Je suis content

Cornelius Canis's Je suis content is a four-part secular chanson from the Renaissance. The music opens with a homorhythmic texture, with all four voices moving together in a clear declamation of the text. Soon, however, the voices begin to weave around each other in imitation, creating a richer, more contrapuntal fabric. The text, in French, speaks of a lover's despair, unable to please his beloved and forced to weep. He longs for the day when her heart might soften, bringing him happiness. The straightforward, diatonic harmony and clear melodic lines give the piece a generally cheerful, if textually melancholic, character.