Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie
General Information
- Audio Recording (CSULB Symphonic Band)
- Perusal Score (actual scores are tabloid format [11"x17"])
- Difficulty: IV
- Duration: c. 4:00
Instrumentation
- Soprano Recorder (optional)
- Piccolo
- Flute
- Oboe
- English Horn*
- Bassoon
- B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
- B-flat Bass Clarinet
- E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- E-flat Baritone Saxophone
- B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
- Horn in F I-II
- Tenor Trombone I-II
- Euphonium
- Tuba
- Acoustic Guitar (optional)
- String Bass
- Piano
- Timpani
- Percussion I
- Percussion II
- SATB Lead Sheet (optional)
Percussion Instruments Needed
- Cymbals (suspended)
- Tambourine
- Tenor Drum (or Field Drum)
- Triangle
Program Notes
Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie (“Beautiful one who holds my life”) was a popular and stately pavane from the sixteenth century. Essentially a love song, the seven stanzas of text from the original are typical of Renaissance songs, dealing with unrequited love. It is interesting to note that this particular pavane is the only one Arbeau wrote in four parts, his other music being melody (in one part) only. The first stanza, presented here in the original French, translates to: “Beautiful one who holds my life, captive in your eyes, who has ravished my soul with a gracious smile. Come to my aid, or I must die.”
Thoinot Arbeau was the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot. Born in 1519 in Dijon, France, Tabourot is best known for his Orchésographie, a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance in which he includes “dance tabulations.” These tabulations were extensive instructions for the steps of each dance lined up next to the musical notes, an astounding innovation in dance notation at that time. Tabourot died in Langres in 1595. Music from Orchésographie has been used as the basis for many other works, including Agon, Igor Stravinsky’s final ballet, and Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite.