This edition was prepared by Adrian Wall — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Changeons propos
Staff Notation • Secular, Chansons
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Changeons propos by Nicolas Gombert — Lyrics
Changeons propos, c'est trop chanté d'amours:
Ce sont clamours, chantons de la Serpette:
Tous Vignerons ont à elle recours,
C'est leur secours pour tailler la Vignette.
O Serpillette, ô la Serpillonnette,
La Vignolette est par toy mise sus,
Dont les bons Vins tous les ans sont yssus.
Le Dieu Vulcain forgeron des haults Dieux,
Forgea aux Cieulx la Serpe bien taillante
De fin acier trempé en bon vin vieulx,
Pour tailler mieulx, et estre plus vaillante:
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About Changeons propos
Nicolas Gombert's chanson Changeons propos is a secular work for six voices (SATTBB). The text, in French, turns away from complaints about love to celebrate the 'Serpette', a pruning knife essential for grape harvesting. The lyrics praise the tool, explaining that all vintners rely on it, and describe how Vulcan forged it for cutting vines. Bacchus and Silenus are invoked, highlighting the connection between wine, the harvest, and this vital implement. Gombert's setting would have been part of the vibrant secular chanson tradition of the Renaissance, where intricate polyphony was often applied to everyday or topical subjects.
