Title:
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Music and Musicians in the Court and City of Paris during the Reign of Charles VI (1380 - 1422).
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This dissertation re-establishes Paris, through its symbiotic relationship with the royal court,
as a major centre for the production, performance and transmission of sacred and secular
polyphonic repertoires at the turn ofthe fifteenth century. It shows that the French royal court
anchored in Paris represented an important point of reference for all musicians, including the
composers Jean Vaillant, Jacquet de Noyon, J. Solage, Jean Carmen and Jean Cesaris, and
paves the way for new interpretations ofthe surviving musical repertoires.
Chapter 1 underlines the importance ofParis to the careers of musicians active in royal
courtly circles as an ideal location for the development of networks ofsocial and professional
acquaintances for musicians. The clerical nature of singers' and organists' training set them
on a par with those clerks employed in the royal court and the governmental bodies based on
the lIe-de-la-Cite, who patronized polyphonic music in the capital's ecclesiastical institutions.
Chapter 2 focuses on the Sainte-Chapelle ofParis as a centre of musical excellence. The
Sainte-Chapelle was linked to the court, through accumulation ofoffices and frequent
movements ofpersonnel, and to the citY, through accumulation ofbenefices at Parisian
churches and chapels. Sainte-Chapelle musicians performed during processions through
Paris, at royal courtly events contexts or on more private occasions patronized by clerks active
in royal service.
Chapter 3 highlights points ofcontact between musicians active in the University quarters and
those active at the royal court, setting the scene for the transmission and discussion of courtly
repertoires in the University. Information concerning the patronage of polyphony at the
Dormans College by clerks active in royal service supports the theory of shared musical
repertoires at court and in the University.
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