LM236   Un jour voyant ma mignonne seulette (reconstructed alto)

Sources: Second livre des inventions musicales de M. Clement Janequin...  Paris: Nicholas du Chemin, August 25, 1555. The superius partbook is in the Kunglige Akademi  in Stockholm, the tenor partbook is in the Kunglige Bibliotek in Stockholm, and the bass part book is in the Bibliotheque du Musée Dobrée in Nantes.

LM236E Gazing one day  (Performing edition in English of LM236 “Un jour voyant”)

LM243   Tout bellement s’en est allé (reconstructed alto)

Sources: Sixiesme livre de chansons… Paris: LeRoy & Ballard, 1556. The superius, tenor and bass partbooks are in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.  A luth version published by Phalèse in 1563 (RISM1563-12) is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and a manuscript version for luth is in the University Library in Uppsala.

LM243E That wretched Lent  (Performing edition in English of LM243 “Tout bellement”)

Comments

Three of four voices are known for LM236 “Un jour voyant” and LM237 “Tout bellement.”  In each case, it is the altus/contratenor voice which is missing.  When one of the inner voices is to be reconstructed, as is the case her, then the outer voices define the appropriate parameters and it is usually not to difficult to determine where the missing chord members need to be placed.  This is a relatively straight-forward process when the texture is note-against-note homophony, as in the 82 Psalms and the Proverbs, but is somewhat more challenging in pieces, like those presented here, in which the texture is imitative, which compounds the available choices.  Thus the reconstructed versions presented here must be taken for what  they are: creative 21st century imaginings as to what the pieces might have looked like, no more, no less.  And, as a bonus for the bold or the francophonistically challenged, they are also presented in performing versions in English.