La Trobe University - Library: Medieval Music Database - Annual cycle of feasts of liturgical chant, liturgical polyphony and secular music of the late middle ages.

Tres gentil cuer amoureux, attraians

virelai by Solage

Sources

Chantilly: Bibliothèque du Musèe Condè 564, fol. 18 (3/1), 50v (3/1).

Editions

1. French Secular Music of the Late Fourteenth Century, edited by Willi Apel, Cambridge/Massachusetts: Medieval Academy of America, 1950, no. 38.
2. French Secular Compositions of the Fourteenth Century, music edited by Willi Apel, texts edited by Samuel N. Rosenberg, Rome: American Institute of Musicology, 1970. Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 53/I, p. 198.
3. French Secular Music. Manuscript Chantilly, Musèe Condè 564, First Part, edited by Gordon K. Greene, Monaco: Editions de L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1981. Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century XVIII, p. 33.

Literature

WILKINS, Nigel. 'The late mediaeval French lyric: with music and without', Musik und Text in der Mehrstimmigkeit des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts, edited by U. Günther and L. Finscher, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1984, pp. 155-174.

Recordings

Lancaster and Valois: French and English music, 1350-1420, Gothic Voices, directed by Christopher Page (1992): Hyperion CDA66588.

Text

Tres gentil cuer amoureux, attraians,
frans et courtois, jolis et plains de joie,
a vous servir du tout mon temps emploie,
quar il n'est riens qui tant me soit playsant.
N'autre desir avoir je ne pourroie

qu'a vous amer, honnourer et cherir,
cremir, doubter et loiaument servir
par fine amour,

quar en vous son mi penser, mi desir,
mi oeil, mes cuers, mi vouloir, mi plaisir
et mi retour.

Donc tant desir, flour trez souef fleirant,
belle et gente plus que dir' ne sauroye,
de revëoir vo façon simple et coye
et l'esgart doulz de vo regart riant
qui tant me plaist. Pour ce, ou que je soie,

tres gentil [cuer amoureux, attraians,
frans et courtois, jolis et plains de joie,
a vous servir du tout mon temps emploie,
quar il n'est riens qui tant me soit playsant.
N'autre desir avoir je ne pourroie].

Or scay je bien que le doulz souvenir
que j'ay de vous me fait au cuer venir
joie et baudour,

si que ne puis maul ne doulour sentir,
ains trez joieux me fait amours tenir
en gay sejour;

s'en loueray amours com vrai amant
quant elle m'a voulu metre en la voie
de vous amer; et certes, se j'avoie
tout quan c'om puet en ce monde vivant,
nient me seroit s'amés de vous n'estoie.

Tres gentil [cuer amoureux, attraians,
frans et courtois, jolie et plains de joie,
a vous servir du tout mon temps emploie,
quar il n'est riens qui tant me soit playsant.
N'autre desir avoir je ne pourroie.]

Si pri a Dieu qu'il me doint a venir
au doulz tresor qu'Amours suelt departir
per sa douçor.

Dont me povés noblement enrichir
fin cuer loial et sans rien amenrir
vostre valour.

Seugect cens fois mon cuer tres desirant
de vous vëoir se aler g'i osoie,
mains en la fin pour riens ne le layroie
que ne fuessë avec vous demourant
ou gay païs ou estre je voudroie.

Tres gentil [cuer amoureux, attraians,
frans et courtois, jolis et plains de joie,
a vous servir du tout mon temps employe
quar il n'est riens qui tant me soit playsant.
N'autre desir avoir je ne pourroie.

Translation

Very noble heart, loving, attractive,
generous and courteous, beautiful and full of joy,
to service you above all do I use my time,
for to me there is nothing so pleasing.
Nor could I have any other desire

than to love you, honour and cherish you,
venerate, fear and loyally serve you
out of true love,

for in you are my thoughts, my desires,
my eyes, my heart, my will, my pleasure
and my refuge.

Thus I desire so greatly, very sweetly-perfumed flower,
more beautiful and lovely than I can say,
to see again your sweet and peaceful face
and the dear look of your laughing glance,
which pleases me so much. For this reason, wherever I may be,

very noble [heart, loving, attractive,
generous and courteous, beautiful and full of joy,
to serve you above all do I use my time,
for to me there is nothing so pleasing.
Not could I have any other desire.]

Now I know well that the sweet memory
I have of you brings joy and ardour
to my heart,

so that I cannot feel unhappiness or sorrow;
rather does love keep me very happily
in a state of joyous release.

And I shall praise love like a true lover
since she has wanted to set me on the path
of loving you; and certainly, if I had
everything one could have in this world,
it would be nothing to me were I not loved by you.

Very noble [heart, loving, attractive,
generous and courteous, beautiful and full of joy,
to serve you above all do I use my time,
for to me there is nothing so pleasing.
Nor could I have any other desire.]

And I beg God to allow me to arrive
at the sweet treasure, which Love, by its sweetness,
customarily dispenses.

From this you can enrich me nobly,
true, loyal heart, and without in any way diminishing
your worth.

My heart, most desiring, is a hundred times under the power
of seeing you, if I dared to go,
but in the end I would not let it go for anything,
were it not dwelling within you
in the happy land where I would want to be.

Very noble [heart, loving, attractive,
generous and courteous, beautiful and full of joy,
to serve you above all do I use my time,
for to me there is nothing so pleasing.
Nor could I have any other desire.]Text revision and translation © Robyn Smith