Socit Franaise de Musicologie

Air and Aria Added to French Opera from the Death of Lully to 1720
Author(s): James R. Anthony
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Revue de Musicologie, T. 77, No. 2, Musique Franaise Et Musique Italienne Au XVIIe
Sicle (Villecroze, 2-4 octobre 1990) (1991), pp. 201-219
Published by: Socit Franaise de Musicologie
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James R. ANTHONY

Aria
and
to
French
the
of
Death
to
1720
Air

added
from

Opera
Lully

In 1686 with the performance of Acis et Galatee, the first glorious

epoque of French opera came to a close. The master architect of the
genre, the Florentine Lully, more French than the French, appeared to
have left a legacy in which all influence of his native Italy had either
been totally absorbed or entirely eradicated. Or had it ? The problem
of pin-pointing influence is difficult at best. Documentation is often
lacking, and, at times, it seems that there must be a leap of faith that
accepts (or rejects) the emergence of the melodic shape of " Bois epais "
(Amadis, 1684), for example, from " Ah Rinaldo e dove sei ? " (Ballet
des Amours diguisez, 1664).
The larger events in the incursion of Italian influences on French
opera in the 17th century are there for all to observe. There was a 37
year hiatus that saw no Italian opera in Paris (always excepting Paolo
Lorenzani's pastoral, Nicandro e Fileno, of 1681) between Cavalli's
Ercole amante of 1662 and the single act Italian opera, Orfeo nell' inferi,
that forms part of the final divertissement of Campra's lyric comedy, Le
carnaval de Venise, of 1699 1. These years saw the creation of French
stage genres such as the pastoral, the pastorale-heroi'que,the tragedieen-musique and the opera-ballet. Yet during those same years, the
influence of Italian music was never absent. It continued to operate at
various levels, some more obvious than others.
There is only one example of an Italian text in a Lully opera. It is,
of course, the " Plainte italienne " that comprises the second scene of
1. The firstfull lengthItaliancomic operaperformedin Parisafter 1662was
Orlandini'sII maritogiocatore(1729); Italianseriousoperawas not heardagain
in Parisuntil 1811with Paisiello'sPirro. See Neal Zaslaw," The First OperaIn
Paris : A Study In The Politics of Art ", in Jean-Baptiste Lully and the Music
of the French Baroque : Essays in Honor of James R. Anthony (Cambridge,

1989),p. 11.

202

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Act I of Psyche, the tragedie-ballet of 1671 that became the tragedieen-musique of 1678. The opening lament, " Deh, piangete al pianto
mio " sung by " une Femme affligee ", and the subsequent music of the
scene afford a classic example of what Bourdelot labeled the nouvelle
methode of Lully (and Cambert and Lambert) : " en prenant ce qu'il y
avoit de plus excellent dans la musique Italienne, pour le joindre 'a la
Frangoise, dont le melange a form6 le bon gofit que nous voyons r6gner
aujourd'hui dans la musique "2. Bourdelot undoubtedly had in mind
the coexistence of French and Italian taste. In my view, however, the
lament is a synthesis in which French elements dominate. In spite of the
Italianate repetition of text, as Ex. la reveals, the range is narrow, the
melismas discreet and the use of dissonance, restrained. It embraces as
much an elegiac air sbrieux of Lambert or Le Camus as it does a lament
of Rossi, Savioni or Carissimi. Furthermore, in the best tradition of the
air sbrieux, it is followed by a double (see Ex. lb) and by a recitative
with typical French meter changes and an alexandrine couplet (Ex. Ic).
The double, provided by Lambert, appears after the trio of " hommes
affligez" ; the recitative is sung at the end of the scene by a " femme
desolbe "
The ABA form of the lament is identical to the rondeau form found
in many Lully operatic airs. It is worth noting that, in the 17th and 18th
centuries in France, no distinction was made between this simple type
of rondeau and the Italian da capo form. As Louis Auld has observed,
Pierre Perrin " always referred to the ABA structure as a rondeau " in
his Recueil de paroles de musique 3. Typical is the definition of rondeau
given by Rousseau in his Dictionnaire, to wit : " Sorte d'Air 'a deux ou
plusieurs Reprises... Les grands Airs Italiens et toutes nos Ariettes sont
en Rondeau ".
To conclude this brief look at Lully's Italian lament, recall Lecerf de
La Vibville's words about this piece : "Lulli en a banni les faux
agremens et la badinage Italien, pour n'y mettre qu'un beau chant, des
tons Frangois" 4
It was Henry Prunieres who first observed that Lully " en 6crivant ses
en Italie la mime
operas se sourcit fort peu des oeuvresqui naissaient
"
epoque, il tournait ses regards vers le pass6" 5. Vers le pass6 " can
only mean the airs of Cavalli, Cesti, Rossi, Carissimi or Savioni rather
than those of Stradella or the young Scarlatti. I have dealt elsewhere
with the Italian origins of the extended binary air (ABB') whose French
version appears to have been shaped by Lully as early as 1663 in the
2. " Pierre Bourdelot and Jacques Bonnet, Histoire de la musique et de ses

effets (Amsterdam,1725),Vol. I, p. 18.

3. Louis Auld, The Lyric Art of Pierre Perrin (Henryville, 1986), Vol. ii, p.
141.
4. Jean-Laurent Lecerf de La Vieville, Comparaisonde la musique italienne et
de la musiquefranpoise (Amsterdam, 1725), Vol. I, p. 93.
5. Henry Prunieres, L'Opira italien en France avant Lulli (Paris, 1913), p.
363.

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

203

Ex. la : "Deh, piangete al pianto" from Act I, scene 2 of Lully's "Psyche"

A

te al

pian

"

'

Deh, pian - ge

to mi

o,

Deh,

pian-

I'

L
IIII

I+

alpian-to mi - o,

-ge-te

I
-

pian-ge-

- te

mi -

Sas-si du - ri,

- o,

S4

La - gri-ma - te,

bel -ve,

an-ti-che

La - gri-ma

vol -to il fa - to
N

- to

La-gri - ma-te,_

fon-ti e

7b

fon-ti e bel -ve,

te,_

D'un

i -1 I

sel-ve,

al pian

bel

6.

I
il fa - to

ri - o,

ri - o,

Deh, pian-ge

- te al

L-

pian

to

mi - o,

Deh,

pian - ge - te al pian-to mi - o,

.6

pian-

AII
te

-ge

al

pian

to

mi

- o.

-.7

204

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Ex. lb : "Double" by Lambert to "Deh, piangete al pianto"

Ris - pon- de-

-men

ti,

--

Ris

'

- te

pon

a mie-

?r

-de

- i

la

- ti.

menl -

3x

Ex. ic : Recitative from Act I, scene 2 of Lully s "Psych6"

De - i mor-ta - le a

R-fet to,

Al-to im-pe - ro ne

la-

ilarnen-

- te

4x

- i

- te a mie

Ris- pon - de -

- ti,

mie

sfor - za,

James R. Anthony .- Air and Aria added to French Opera

205

Ballet des Arts 6. Out of a total of 432 binary airs found in Lully's
operas, 275 are of the extended binary type. If the minuet is of Italian
origin as Julia Sutton suggests, then an interesting parallel exists
between this most popular of Lully's stage dances and the extended
binary air with regard to national origin and the naturalization process
itself7. This process is complex. Melodic shape, range, textural
considerations, harmonic treatment, rhythmic organization and instrumental timbre all contribute to the conversion from Italian to French.
Formal considerations aside, there is no denying the Italian character
of the two Luigi Rossi extracts that follow; the first because of its
extended vocalises and the second because of its circle of fifths - a
product of a sequential bass line (Ex. 2ab). On the other hand, the B
and B' sections of an air by Mario Savioni (Ex. 2c), with their syllabic
treatment of text, narrow range, symmetrical phrase structure and
dance-like rhythm, would seem to be from an air by Lully if one merely
changed the language of the text.
The second part of this paper deals with the use of Italian arias in the
operas of preramiste composers from 1687 to 1700. Fossard, one of
Louis XIV's royal copyists, had already included a " Table Des Airs
Italians " in his manuscript, Liste de Plusieurs Operas, 1680, found
today in the Bibliotheque Municipale de Versailles (M.M. 138). The
table lists over 30 Italian airs including nine by Luigi Rossi, nine by
Lully, nine by Michel de La Barre, three by Carissimi and one by
Antonio Favina.
In 1695, Philidor and Fossard brought out the first (and only)
volume of Airs italiens published by Pierre Ballard, and, in that same
year, Christophe Ballard published a collection of Airs italiens de
Monsieur Lorenzani. It should be added that both of the above are
modest collections. The former contains 12 airs preceded by ritournelles
a 3 s. Of these airs, only six bear attributions (two by Lorenzani, one
each by Lully and Rossi, and two by La Barre). With regard to formal
structure, only four of the airs are da capo ; the remainder being either
rondeau or binary forms. The Lorenzani collection contains only six
airs. All but one are in binary form, again illustrating that we are still
far from any standardization of the da capo form in the Italian aria.
Ballard's reference, in the preface to his Lorenzani collection, to " cette
sorte d'ouvrage que je continueray de Recuiller et d'Imprimer de temps
en temps ", clearly anticipates his first volume of the Recueil des
meilleurs airs italiens of 1699.

6. James R. Anthony, " Lully's airs - French or Italian? ", The Musical
Times,CXXVIII (1987), 126-129.
7. JuliaSutton, " The Minuet: an ElegantPhoenix", Dance Chronicle,8/3-4

(1985), 119-152.

8. Although Michel-Richardde Lalandecontributedsix ritournellesto airs

lacking attribution,there is no reason to assumethat these Italian airs are by
him.

206

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Ex. 2a : Extractfrom "Gelosia ch'a poco" by Rossi

la-scia-mi ge - lo - si--

[gelosi-la, La - scia-mi,

- a!

ge

lo

-si-

-a

Ex. 2b : Extractfrom "M'ucciditebegli occhi" by Rossi

m'uc-ci

pur

chi

- di - te

do -

- ro,

pur

vA dor-

be - gli

oc-

m'uc- ci-di - te be-gli

- o.

- chi

oc

James R. Anthony Air and Aria added to French Opera

."

207

Ex. 2c : Extractfrom "Omia tardapieta"by Savioni

B
Os -

cu - ra - to

mio

ciel

d'al-

B'
- to

bel

d'al----

cu - ra -to

mio

- to bel
tI- .

cield'al ciel

Os

t;

---to

bel-

t.

Table I below lists those operas performed at the Academie Royale

de Musique to which Italian arias were added up to the year 1706. The
sources used to compile this table are the following : subsequent
editions of the same opera; Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens (C.
Ballard, beginning in 1699); Recueil d'airs serieux et a" boire de
diffgrents autheurs (C. Ballard, from 1698 through 1706); Recueil d'airs
ajoutez a diffirents opera, Depuis l'Annke 1698 (J. B. C. Ballard, 1734);
and book I of Quatre livres separez des Nouveaux airs italiens (included
in Recueils d'airs ajoutez...). Dates inside brackets are those of the first
performance. Airs found opposite the bracketed dates were included in
the first performance of the opera and, therefore, cannot be considered
to be added airs. Table I does not present a complete picture of the
introduction of Italian arias into French stage music. For that, one
would have to examine the many divertissementsperformed at the homes
of wealthy patrons or at court. Campra's Venus,feste galante, for example, a divertissement performed in 1698 for the dauphin at the home of
the Duchesse de la Fert6, contains an aria da capo (" No, non si puo veder un volto "). In addition, one would have to plumb the pages of the
Mercure and other journals and memoires, paying particular attention to
accounts of the revivals of the most popular operas.
Table I illustrates the rapid proliferation of added Italian arias in the
last decade of the 17th century in those stage works that are not
tragedies-en-musique. If J. B. C. Ballard's table in the Recueil d'airs
ajoutez... is complete and correct, it was not until 1708 and 1709 that

208

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Italian arias worthy of the name (and French ariettes) were added to
tragedies-en-musique (see Table II).
In spite of its prologue and three act structure, Collasse's tragedie,
Astree, is entirely in the style of his late master. Three short Italian
dialogue airs (see Table I) culminating in a trio make a timid
appearance in the divertissement of scene vii of Act III. With the
exception of some repeated text fragments, there is little here that could
be labeled Italian. The first air, " Chi per mogl'mi " is a syllabic,
French rondeau air (ABACA) - a sung loure; the second, " Di voi
sono inamorato " is a three part structure (ABC) which, as in so many
Lully bass airs, is a " double continuo " air accompanied by violins;
the third air, " Lizetto, e fatta per me ", is the most original. It is a
short binary air in which Part B contains textual and melodic fragments
borrowed from Part A, but in reverse order (see ex. 3).

TABLE

Date

I : Italian Arias Added to French Operas (1691-1706)

Opera

[1691] Astree

[1694] Midke
[1695] Ballet des
Saisons
1700

[1697] L'Europe
galante
1698

1698

Genre
Composer/
Librettist
tragedie
Collasse/
La Fontaine

Charpentier/ tragedie
T. Corneille
Collasse/Pic ballet

Campra/
La Motte

operaballet

Title and Composer

" Chi par mogl'mi"
(Collasse)
" Di voi sono inamorato"
(Collasse)
" Lizetto,e fatta per me "
(Collasse)
" Chi te me d'amore"
(Charpentier)
none
" Fra le tenebredel
duolo " (?)
" Danzie goda " (?)
"Mi prepata amor" (?)
" Liberta" (Rossi?)
" Ditto o cieli " (Rossi)
" Ad un cuore" (Campra)
" Si scherzi" (Campra)
" Io provo nul core "
(Marchand)
" Amor, da mi consiglio"
(Marchand)
" Se potro sul dolce
Labro" (?)
" Vuo vendettae
voglio straggi" (?)

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

Date

Opera

Composer/
Librettist

Genre

1703

1706
[1698] Lesfestes ga- Desmarest/ comkdiede Vancy
lantes
lyrique

[1699] Le carnaval Campra/

de Venise
Regnard

1699

comndielyrique

209

Title and Composer

" Canta, canta O mio
cuore" (Campra)
" Ardi cor mio "
(Campra)
" Ferma, fermail corso "
(Campra)
" Non vol piu languir"
(?)
" Ebro far voglio il
mio core " (Desmarest)
" Numi voi ch'ognor
vedere" (Desmarest)
" Chi di morte"
(Desmarest)
"Amor, amor, t'el
guiero a fe" (Campra)
" Luci belle dormite"
(Campra)
" Mi dice la speranza"
(Campra)
6 ariasin Orfeonell'inferni
" Purche, rie da nel
mio seno " (?)

Despite increased harmonic interest and superb characterization,

Charpentier's MMdkelies wholly within the Lully orbit. In scene vii of
Act II, an Italian air, " Chi te me d'amore " sung by " une italienne ",
is a dance song following a chaconne which dance was thought to be
of Italian origin (" La Chaconne est nee en Italie ", Rousseau).
Charpentier introduces such Italianate features as an over-all da capo
form and the use of a sequentially derived melisma of four measures
over a chromatic bass line.
L'Europe galante, the first opera-ballet, is also the first stage work
which overtly employs Italian arias (based, presumably, on those by
contemporary Italian composers). The built-in ethnographic structure
of the entrees gave Campra an excuse for including an Italian aria as
an integral part of the third entree (" L'Italie "). " Ad un cuore "
appears in all five editions (1697/1698/1699/c. 1700/1724) 9. Its unequal
A and B sections (each containing two lines of text), its use of ritornelli,
its devise, its melismas, its text repetitions and its 12/8 meter (see Ex. 5a)
make it the first totally convincing Italian aria da capo to be found in
French opera.
9. See this author," PrintedEditionsof AndreCampra'sL'Europegalante"
The Musical Quarterly,LVI (1970), 54-73.

210

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Ex. 3 : "Lizetta, e fatta per me" from Act III, scene 7 of "Astr6e" by Colasse

a
Li-zet - ta

fat - ta

com' io

me,

per

IIIrI

Pa

son

AI

fat - to

el - la:

per_

Li- el - la:

Son gio-ven'

le e

gio-ven-nel

- la

fe - del

son

le

pien'

di

Fb

fe

com' io son

fat - to

ft
t -p r m
i-ze

tI a

fat-ta

per

me,

-t

Li-zet-

ta

Li-zet - ta

el- la,

per

a -

+
fat

ta

per

me.

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

211

In the second edition of L'Europe galante of 1698, a second aria da

capo, " Si scherzi ", was added to "Ad un cuore ". A supplement to
this edition contains two additional arie da capo " qui ne sont point de
l'Europe galante 10o.Also added in 1698, and printed in the Recueil d'airs
serieux for that year, were two airs by organist Louis Marchand. The
first of these airs, " Io provo nel cuore ", enjoyed a great success
according to Lecerf de la Vi6ville who chose it as an example of
counterfeit so clever that even " les plus fines adorateurs de l'Italie y
sont trompez" ". The third edition of 1699 contains the same two
Italian arias as are found in the second edition, but, at the end of the
table of " Airs a chanter ", we read the following "Dans la longue
espace de temps que cette Piece a ete represent6e, on y a adjout6
plusieurs Airs Italiens qui se trouvent dans le Recueil des meilleurs airs
Italiens et ainsi il ne les faut point chercher dans la table cy-dessus ".
The reference here is to Christophe Ballard's first book of the Recueil
des meilleurs airs italiens, qui ont este publiks depuis quelques annees
(1699). This collection contains 21 arias of which only 9 are da capo. It
includes none from Astree or Midde but does include the three arias
from Desmarest's Les festes galantes, the aria from Campra's Vinus,
feste galante and four arias from L'Europe galante.
To complete the 17th century list of Italian arias added to Campra's
L'Europe galante, it was necessary to turn to a much later source, that is,
to J. B. C. Ballard's Recueil d'airs ajoutez a diffirents opera, Depuis l'Annee 1698 (1734) and its important separate books, " qu'on peut joindre a
ce recueil ", containing " airs ajoutez " to various operas. The first of
these books contains two " Nouveaux airs italiens ajoutez 'al'Europe galante, au mois d'Octobre 1698 ". These airs are found neither in the Ballard Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens nor in the Recueil d'airs serieux et a
boire for the year 1698. Yet, these two airs do have some stylistic
significance to our study. The first, " Se potro ", is a rounded binary
form with the return to A elegantly varied (see Ex. 4a below) and with a
final cadenza-like flourish provided. The second air, " Vuo vendetta ",
an aria da capo notated " presto ", is clearly a virtuoso piece with long,
rather tiresome sequential patterns in the extended melismas.
A happy synthesis of French and Italian elements is found in the
three airs from Desmarest's Les festes galantes. " Numi voi ch'ognor
vedere " (Act II, scene viii) is a French " double-continuo " air built
over a free chaconne bass. The repeated text and rapid melismas of the
" presto " ending are Italian; the changes of meter are French. " Chi
di morte " (Act III, scene viii) sung by C6line, a major character in the
10. These airs, presumablyby Campra, are a second version of " Ad un
cuore" and " Neri son'e son'di fuoco >>.This versionof " Ad un cuore" is, if
anything,more consciouslyItalian than the first version.
11. Comparaisonde la musiqueItalienne...,Vol II, p. 94. See also Lionel de
La Laurencie, " Notes sur la jeunesse d'Andr& Campra ", Sammelbdindeder

internationalen
Musikgesellschaft(1908-1909),208-213, where the entire air is

transcribed.

212

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

Ex. 4a : Extractfrom"Sepotrosul dolce Labro"

added to "L'Europe
galante"in 1693

Se po-tro

[...]mo. Se po-tro

-ei

che

-ei

che

mi

dif

fa

ce,

mi dif - fa - ce,

sul dol - ce

la-bro,

dicol-

sul dol - ce

la-bro,

di col-

Am-mor[zar]

Am-mor[zar]

Ex. 4b : Extract from "Vuo vendetta" added to "L'Europe galante" in 1698

Strag-

--

(gi)

opera, is Italian in its disjunct vocal line, short phrases, repeated text,
long sequential melismas, - all accompanied by the French a 5
orchestra; its organization as an extended binary, which, as we have
seen, has dual nationality.
Le carnaval de Venise by Campra contains several innovations not
the least of which is to remove the Italian aria from its strictly
decorative function in the divertissement to a position of importance in
the drama itself. There is a certain poetic justice in the fact that Leandre
and two musicians sing a classical French sommeil in the Italian
language (" Luci belle dormite "), thus bringing the sommeil back full
circle to its origin in Luigi Rossi's Orfeo (1647). This " Serenade " is
scored for three male voices accompanied by two recorders. In
response, Isabelle appears on her balcony and sings the beautiful " Mi
dici la speranza ", a da capo aria worthy of a Scarlatti 12
A glance at Table I reveals that several Italian arias have no
attribution. There is no reason to assume that the composer, himself,
12. Campra's Le carnaval de Venise is available in a facsimile edition with

introductorynotes by JamesR. Anthonyand Jer6mede La Gorce.It is Volume

XVII of the series, " French Opera in the 17th and 18th Centuries", ed. by
Barry S. Brook (New York, 1989).

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

213

provided the additional arias for later revivals. The first three books of
Ballard's Recueil des meilleurs airs italiens have only two attributions
(" Dite o Cieli " is by " D'el Signor Luigi ", the perennial Luigi Rossi,
and " Fami contento Amor" is an " Aria composta di sua Maesta
Imperiale ", Leopold I). A few names are added by consulting the
monthly Recueil d'airs serieux et a boire, and some others are found in
the Recueil d'Airs ajoutez a differents opera. Among the French
composers of Italian airs found in these sources are Campra, Marchand, Brossard, Gillier, La Barre, Clerambault, Bouvard and Grandval; the Italians are represented by Rossi, Scarlatti, Pollarolsi,
Carissimi, Savioni, Bononcini, Stefani, Carisio and Torino. To attempt
to fix attribution on the basis of stylistic criteria is fraught with danger,
for in H. C. Robbins-Landon's words : " stylistic evidence is a very
subjective and - for the purpose of drawing any definite conclusions
- a very limited criterion. It does not seem to matter how brilliant the
critic is : when dealing with works of doubtful authenticity the stylistic
element almost invariably leads to the wrong conclusion " 13
To conclude this paper, I will touch upon the origins and development of the ariette, the most important French progeny of the Italian
aria da capo. Although much has been written about the genre,
especially with regard to its later appearances in the operas of Rameau,
there has been little attempt to research its origins.
In 18th century definitions, two aspects of the ariette dominate : 1)
it was composed to " faire briller la voix " (Remond de Saint-Mard,
Chastellux, Nougaret); and 2) it was normally " en rondeau ", that is,
an ABA form (Brossard, Lacassagne, Rousseau, Lacombe) 14
Clearly, the genesis of the ariette is found in those Italian arie da capo
added to French operas discussed earlier. The development and
eventual standardization of the genre can be traced in the Ballard
Recueil d'airs serieux et a boire, in the French cantata and, beginning
in 1707, in those French airs added to earlier French operas. As will be
demonstrated, the later 18th century definitions of the ariette describe
a text book form that scarcely existed in the first decade of the century.
It is appropriate that the first French air to bear all the stylistic
elements of the later ariette is itself a parody of the popular " Ad un
cuore ", Campra's aria da capo found in all editions of L'Europe
galante. The parody, " Je vous aime " is found in the Recueil d'airs
serieux for February 1698 (pp. 26-29).
13. H. C. Robbins-Landon," Problemsof Authenticityin 18th-CenturyMu-

sic ", InstrumentalMusic, ed. David G. Hughes (Cambridge, MA 1959), p. 36.

14. Remond de Saint-Mard " Reflexions sur l'opera " in (Euvres, (Paris,
1749), vol. V, p. 257 ; Frangois-Jean Chastellux, Essai sur l'union de la poesie et
de la musique (Paris, 1765), p. 50; Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Nougaret, De l'art du
thiatre (Paris, 1769), vol. II, p. 297; Sebastien de Brossard, Dictionnaire de
musique (Paris, 1703); L'abbe Joseph Lacassagne, Traite gineral des elhmens du
chant (Paris, 1766), p. 150; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Dictionnaire de musique
(Paris, 1768), p. 34; Jacques Lacombe, Dictionnaire portatif des beaux-arts
(Paris, 1753), p. 38.

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Ex. 5a : Extractfrom"Adun cuore"from"L'Europe

galante"

Ad

-lo

un cuo - re,

so,

Ad

De - ve'a-mor

ne

6x

gar

pie-

un cuo - re, tut-to

ge

t-

Ex. 5b : Extract from parody of "Ad un cuore"

in "Recueil d'airs s(rieux" (Feb., 1698)

Je

vous ai - me,

Je

0
m

me,
6

Iv I

Li - zet- te,

6x

vous ai - me Plus que moi-

n'en dou - tez pas

In the Recueil d'airs serieux for April 1704, the term, " Ariette ", is
given to a short Italian air in binary form : " Nel porto gradito ". In
the Recueil for August 1706 the term, " Arietta ", is used to identify a
short French binary air, " Pourquoy se contraindre ", but the French
binary air, " L'Abeille sur les fleurs " by Collet, is called " Ariette " in
the Recueil for February 1707. Italian features begin to dominate the
six ariettes of the Recueil for 1708 15, although there is still no true aria
da capo. The most interesting of these ariettes, " Quittez, quittez le reste
de la terre ", was added to Collasse's tragedie, Thetis et Pelhe, for the
revival of 1708. This long ariette (140 measures, including repeats)
15. These are : " Printems " by Bertin (May); " Vous n'avez point " by
Cochereau (June); " A l'ombre d'un ormeau " (Sept.); " Quittez le reste de la
terre " (Sept.); " Abaissez la Lanterne " (Nov); and " Buvons, point de
guerre " (Dec.).

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

215

appears to be a synthesis between an Italian aria da capo and a French

rondeau air. Its structure and measure distribution follow :
Rit A
7 21

B
28

A Rit C
21 6 28

A Rit
21 9

Italian are the motto beginning and the text repetitions ; French are the
accompaniments using flute with violin, and French are the choice of
clich6 words such as " tonnerre " and " volez " for melismas that seem
to have been composed with a conscious effort to avoid sequences.
The Recueil for 1709 contains three " Ariettes ". The first two
(" Helas, la pauvre fille " by Clerambault [Feb] and " Quand ton Iris
sommeille " by D.L.T [Sept]) are clear examples of what will become
the standard ariette, that is a French da capo air to " faire briller la
voix ". The third ariette in this collection (" L'Amour trouble tout le
monde " by Du Careau [Dec]) is a classic example of the second type
of ariette already found in the Recueils for April 1704, August 1706 and
February 1707, that is : a short and simple song in binary form.
Collections of French cantatas appeared between 1706 and 1709 with
the first books of Morin, Bernier, Stuck, Elisabeth Jacquet de La
Guerre, Campra, Bourgeois, Brunet de Moland and Monteclair. All
contain examples of ariettes, although, as in the Ballard recueils, the
term is not always consistently applied. Of the 75 airs in Campra's three
books of cantatas, 26 are labeled ariettes. At the same time, many of
the da capo airs themselves resemble ariettes. In Campra's collections,
the main difference appears to be a preference for compound meter, a
faster tempo and a lighthearted text in the ariette. On the other hand,
the three ariettes in Monteclair's first book (c. 1709) are all symmetrical
binary airs of 12 or 14 measures.
The Cantades et Ariettes Frangoises (1708) by Brunet de Moland
points up the vagueness of terminology. Almost all the airs found in the
four cantatas (Apollon et Daphnk Pyrame et Tisbk, Le jugement de
Paris, Le Destin de Narcisse) are da capo airs with strong Italianate
features, yet none is labeled " ariette ". The collection closes with six
" ariettes frangoises " independent of the cantatas. Although all but
one are da capo airs, they are simple in style and less overtly Italian
than the cantata airs ! A related problem is found in the first book of
Cantates frangoises, sur les sujets tirez de I'Ecriture (1708) of Elisabeth
Jacquet de La Guerre. Presumably, M11ede La Guerre (in frustration ?)
was willing to let her readers determine which of her da copo airs are
ariettes, for, although none is labeled as such, her table at the end of
the collection is entitled " Airs et Ariettes detachez ".
Turning now to French airs added to earlier operas, it is necessary
to consult again the table found in J.B.C. Ballard's Recueil d'airs
ajoutez a diffgrents opera. Table II, below, is a continuation of Table I
above. It shows the domination, beginning abruptly in 1707, of French
airs over Italian arias in the additions.

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

216

TABLE II : Airs added to French operas (1707-1720)

Date

Opera

[1705] La
Vinitienne
1707

Composer/
Librettist
La Barre /
La Motte

Genre

Title and Composer

comedielyrique
<<Quand je revois ?
(La Barre)

[1689] Thisis et
Pelee
1708

Collasse /
Fontenelle

[1709] M?lkagre
July
1709

Stuck/Jolly

tragedie
<<Regnez, belle Thetis >>
(Campra)
<<Trompettes, eclatez>>
(Campra)
<<Venez, regnez aimables
jeux >>
(Campra)
<<Non sempre guerriero >>
(Stuck)
<<Quittez, le reste de la
terre >>(?)
tragedie
<<Acceso dal diletto >>
(Stuck)
<<D'un tendre amour>>

(?)

<<Tous les moments du

Printems >>(Stuck)
Sarabande parodies : <<La
jeune Aminte >>, <<Ah !
que de flamme >>
Parodies : <<Les plaisirs
qu'on gofite >>,<<Vien par
le vin >>,<<Dans les yeux
de Philis >>,<<Amour, ton
empire >>, <<Armons-nous
chacun >>
[1685] Roland

Lully/
Quinault

tragedie
<<Son come
(Stuck)

1709
[1683] Pha'ton
1709

Lully/
Quinault

farfalleta >>

tragedie
<<Nouveau Soleil >>
(Campara)
<<Navicella frascoglie >>
(Caldara)

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

Date

Opera

Composer/
Librettist

[1700] Hesione

Campra/
Danchet

Genre

217

Title and Composer

tragedie
<<La terre sur les cieux>>
(Campra)
<<Charmante mere des
amours >>(Campra)
<<L'Amour s'envole>>
(Campra)

1709

[1676] Atys

Lully/
Quinault

tragedie
<<Reine des Dieux >>
(Bertin)
<<Dieux de l'Hymen >>
(Bertin)

1709

[1712] Amours de
Mars et de
Venus
1712

Campra/
Danchet

[1678] Psyche

Lully/
Corneille

1713

ballet

? Eclatantes Trompettes ?
(Le Comte)
tragedie
Aimee, regnez >>(Bertin)

[1688] Ziphire et
Flore
1715

Lully/
DuBoullay

tragedie
((Amours, amours volez >>
(Dutartre)
<<Puissant fils >>(Dutartre)

1715
[1697] L'Europe
galante
1716
[1716] Ajax
1716
[1720] Amours de
Protee

Campra/
La Motte
?I

operaballet
Si lietto si contento
(Bertin)

Bertin/
Menesson

tragedie

Gervais/
La Font

ballet

<<Amours, volez >>(Bertin)

1720"

Pour regner sur

coeurs>>(Gervais ?)

les

* ? ajoutez depuis
l'impression de ce Ballet >>

It would be an error to assume that the majority of these airs closely

resemble ariettes. None is so labeled. All the airs added to MHlhagre,
for example, are parodies of existing dances found in the opera. Of the
remaining airs (see Table III, below), seven are da capo, six are rondeau
airs and three are simple binary airs. Most of the da capo airs make use

218

Revue de Musicologie, 77/2 (1991)

of the devise, repeated texts and extended melismas commonly found in

the ariette. Campra's " Trompettes 6clatez " (added to ThItis et Pelke)
is a brilliant, large scale da capo air prefaced by an introduction of 53
measures for solo trumpet, violin and continuo. However, Campra's
" La terre sur les cieux " (added to Hisione) and Dutartre's " Puissant
fils " (added to Zephire et Flore) are more French than Italien. Both
make use of an accompaniment of flutes and/or violins; both utilize a
viola basse-continue. " Puissant fils " is actually a " double continuo "
air with the soprano doubled by " les hautes-contres, les quintes de
violons et les violles ". This texture reaches back to the Campra of
L'Europe galante (" Faisons r6gner l'amour ") and foreshadows Aricie's " Hippolyte amoureux " of Rameau, thus reaffirming the French
tradition in the midst of any ultramontane influences.

TABLE

III : Formal Structure of Airs Added to French Operas

Da Capo

Binary

Rondeau

<<Quandje revois>>
<<Charmantemere des
Amours>>
<<Dieu de l'Hymen>>

<<Regnez belle Thetis>> <<Trompettes,eclatez>>

Nouveau Soleil>>
<<Venez, regnez aimables <<
jeux >>
<< clatantes Trompet<<Quittez le reste de la tes >
<<Amours, volez >>
terre>>
<<Aimez, regnez>>
<<La terre sur les
<<Reine des Dieux >>
cieux>>
<<Amour, amour volez >> <<L'Amours'envole>>
<<Puissantfils >>

While the added Italian arias and French airs desbribed above played
a small role in changing the style of French preramiste opera, we must
not over estimate their importance in this regard. They functioned,
rather, as a means of bringing the divertissements of earlier operas
closer to contemporary tastes. As such, they are part of the same
impulse noted by Parfaict who, in describing a revival of Lully's
Bellkrophon in April, 1728, wrote : " On fit ia cette reprise quelques
changemens ia cet Opera... On substitua aussi au IVe Acte un nouveau
Divertissement compose des peuples des campagnes de Lycie... Cette
ffte parut assez bien imaginee, & plus satisfaisante que celle des Faunes
et des Napees qui paroissoient autrefois. " 16

16. Claude and Frangois Parfaict, Histoire de l'Acaddmie Royale de Musique,

Paris, Bibliothequenationale,Ms. n. a. fr. 6532, vol. II, p. 45.

James R. Anthony : Air and Aria added to French Opera

219

SUMMARY
After the death of Lully, French composers beginning with Collasse
composed Italian arias for their operas thus giving us another measure of
Italian influence on French stage music during the preramiste period. At first
these arias were merely rondeau and binary airs of the French type composed
to an Italian text and restricted to the divertissement. The first to model his
Italian arias on those of contemporary Italian masters was Campra in l'Europe
galante (1697).
This paper identifies more than 30 Italian arias in French operas composed
between 1691 and 1709. Beginning abruptly in 1707, French airs composed in
the Italian style to " faire briller la voix " were added to earlier operas. Ballard's
Recueil d'airs ajoutez a"diffirents opera identifies 17 such airs added to 13
different operas between 1709 and 1720. These airs were an important source
for the ariette, the most important French progeny of the Italian aria da capo.

Apres la mort de Lully, les compositeurs frangais a partir de Collasse ont

compose des airs italiens pour leurs operas, revelant ainsi l'importance de
l'influence italienne sur la musique franqaise durant la periode pr6-ramiste. Ces
airs &taientalors avant tout des rondeaux et des airs binaires a la franqaise,
composes sur des textes italiens et limites aux divertissements. Avec l'Europe
galante (1697), Campra a 6t6 le premier compositeur a concevoir ses airs italiens
sur le modele de ceux des maitres italiens de son 6poque.
Cette contribution identifie plus de trente airs italiens extraits d'operas
franqais composes entre 1691 et 1709. A partir de 1707, des airs franqais
composes dans le style italien et destines a <<faire briller la voix >>furent ajoutes
a des operas plus anciens. Le Recueil d'airs ajoutez a' diffirents opera de Ballard
permet d'identifier 17 de ces airs ajoutes entre 1709 et 1720 a 13 operas
diff6rents. Ces airs constituent une source importante pour les ariettes, forme
franqaise la plus proche de l'aria da capo italien.