French music

France has also produced some striking jazz musicians – above all, Django Reinhardt.

But it’s in classical music that France has made the biggest impact. French music is one of the three major European traditions, alongside Italian and German. And French musicians first became prominent in the medieval period.

The first notable composer in classical music was a Frenchman called Perotin, who worked at the great cathedral of Notre Dame. Here’s a section of his immense vocal piece Sederunt Principes.

The next great period for French music was the baroque era (see our article on baroque music). The great figures of the time were Lully, Couperin, Charpentier and Rameau. In the classical period, France was somewhat overshadowed by Austria, but it became important again in the romantic era with the rise to prominence of composers including Berlioz, Franck and Massenet. Two of the greatest figures in modern music were also French: Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen.

Notice how, in French musical history, the really great periods are separated by long gaps. This has led some people to say that there’s no such thing as French musical tradition. But there are certainly elements of French music that make it sound French. One common trait is a fondness for ornamentation, ie decorating harmonies or melodies with ‘little’ notes that add colour and spice.

Another quality that makes French music special is the interesting way it combines instrumental colours. Listen to this excerpt from Berlioz’s Romeo et Juliette, where Berlioz gets really unusual colours from the orchestra.