"
In the year 1540, at the instigation of King Francis, Marot presented a
manuscript copy of his thirty new psalm-songs to Charles V., king of Spain,
receiving therefor two hundred gold doubloons. Francis encouraged him by
further gifts, and so praised his work that the author soon published the
thirty in a book which he dedicated to the king; and to which he also
prefixed a metrical address to the ladies of France, bidding these fair
dames to place their
"doigts sur les espinettes
Pour dire sainctes chansonnettes."
These "sainctes chansonnettes" became at once the rage; courtiers and
princes, lords and ladies, ever ready for some new excitement, seized at
once upon the novel psalm-songs, and having no special or serious music for
them, cheerfully sang the sacred words to the ballad-tunes of the times,
and to their gailliards and measures, without apparently any very deep
thought of their religious meaning. Disraeli says that each of the royal
family and each nobleman chose for his favorite song a psalm expressive of
his own feeling or sentiments. The Dauphin, as became a brave huntsman,
chose
"Ainsi qu'on vit le cerf bruyre,"
"As the hart panteth after the water-brook,"
and he gayly and noisily sang it when he went to the chase. The Queen chose
"Ne vueilles pas, o sire,
Me reprendre en ton ire."
"Rebuke me not in thine indignation.
Pages:
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194