Noel du Fail, excerpt from Les Contes et Discours d’Eutrapel

Noel du Fail (ca. 1520-1591) was born into the rural aristocracy of Brittany. He studied law, and wrote at least one book on that subject, but is best known as a «story-teller». Du Fail wrote three books in this vein: Propos rustiques de maistre Leno Ladulfi, champenois (15 chapters, about 70 pages, published by J. de Tournes in Lyon in1547; Baliverneries, ou Contes nouveaux d’Eutrapel (5 chapters, about 30 pages, published by P. Trepperel in Paris in 1548); and Les Contes et Discours d’Eutrapel (28 chapters, about 200 pages, published by Noel Glamet de Quinpercorentin in Rennes in 1585.) The passage below is from chapter XIX «Musique d’Eutrapel» of Les Contes et Discours d’Eutrapel (1585) and not, as is frequently but mistakenly reported, from the 1548 Baliverneries.

“Quand la voix et le mot sont par entrelaceures, petites pauses et intervales rompus, joints avec le nerf et la corde de l’instrument, la force de la parole et sa grace y demeurent prins et engluez, sans esperance de les pouvoir separer, pour demeurer un vray ravissement d’esprit, soit à joye, soit à pitié. Comme par exemple, quand lon chantoit la chanson de la guerre faite par Jannequin, devant ce grand Francois, pour la victoire qui’l avoit eue sur les Suisses, il n’y avoit celuy qui ne regardast si son espee tenoit au fourreau, et qui ne se haussast sur les orteils pour se rendre plu bragard et de la riche taille.”

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“When the voice and the word by intermingling, small pauses and melody jumps enriched, are joined with the energy and resonance of instruments, the force of the word and its grace become attached to the music, with no chance that they can be separated, to produce a genuine exaltation of the spirit, for joy or for sympathy. As, for example, when they sang the battle chanson, made by Janequin, before the great King Francis to celebrate his victory over the Swiss, there was not a man present who, checking that his sword was ready in its sheath, did not stand taller and puff out his chest in pride.”