Codex Chantilly is the primary manuscript source for a fourteenth century French style known as ars subtilior, or the subtle art. This was a type of late-medieval polyphonic music that utilized highly subdivided rhythms, dissonant harmony, and complex textures. In its day, ars subtilior was favored among the Burgundian nobility, and the musicians represented by name in the Codex have been traced to the courts of Burgundy, Navarre, Foix, and Arágon and in the city of Avignon. The date of the repertoire within Codex Chantilly ranges from about 1353, or not long after the cessation of the Black Death, to about 1397-1398. This latter date is deduced through the alleged death of composer Baude Cordier, whose highly calligraphic works Belle, bonne, sage, plaisant (In the Shape of a Heart) and Tout par compas suy composés (In the Shape of a Circle) were added to the manuscript last. Some dispute this, stating that the notational style of the Cordier works is only typical of music written after 1400. The main part of the book itself was put together no later than 1395. The manuscript is held at the library of the Musée Condé at the Chateau de Chantilly as manuscript 564 (older sources refer to it as "1047.") The Codex contains 112 musical works, all secular in nature, including 70 ballades, 17 rondeaux, 13 motets, and 12 virelais. All but the Cordier pieces are notated on an Italian six-line staff, and it was clearly copied by someone who did not well understand the French language. This has led to a school of thought that believes that the book was copied for an Italian court. But recent scholarship has shown that the Codex Chantilly was probably compiled under the direction of Gaston Febus and likely destined for the court at Barcelona. A later scribe has gone through the book and carefully added composer names for many of the works; only 30 of the pieces in the Chantilly Codex remain anonymous. The composer most frequently represented is Solage, with ten works including the famous Fumeux Fume. Among other composers featured in the Codex Chantilly whose activities are documented elsewhere are Philippus de Caserta, Trebor, Jaquemin de Senleches, and Guillaume de Machaut. The last-named figure is only represented in the Codex Chantilly by one work, but his stylistic influence is felt throughout the whole volume. © Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Below are works by Anonymous, Codex Chantilly that every music lover should explore: