Fors vous nentens

Benedictus Appenzeller was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. This secular chanson, sung in five parts by STTTB voices, comes from a period rich in polyphonic secular song. The French text expresses a devoted and exclusive love, with the singer declaring that no other mistress or lord exists for him, only his beloved goddess. He finds his sole beatitude in remaining in her service, contemplating her beauty ceaselessly. The composer captures the earnestness of these sentiments through imitative polyphony and a clear melodic line, characteristic of the chanson tradition of its era.