Cest à grant tort

Claudin de Sermisy’s C’est à grant tort is a four-part chanson, a secular vocal genre popular in the Renaissance. The SATB voices enter in imitation, creating a rich, polyphonic texture characteristic of the period. The music closely follows the lamenting text, with melodic lines and harmonic progressions designed to express the singer’s sorrow. The composer captures the text’s sense of being unfairly treated and overburdened by suffering. The interplay between the voices supports the contrapuntal nature of the chanson, while still allowing the text to be clearly articulated. This setting demonstrates the high craftsmanship of French secular music from the era.