Unlike his work, which has been reprinted many times since the sixteenth century, Clément Janequin’s life remains obscure and hazy, even today. He was probably born in Châtellerault around 1485. We are not sure whether he grew up and earned his musical stripes in Poitou, Saintonge or Bordeaux. Or sus, or sus has been circulating since 1510 and the following printed songs attest to its fame. Having become a priest in 1525, he received prebends that exempted him from musical or ecclesiastical duties, thanks to the protection of Jean de Foix. He was the master of the choirboys of the cathedral in Angers for a few years starting in 1533. He was then recorded in Paris in 1549 where he worked as a cantor and then as the compositeur ordinaire to the king. Although he was famous throughout Europe, he died there in destitution in 1558.
He composed more than 250 secular songs, all published by Parisian publishers, but he only published a few books of psalms and spiritual songs in the last years of his life, no doubt in response to the rise of evangelism rather than to a personal religious commitment. His large descriptive epics, such as La bataille de Marignan, La chasse, Le cacquet des femmes, Le chant des oiseaux or Les cris de Paris, are atypical in chansons and make him the master of the genre.
Contents :
- Or sus, or sus (Chant de l’alouette)
- En écoutant (Chant du rossignol)
- Le chant des oiseaux (version courte)
- Le chant des oiseaux (version longue)
- La guerre de Renty
- Chanson de la guerre (La Bataille de Marignan)
