"Sous-lesquels-ont-este-mises-des-paroles-morales" - A case of psalm contrafactum between 1598 and 1618

In 1618, the printer Pierre Ballard published two "false-twin" volumes of m usic entitled Dodecacorde. One was devoted to twelve French psalms already published at La Rochelle twenty years earlier (the same year the Edict of N antes was signed), based on the translations by Marot and de Beze that were disseminated in the Huguenot Psalter. The other contained the same music, but with "paroles morales" treating devout subjects characteristic of the b eginning of the seventeenth century. In both cases, the music is by the Hug uenot Claude Le Jeune, who died in 1600 with the title of "Composer of the Royal Chamber" of King Henry IV. In general, the contrafactum practice concerns light or obscene repertory, in which expurgation or "purification" of the texts is the goal. This case is more unusual: the original Biblical texts, because of their Huguenot ass ociations, have become disturbing. The alternative moral version aims to to uch "more devout souls." Faithful to the spirit of the Edict of Nantes, Bal lard offers the same music with two texts, one tending towards the Protesta nt camp, the other towards the Counter-Reform camp. However, changing the t ext raises numerous problems, particularly because of the famous Huguenot m elodies that are used as cantus firmus material in the polyphony. Therefore , the Huguenot connotations of the original corpus survive despite the alte ration of the texts. This exceptional double publication was never re-edite d, but another similar work by Le Jeune, the Octonaires, enjoyed longer liv ed success: their Calvinist poems, rather similar to the "paroles morales," are suitable for both religions and fit better with Le Jeune's subtle poly phony.