Jehan de Lescurel facts for kids

Score of A vous douce debonnaire by Jehan

Jehan de Lescurel (who was active in the early 1300s) was a talented composer and poet from the late Middle Ages. He wrote many songs and poems that are still around today. His works are important because they show us what popular song styles, called formes fixes, were like just before the famous composer Guillaume de Machaut. Jehan wrote 34 pieces: 20 ballades, 12 rondeaus, and two long poems called diz entés. Almost all of his music uses only one voice or instrument (this is called monophony). This style was common for trouvère musicians. His work also shows the start of a new style called ars nova, which used more than one voice at a time (this is called polyphony).

Who Was Jehan de Lescurel?

Jehan de Lescurel is also known as Jehannot de l'Escurel. We don't know much about his life. But the way his music was written and shared suggests he was active in the early 1300s. His songs also mention places in Paris, so we think he lived and worked there.

Some people believe Jehan was the son of a merchant. He probably learned music at the famous Notre Dame de Paris cathedral. For many years, scholars thought he was a person named Jehan de Lescurel who was arrested in 1304. However, new research shows that "Jehan de Lescurel" was a very common name in Paris back then. There is no clear proof that the composer was the same person who got into trouble.

Jehan's Music Style

Jehan de Lescurel was an important artist who helped music change from the trouvère period to the ars nova style. His songs have a lyrical, flowing style that connects him to the composers who came after him.

The only place we find his music is in one special old book. This book also contains a version of a famous story called the Roman de Fauvel.

Most of Jehan's works are monophonic songs, meaning they have a single melody. This was typical of the trouvère style. Only one of his 34 pieces uses polyphony, which means it has multiple melodies playing at the same time. His songs include virelais, ballades, and rondeaus. He also used "word painting" in his music. This is when the music tries to sound like the words, for example, if the words talk about flying, the music might go up. This was more common in later 14th-century music. His songs are simple and charming. Jehan also wrote two diz entés, which are long poems where only the chorus part has music.

List of Jehan's Compositions

Published Music Collections

• Wilkins, Nigel (1966). [Jehan de Lescurel at Google Books The Works of Jehan de l'Escurel]. Corpus mensurabilis musicae. 30. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Institute of Musicology. OCLC 1123637753. Jehan de Lescurel at Google Books.