A species of song popular in France during the late 17th century and the 18th. It has been claimed that the name derives from the refrain (‘Ah, petite Brunette! Ah, tu me fais mourir’) of the song Le beau berger Tirsis, which became very popular (see GMB, no.217). Such airs, usually in bipartite form (generally for one to three voices with or without accompaniment), are characterized by tender sentiments and references to young brunettes, although the latter are not mentioned in every piece of this name. Melodic variations, often introduced into the later verses, were sometimes included in publications of brunettes, as in those issued in Paris by the firm of Ballard between 1703 and 1711. Chambonnières and D’Anglebert made some use of brunette melodies in their harpsichord pieces.
The brunette bore the same relationship to the Italian Baroque aria as did the romance to the lied in the 19th century; in its simplicity and elegance it was regarded as quintessentially French. Its many champions (including Montéclair and L’Affilard) regarded it as the perfect means of developing ‘taste’ because of the sensitivity demanded from the performer. A number of brunettes were also reworked as instrumental pieces, especially for teaching purposes. The brunette remained popular until well into the second half of the 18th century. Pierre de La Garde, for example, published in Paris in 1764 three volumes of his brunettes in which the accompaniment could be played on the harpsichord, guitar or harp and in some cases the violin too.
LaBordeE
MGG2 (H. Schneider)
P.-M. Masson: ‘Les brunettes’, SIMG, xii (1910–11), 362–8
G. Cammaert: ‘Les brunettes’, RBM, xi (1957), 35–51
E. Schwandt: ‘L’Affilard’s Published Sketchbooks’, MQ, lxiii (1977), 99–113
J. Fiedler: ‘Brunettes ou petits airs tendres: Unterrichts- und Unterhaltungsmusik des französischen Baroque’, Basler Jb für historische Musikpraxis, xii (1988), 65–79
DAVID TUNLEY