Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377); FRA

Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377) was a French composer and poet and the leading figure of the fourteenth-century Ars Nova. Probably born in the region of Reims, he entered the service of John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, around 1323 and accompanied him on travels throughout Europe. Machaut later served several members of the French nobility and became a canon of Reims Cathedral, where he spent much of his later life. Unusually for a medieval composer, he took an active role in preserving and organizing his own works in manuscripts.

Machaut was equally important as poet and musician, cultivating the ballade, rondeau, virelai, lai, and motet and exerting a profound influence on later French poetry and music. His Messe de Nostre Dame is the earliest surviving complete polyphonic setting of the Mass Ordinary attributable to a single composer. Among his celebrated secular songs are Douce dame jolie, Ma fin est mon commencement, and Rose, liz, printemps, verdure. His sophisticated handling of rhythm and polyphony made him the dominant musical voice of the French fourteenth century.

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Machaut, Guillaume de [Guillaume de Machault] (b Reims, c.1300; d Reims, 1377). Fr. composer, cleric, poet, and diplomat. Secretary to John, Duke of Luxembourg from c.1323 to 1346. Later in service of King of Navarre, King of Cyprus, Duke of Berry, and others. Canon of churches at Reims, Verdun, and S. Quentin. Comp. motet for election of Archbishop of Reims, 1324. Outstanding practitioner of ars nova and among first to comp. polyphonic setting of poetry in fixed forms (ballade, rondeau, and virelai), to write in 4 parts, and to compose integrated setting of entire Ordinary of the Mass. Also among last to compose in the medieval forms of lai and dit. His most important works are probably the Messe de Notre Dame for 4 vv. and the Voir Dit (Tale of Truth), a collection of letters, lyrics, and song-settings (ballades and rondeaux) written in praise of a woman (Péronne d'Armentières). Machaut's works, which incl. 23 motets, have appeared in 3 complete edns., by Ludwig (1926, 1954), Schrade (1956), and Sylvette Leguy (Paris, from 1977).

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