I am very delighted to announce that my composition DOUCE DAME JOLIE - REVISITED (after Guillaume de Machaut) has been chosen as the 1st division test piece of the ONFK 2027.
Read more here:

DOUCE DAME JOLIE – REVISITED (after Guillaume de Machaut)
For Fanfare Orchestra
Douce Dame Jolie" (Sweet, Lovely Lady) is one of the most famous
medieval secular songs and a definitive example of a monophonic
virelai composed by Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) around
the mid-14th century. Written in the Ars Nova musical style, it is a
masterclass in the formes fixes structure and remains a highly popular
medieval tune performed today.
A virelai is a traditional medieval French verse and musical form. It is
characterized by alternating long and short lines, a limited set of two
rhymes per stanza, and a recurring refrain.
Originating in the 13th century from popular dance songs, the virelai is
one of the three formes fixes (fixed forms) of medieval lyric poetry,
alongside the ballade and the rondeau.

Structure & Form Analysis:

The song follows the standard AbbaA structural framework
characteristic of the early virelai:
• The Refrain (A): The song begins with the iconic hook "Douce
dame jolie, pour dieu ne pensés mie..." set to a distinct melody
(A).
• The Stanza (bba): The stanza is divided into three sections. The
first two sections share a new melody (b) but use different text.
The third section returns to the original melody (a) of the refrain
but introduces new text, naturally leading back into the full refrain
(A).
• The Rhyme Constriction: Machaut showcases his poetic
prowess by limiting the entire piece to only two sounds
rhyming (-ie and -ment).
So much for the history and structure of the Virelai “Douce Dame, Jolie“
.
Now to my composition:

As the addition of "Revisited" already suggests, I have, on the one
hand, reworked this Machaut Virelai in a variety of ways, but on the other
hand, I have consciously kept it close to the original in order to 1.
preserve the recognizability of the original text and 2. to allow the listener
to directly derive my harmonic, contrapuntal, and tonal changes
(mutations) from the original in a way that is comprehensible.
Thus, despite all the changes, a broad arc spans the entire composition,
which repeatedly draws on the refrain and stanza of the original song.
While the original song is heard at the beginning—rather tentatively—
more and more notes outside the chords are added later.
Themes A and B are lengthened and shortened, and the structure ranges
from a four-part—later five-part—fugue to two quartets (refrain), in a
chamber music style, first played by a saxophone quartet, then by a
brass quartet (E-flat trumpet, B-flat trumpet, F horn, and tuba).
A tranquil middle section (very melodious), built upon the B theme, is
particularly captivating due to alternating solo passages underpinned by
dense soundscapes, which themselves arise from clusters of notes from
the B theme.
The tempo gradually increases again, culminating in a four-minute
Allegro (with verve, quarter note = 160). Wild sixteenth notes above and
below themes A and B (often played in canon) are accompanied by
colorful orchestration and driving rhythms, further intensified by a lively
and varied percussion section.

"Douce Dame Jolie – Revisited" is a commission from the Orkest
Koninklijke Marechaussee and its conductor, Capt. Ido G. Kempenaar.

Publisher: Bronsheim Music (www.bronsheimmusic.nl)