A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a "chanteur" (male) or "chanteuse" (female); a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.
In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death.
The frottola was the predominant type of Italian popular secular song of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. It was the most important and widespread predecessor to the madrigal. The peak of activity in composition of frottole was the period from 1470 to 1530, after which time the form was replaced by the madrigal.
The term Lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a homophonic texture. The composition was written for a solo voice with an accompaniment, usually the Lute. It was not uncommon for other forms of accompaniments such as; bass viol, or other string instruments and could also be written for more voices. The composition could be performed either solo or with a small group of instruments. The basic style of lute songs are light and serious, with poetic lyrics that usually followed word-setting to composed music. In England, the songs tended to range from extended contrapuntal compositions to short harmonized tunes. The text could be written by the composer or most often borrowed from a poem, set in verse form.These songs were composed for professional and amateur performers, which had variations for solo and ensemble. The lute song was popular among the Royalty and nobility. King Louis XIII was believed to be fond of the simple songs, which led to a volume of work during his reign. Composers of the lute song usually composed other forms of music as well such as; madrigals, chansons, and consort songs. The consort song, popular in England, is considered to be closely related to the lute song. This was an earlier strophic form of music that was for a solo voice accompanied by a small group of string instruments. In France, the chanson, is a precursor to the lute song or air de cour. Collections of “air de cour” were used in other countries, besides England and France. Collections of the French airs were published in England, Germany and Holland. Italy had forms of song that were much like the lute song, such as monody and the frottola, but the lute song seemed more prominent in England and France.
The Air de cour was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant form of secular vocal composition in France, especially in the royal court.
Nicolas de La Grotte was a French composer and keyboard player of the Renaissance. He was well known as a performer on the organ and on the spinet, as well as a composer of chansons; in addition he was one of very few French composers of the 16th century with a surviving composition written specifically for the keyboard.
Étienne Moulinié was a French Baroque composer. He was born in Languedoc, and when he was a child he sang at the Narbonne Cathedral. Through the influence of his brother Antoine, Moulinié gained an appointment at court, as the director of music for Gaston d'Orléans, the younger brother of the king. For this post he wrote sacred and secular music, for voice or voices and lute or continuo. He also wrote music to accompany the ballet or other dances. He taught Gaston's daughter, Mlle de Montpensier. Moulinié worked for Gaston until the latter's death in 1660, at which point he was forced to find new employment. For this he returned to his birthplace of Languedoc.
Mes Aïeux is a Québécois group from Canada founded in 1996.
Christophe Miossec is a French singer and songwriter born in Brest, Brittany, France on December 24, 1964.
Soldat Louis are a French rock group originally from Lorient, who mix the traditional music of Brittany with typical rock music instruments - electric and acoustic guitar, drum kit, etc. - as well as the traditional bagpipes and bombard. The two founding members, who are still playing in the group today, are Renaud Detressan and Serge Danet.
Nouvelle Chanson, derived from the French expression nouvelle scène française, sometimes anglicized as New Chanson, is a musical genre of Chanson which emerged in France in the 1990s and developed in the 2000s. This genre takes inspiration from such forefathers of French Chanson as Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens or Barbara, albeit in a more soft-pop music style. However, the principal influences appear to be rockier artists such as Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine. Principal French exponents of Nouvelle Chanson include artists such as Benjamin Biolay, Émilie Simon, Coralie Clément, Keren Ann, Françoiz Breut, Olivia Ruiz, and Camille. The term Chanson Nouveau is also used, and as a developing genre, there is considerable disagreement even in France about who belongs in this genre and how it is to be described.
François de Chancy (1600–1656) was a French singer lutenist and composer. He was a master of music for Cardinal Richelieu in 1631, master of chamber music (1635) and was chamber musician of the King's Chapel (1649). François de Chancy was highly regarded by Mersenne, who included Chancy pieces in his treatises. He died in Paris in his mid-fifties.
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée is a song cycle by Maurice Ravel based on the story of Don Quixote. It was first composed for voice and piano but later orchestrated. The songs are traditionally performed by a baritone or bass(-baritone). The cycle is made up of three independent pieces: Chanson Romanesque, Chanson épique, and Chanson à boire. The text was written by the librettist Paul Morand. It was composed between the years of 1932 and 1933.
Jean Boyer was a French viol player and composer, active in Paris during the first half of the 17th century.
The Chansons gaillardes FP 42, are a song cycle of eight songs composed by Francis Poulenc in 1925–1926 "In euphoria and post-war" on anonymous texts of the XVIIth. The work was dedicated to Mme Fernand Allard.
Chanson à boire,, FP 31, is a choral work by Francis Poulenc, composed in 1922 on an anonymous text of the 17th century for a four-part men's chorus a cappella. It was published first by Rouart-Lerolle, but today by Salabert.
