Clément Janequin (ca 1485-1558) was a French composer of chansons, masses, motets and psalm settings. Around 400 of his works have survived. His best-known compositions are the large “sonoric frescoes” “La Guerre” (“The Battle of Marignan”), “Le Chant des oyseaux” (“The Song of the Birds”) and “La Chasse” (“The Hunt”). Janequin was a contemporary, and in many respects a counterpart, of Rabelais.

The newest and most complete analysis of Janequin’s life and works is Clément Janequin: French Composer at the Dawn of Music Publishing by Rolf Norsen (Boydell and Brewer / University of Rochester Press, 2024). For more information on the book and its author, click here.

This website is a supplement, by the same author, to that volume, and is organized in six sections, two of which (Secular music and Sacred music) are complete and running, and four sections (Documents, Sources, Authenticity Studies and Legacy) that will become fully functional in conjunction with the May 14, 2024 release of Clément Janequin: French Composer at the Dawn of Music Publishing.

Secular music contains additions and revisions to the labors of François Lesure and A. Tillman Merritt, whose 1965-71 Clément Janequin: chansons polyphoniques (Editions Oiseau-lyre) remains the authoritative edition of Janequin’s secular chansons.

Sacred music contains the first complete edition of all of Janequin’s sacred works (including those in which only fragments have survived) with sources and commentaries.

Documents contains original and translated versions of documents central to Janequin research.

Sources has sections on Conflicting Attributions, Challenged Attributions, Lost Sources and Phantoms, and Candidates to the Canon.

Authenticity Studies contains a selection of in-depth studies on historical and attributional topics.

Legacy contains articles tracing the reception of Janequin’s compositions through five centuries, including instances of his influence on later composers.