on the gossiping of a man's unfaithful wife. Antoine de Bertrand's (fl. 1561-1582) "Holà, Caron" is an interesting one, a dialogue between Charon (in Greek mythology, the ferryman of the dead) and a soul who claimed to have died of love. And what did Charon told the poor soul? "Seek another boatman, for neither I nor the Fates would ever enroach on the grand master of heaven."

"Le Chant des Oiseaux" (Clément Janquin - c.1485-15558) last is a piece which imitates sounds of birds... triggering laughter from the audience.

For more on French Chansons in the 16th Century-> http://www.hoasm.org/IVI/IVIFrenchChanson.html


History itself does not interest me, but the feeling of revelation from it has cast a spell on me.

a walk in the museum

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." — Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

Don't be mistaken. I am neither an art enthusiast (one who considered himself ostentatiously artistic) by birth, nature or nurture.

I relate much better to music and some forms of dance but seldom do I get appealed by visual art forms (not denying that music and dance are considered art cast in different bodies) .

I can just hardly shake off my association with the arts. I seem to bump into them everywhere by coincidence or rather, by chains of connections.

That said, I do not go to see arts for its sake.

Fact has it that I happened to be at the museum recently. Till then, it was dubious if the subject of art would interest me.

We marvel at the mentions of "Louvre" and "Mona Lisa". Yet the moment you step into the gallery, your attention is drawn to that of a print originally painted by Pierre Mignard (1612-1695).
The piece resembles the reflection in a well, suggesting both literal and hidden depth, and mystery. It is in the shape of a dome, with intricate details of followers, beings and the ones being looked upon... suggesting the hope, trail or relationship of the living to heaven. Or is the way I interpret it. There is an air of serenity, faith and religion which lingers beyond the frame of the piece, as though it's a physical sphere suspended in the air. I admit that appropriate lighting on it can create such illusions.

Today, the circular fresco which dated back to 1663, still proudly adorned the interior ceiling of Val- de- Grâce in Paris.

In ancient french art, there were countless symbolic and architecture paintings. For instance, the Gallic cock or rooster, a national symbol of France. " Its association with France is due to the play on words in Latin between Gallus, meaning an inhabitant of Gaul, and gallus meaning rooster, or cock." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallic_rooster).

The symbol was commonly worn by the kings and knights in their armours, riding on their lavishly ornamented carousel horses. That also explains the meaning behind the presence of eagles and other animals in the prints, which personify the history and war. These are evident in those depicting the fountains, or was it just what it was said; only illustrations of aesop's fables.

Prints of Château deVersailles, le jardin des Tuileries, portraits of history, war, religion, the royalty, were scattered across the galleries. There were divided parts of a bigger print, such as the map of Paris and the print on the zodiacs. Fascinating and provoking prints illustrating the likeness and comparison of the human face to that of a lion, monkey, goat, etc. Prints reflecting the back and front view, panoramic and proximate view of the same object at different angles.

Art of the ancient centuries are really detailed and what we called fine art. Painting it so well was already a remarkable feat, imagine the work involved in engraving the painting on copper plates, creating exactly the same image using only strokes and lines, and in the reverse orientation!

Chalcography is indeed a noble way to preserve art. What's more, almost all the prints shown at the exhibition are in black and white. That's art beyond colours.

Ancient art portrays the recurring images and messages of that of the sacred, or better described as divine. It feels like a Da Vinci quest in itself.

Walking through history has a healing effect, an impact on oneself.

fête de la musique

Celebrate June 21st, fête de la musique otherwise known as World Music Day. It is an occasion not only limited to the French but to all lovers of music. This day is filled with festivities all around the world except that it is less common to commemorate this day in our hometown, Singapore.

It comes to us in later month in the name of WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance).

Nevertheless, there were bound to be small communities scattered all around here celebrating the spirit of June 21st! It is in its 25th year this time. the festival originated in France on 'the day of summer solstice, a pagan night which recalls the ancient tradition of Saint John's feasts' (http://fetedelamusique.culture.fr/). The occasion is typified by free performances of all genres and provided a welcome ground to the amateur musicians.

The French community in Singapore held a series of celebrations from the 21st to 23rd. There were performances from the non-french groups as well as karaoke singing in French, lounge music and concert put up by the french band, Le Groupe.

Thumbs up for the rock band which has also performed at the Francophonie event earlier this year.

Being a non-habitual fan of rock music (only to certain likes of Linkin Park's and Evanascence's), what always impresses me about this band at all their performances are their zest and vigour, and making it feels like they are playing to a full house audience. They elevated the concert atmosphere and it is contagious. The audience gets high and really excited. And we never get enough of it. The lead singers, Hervé and Nathalie Ribette are simply commendable!

In this performance, besides the energetic beats of percussion and sounds of the electronic guitar and the vibrant vocalist, there was an inclusion of this rarely seen instrument - accordion.




Accordion is sometimes referred to as the squeezeboxes.

How can we not fall in love with the lovely sounds from this ancient aerophone? French traditional or country music is often characterised by le biniou, bombarde and accordion. So it's not hard to identify it.

Craving for some french café moments?


discover more about fête de la musique!

fête de la francophonie

Imagine my excitement and delight in knowing about the francophonie festival this year!

I've started learning French 2 years ago and had that 2 years break till now...
finally I've come to know what I've missed out all these while!

what is fête de la francophonie?

Half a billion Francophones around the world will celebrate International day of Francophonie on 20 March. This event began in 1998 as a way for the 49 members of La Francophonie to celebrate their common bond, the French language, as well as their diversity.

Francophonie refers to the ensemble of people around the world who speak French. A Francophone is a person who speaks French.

(from french.about.com)

how wonderful it is to know that there is actually a festival when people celebrate the language of French! and yes, all around the world!

check out the francophonie events happening around the globe!

17 Mar 07

Nearer to home, there are many activities lined up for the french-speaking community here!

There was a competition with the theme on the comic character Tintin with participation from various universities/schools... all who are learning/have learned french. Up till the last minute before the race begun, my friends and I were still thinking we were just going to be spectators! Not so when our teacher roped us in to form a participating team! Trust us, we know nuts about Tintin! Yes, I have never watched a single episode or read the comics as a kid!

-> catch Tintin and The Broken Ear, english version

So there we found our other team members... with our two youngest friends from the german school and the eldest being a 70 year old lady.

We were up and about the entire school... from staging some scenes in the comics, answering quizzes from watching the cartoon, piecing the comic sequence, translating and coming up with the original scripts, singing french songs (perhaps that was my only contribution). Excuses being that we are the only elementary learners while the rest are already seasoned french learners and speakers... we could barely understand most part of the game. Yes, even the german kids beat us to it.

Unexpectedly or not, our team won first prize. We even went up the stage to receive our prize and took a picture with AF's executive-director. We were delighted but could only humbly accept the prize for our contributions seemed so minimal.

In the evening, there was prize presentation for the francophonie awards... the best students were rewarded with a trip to France! That certainly was the best reward for any french learner! :)

Later, we had a buffet serving up an array of delicacies (presented from francophonie countries) like belgian wafflesand beer, swiss chocolates, canadian brownies, egyptian pastries, french dishes, cheese and wine!

A great gathering of french-speaking people where I caught up with all my french teachers (even the one from 2 years ago)!

24 Mar 07 -> Beach Party at Bora Bora Bar, Sentosa

Drop the idea of sexy bikini babes if that was what you would expect from a beach party with the French! And mind you, this party was organised by APFS! So expect nothing but a decent gathering of all things French!

Venture into the island at night on the brand new Sentosa Express!

It was like an amusement ride or similar to the skytrain at the airport.... so yes if that was what you wanna know. By the way, the train only stops at a few stations which left us on a walking trail to Palawan Beach. Being newbies to the nightlife at Sentosa, it was not easy finding our way to the bar! We only knew we were in the right place when we heard that familar tune from our french singing class!


Lesson 1 - Never be late for a party! We were left stranded amidst the heaps of people where life at the party had started way ahead! Forget about what they told you about Chinese weddings, it doesn't apply here. We had a hard time finding our places to fit into the crowd - and I meant literally. All seats taken. So seems like the first protocol we gotta keep to is punctuality. With the kind assistance from our mr. nice guy cum professor, we found a whole big table to ourselves - which didn't help when we were seated away from the tentage area where the crowd were! We were at least compensated by being near the centrestage where the live French band was singing and playing away! The food was nothing impressive compared to the international buffet we had earlier on. So be glad for the company and music we had for the night.

Hop on to the dancefloor for that was the most happening part of the party!

Dance the night away! How I wished I could but pardon me for being a lousy dancer :( Oui, ma premiere fois! More dance practice, more clubbing please! Perhaps I just need that extra boost of alcohol! So otherwise, let loose and enjoy the rest of the night!

Alas, the night was not good for photo-taking as the wind was so strong that plates and things started flying everywhere... and yes, in my direction! So we were all virtually Marilyn Monroe... only that by standing against the night sea breeze, we risked getting hit by sand and being blown away if we were ever light enough. Even on our way back, we saw people sitting in the tram with their hands on their face!

Some late night beach partying to remember! :)

French spectacular!

3 Nov 2006

The opening night of the musical, Notre-Dame de Paris was truly highly anticipated.

Being a French enthusiast, I wanted to be part of the magic and grandeur of the opening night. Be mesmerized! Be captivated! I was prepared to indulge in every single moment of the musical.

Being the debut show, the atmosphere was great for a musical as the red carpet streamed in guests in gowns and suits, and many others in the audience who had great respect for the evening also came dressed for the event.

The show began with the musical hit, Le Temps des Cathedrales, as Gringoire took the stage. This was the one of the most iconic scenes in the musical and I was filled with rather high expectations from Gringoire, considering the fact that I was first drawn to the musical by this very scene . Gringoire is the narrator of the story, a poet in Paris. Played by Cyril Nicclolai, he had given a pleasing performance but not as impressive as the original cast played by Bruno Pelletier. The musical mainly depicts a complicated love story in which three men, the hunchback bellringer (Quasimodo), the priest of Notre-dame(Frollo) and a soldier (Phoebus) whom were all attracted to a gypy (Esmeralda). As it goes, a heart can only belong to one and so this sparked off the hatred, revenge in this story. In short, the very extremes of obsession; one, which turned a man evil in his jealousy & unfulfilled desire and another quiet obsession gone unrequited. Rejections. Friendship. The harsh reality that Beauty & the Beast doesn't exist in this story.

The acrobatics incorporated with the musical were splendid. There was a scene where Quasimodo climbed down from the tall wall of the cathedral.

Déchiré sees the part of the show where Phoebus was split between two women, and male acrobats dancing in the background. The scene had a very strong visual impact. Beau comme le soleil is another beautiful track sang by Esmeralda and Fleur-de-lys on their admiration and love for Phoebus.

There are screens with subtitles which I would much prefer to be removed as they are mere distractions from the stage, even though I still couldn't understand fluent french, I chose to focus more on the music and the live scenes which are more meaningful than spending time to decipher the interpretations flashed across.

Though the remaining of the cast are not from the original cast in 1998; Quasimodo (Matt Laurent), Esmeralda (Nadia Bel), Phoebus (Laurent Ban), Clopin (Roddy Julien),Phoebus (Jerome Collet), Fleur-de-lys (Chiara de Bari), music is definitely still the selling point of the musical. Though every single verse is in French, you can't help but fall in love with the music and keep asking for more. And to Cyril's credit, he brought the audience to a high with an encore of the hit at the end of the show. The audience response was admirable as they were welcoming in their applauses and at the end of the musical, even the VIP guests rose from their seats and took honour to show their appreciation for the cast.

Though I took too many sneaks before the actual musical resulting the fall in the surprise and 'wow' elements, the night was certainly a feast to the ears. Notre-Dame de Paris marked my very first time to a musical and my very first french musical!

check out more on the musical www.notredame.com.sg

Picture from www.notredame.com.sg



Lune performed by Bruno Pelletier