Les Fastes de la grande et ancienne Mxnxstrxndxsx

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Les Fastes de la grande et ancienne Mxnxstrxndxsx ( The glories of the great and old Mxnxstrxndxsx ) is a suite for harpsichord by the French composer François Couperin . It forms the end of the 11th order in his second book of harpsichord pieces, published 1716-1717. Behind the mysterious term Mxnxstrxndxsx is the Ménéstrandise , a guild of musicians that has existed since the Middle Ages. Couperin satirically portrays the members of this guild in his music as jugglers and fools and uses the unpronounceable term to avoid legal disputes.

history

The Ménéstrandise was founded as a guild in Paris in 1321 to separate itself from traveling musicians . Its chairman carried the title Roi des ménétriers ("King of the Ménestrels ") or Roi des violons ("Violin King"). The guild existed until 1776 and owned its own street and church called Saint-Julien-des-Ménétriers, which was destroyed in the French Revolution .

In the 17th century, the Ménéstrandise had strayed far from the original ideal of preserving the old juggler's art, but was still trying to gain acceptance from as many musicians as possible by levying taxes and membership fees. After the guild was formally recognized by King Louis XIV in 1659, the dance masters made themselves independent and founded the Royal Dance Academy in 1661 . Meanwhile, the Ménéstrandise tried to extend its influence to organists, harpsichordists and servants of the royal court. The guild's statutes provided for the following:

"No person from the Kingdom (France) or from abroad is allowed to give dance or music lessons, perform dances or musical instruments, meet for serenades during the day or night, or play the same instruments at weddings or public or private gatherings, as long as they do not as a master was accepted by the said king or his deputies, under penalty of a fine, confiscation and sale of the instruments the first time, and corporal punishment the second time. "

- Article VI in: Statuts et Reglemens des Maîtres de Danses et Joueurs d'instrumens,… registrés en Parlement le vingt-deuxième Août 1659 . Paris, D'Houry and Sons Printing House, 1753.

After a group of clavecinists , including Nicolas Lebègue , Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers and François Couperin, protested against these privileges with Louis XIV in the name of artistic freedom in 1693 and 1707 , they were reduced in both cases.

construction

The suite consists of five movements , here called nudes , an ironic allusion to classic tragedy . A meeting of the Ménéstrandise is depicted in caricature form, with the entry of the dignitaries, the noisy parade of the jugglers and their animals, the pathetic appearance of the cripples, and finally the general escape of all those involved.

  • Premier Act. Les notables et jurés - Mxnxstrxndxsx. ("First act: The notables and sworn - Mxnxstrxndxsx.") A short march in C major to depict the entry of the dignitaries. How to play: Sans lenteur (“Not too slow”).
  • Second Act. Les Viéleux, et les Gueux. ("Second act: The hurdy-gurdy players and the beggars"). A musette in C minor with two successive melodies ( airs ) to imitate hurdy-gurdy hurdy-gurdy , with Bourdon (" drone ") on the left hand . The second air, at a slightly faster pace, represents the intrusive behavior of the beggars.
  • Troisième Acte. Les Jongleurs, Sauteurs, et Saltimbanques: avec les Ours, et les Singes. ("Third act: the jugglers, tightrope walkers and jugglers, with the bears and monkeys.") A happy melody in 3/8 time in C major, with the humming bass from the previous part being retained. How to play: Légérement ("Easy").
  • Quatrième Acte. Les Invalides: ou gens Estropiés au service de la grande Mxnxstrxndxsx. ("Fourth act: The invalids or cripples in the service of the great Mxnxstrxndxsx.") A sarabande in C minor. The dotted rhythms symbolize the handicaps of the disloqués (“cripples”) in the right hand and the boiteux (“limping”) in the left hand.
  • Cinquième Acte. Désordre, et déroute de toute la troupe: causés par les Yvrognes, les Singes, et les Ours. ("Fifth act: disorder and dissolution of the entire troupe, caused by the drunks, the monkeys and bears.") Virtuoso finale in C major in increasing tempo, first in 4/8, then in 6/8 time. Finally, Les béquilles ("The crutches") are shown. How to play: Très vite (“Very quickly”).

A performance of the entire suite takes about ten minutes.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ménéstrandise, in: Encyclopedie Universalis (French)
  2. ↑ Florence Gétreau: François Couperin, la Grande et ancienne Ménéstrandise

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