Claude Le Jeune’s works are written with Italianism references. It affects his texts, his musical genres and the implementation of music theory. He set 43 Italian texts to music. They are based on the Neapolitan dialect. “Une puce…” is one of them. The corresponding sheet music is “No pulice n’entrata nell’orecchia.” Antoine de Baïf transposed it with measured verses, that is to say verses that are not made with rhymes but by alternating long sounds and short sounds like in Latin poetry. One of the main objectives of the academy funded by Baïf in 1570 was to bring the union between poetry and music to life as it was practiced by the Greeks. These verses were measured in the ancient way. Luigui Alamanni was in France and worked to reconcile the classical genres and the common language. He was also an ambassador in Venice and probably worked with the Academia dei Filleleni. Baïf did not create the genre but by associating poetry and music, he helped Claude Le Jeune to fulfill his project. “Une puce” is probably based on the sheet music written by Baldassara Dinato, which was published in “Primo libro di canzon villanesche alla napolitana a quarto voci,” Venice, Gardane, 1550. The original Italian text is composed of five stanzas, and the melody has nothing to do with Claude Le Jeune’s.
