Celeste
\nHutchins<\/p>\n
Proseminar<\/p>\n
Final
\nPaper<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In
\nthe spring of 1429, things looked bleak for Orl\u00e9ans. The English had nearly encircled the city. They held several defensive
\nfortifications, including a tower on the bridge, Tourelles. They had constructed several
\nfortifications called boulevards. Efforts to free the city, such as the Battle of the Herrings had ended
\ndisastrously. The duc d’Or\u00e9lans
\nwas in an English prison, awaiting ransom. "By March 1429, Orleans seemed ready to fall at he next
\nserious push." (Pernoud 9) When the city of Orl\u00e9ans fell, the entirety of
\nthe French loyalist side would collapse with it. It seemed only to be a matter of time before the English
\nwere victorious over all of France.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On
\nApril 29th of that year, supplies and troops were sent to the besieged
\ncity. Among them was an unusual
\nyoung woman, known as the Pucelle. Only a few days later, on May 8th, the English withdrew from the city,
\nafter a series of decisive battles. These victories were attributed to La Pucelle. Pernoud writes, "At the moment that the English were
\nraising the siege and withdrawing from Orl\u00e9ans, the inhabitants of the city
\norganizes solemn processions to thank god and the patron saints of the city,
\nSts. Aignan and Euverte. This
\nspontaneous thanksgiving celebration became a procession that continues today,
\nevery May 8." (p 243)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nraising of the Siege of Orl\u00e9ans was the beginning of the end for the
\nEnglish. By the end of 1453, the
\nhundred years war was finally over and Charles VII was king. Orl\u00e9ans continues to celebrate its part
\nin this victory through its annual festivities and La Pucelle who aided
\nthem. Today, Orl\u00e9ans is home to
\nmany statues and monuments of Jeanne d’Arc. The cathedral that she prayed at in between battles has an
\naltar dedicated to her and series of stained glass windows depicting scenes
\nfrom her life. There is a Rue d’
\nJeanne d’Arc, a Jeanne d’Arc cafe, a Jean d’Arc Chocolatier, and the academic
\nCentre Jeanne d’Arc.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At
\nsome point, a mystery play, Le Mistere du Siege d’Orl\u00e9ans,<\/i> was composed about the raising of the siege.
\nMystery plays are a genre depicting history. Knight writes, <\/p>\n
The Mystery plays, taken as a
\nwhole corpus, dramatized universal history from creation to doomsday . . ..
\n[T]he mystery plays were historical in sense that they were externally
\nreferential and that their linear model of time had displaced the cyclical
\nmodel of time in the liturgy. They
\nwere the collective memory of late medieval Christendom . . . (p 19)<\/p>\n
True
\nto its genre, the Siege<\/i> depicts
\nan actual historical event. However, Hamblin notes, “the creation of such a
\nplay based on contemporary historical events still burning in the memory of the
\nparticipants and the spectators, represents a true departure from standard
\nsubject matter.” (p 59-60) Bertrin writes in the Catholic Encyclopedia that the
\nSiege<\/i> is only one of “only two
\nprofane mysteries which have been preserved.” However, this is a modern
\ndistinction. Knight writes, “the religious-profane dichotomy constitutes a
\nmethodological error” (p 14) and that medieval people did not “make the same
\ndistinction between religious and profane that we make today.” (p 14) The main generic differentiations
\nbetween dramas thus does not hinge on the holiness, but in this, case, on
\nhistoricity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This
\nplay Le Mistere du Siege d’Orl\u00e9ans<\/i>
\nhas never been performed in its current form, according to the staff at the
\nCentre Jeanne d’Arc. Hamblin
\nwrites that it “is nowhere mentioned in fifteenth-century writings.” (p v)
\nHowever, its roots may lie in the May 8th festivities, specifically
\nin 1435. Hamblin writes,
\n“Undoubtedly, some kind of dramatic presentation did occur in 1435 . . .. This
\npresentation . . . took place ‘durant la procession,’ as part of the
\ncelebration.” (p 26) The 1435
\npresentation indicated “a growing secular interest in the celebration.” (p
\n27) This interest may have been
\npartially financed by Gilles de Laval, seigneur de Rais, otherwise known as
\nBluebeard. “Depositions taken from his inheritors reveal that Rais financed
\nseveral myst\u00e8res<\/i>, one of which
\nwas in Orl\u00e9ans, where he spent nearly the entire year of 1435.” (p 28-9) Hamblin goes on to note that Rais’
\ninvolvement with the play, could explain why “no more mention is made . . . of
\nany re-enactment of the Tourelles battle after 1439,” (p 29) as Rais was executed
\nin 1440.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nauthorship of the Siege<\/i> is also
\nuncertain. Hamblin writes, “no
\nsingle author stands out as the most likely source of the Siege<\/i>” and there is a “possibility that the work is
\nrather a compilation of the endeavors of several writers, and perhaps several
\ndifferent time periods.” (p 16) Thus, the play possibly commissioned by Rais may have evolved into the Siege<\/i> as it now exists. The writer or writers was probably a resident of
\nOrl\u00e9ans. “The author would have
\nhad to be either native to Orl\u00e9ans or very familiar with and very dedicated to
\nthis final stronghold of Loyalists in the Hundred Years\u2019 War.” (p 10) The Siege<\/i> names “locations which only local residents would
\nhave recognized.” (p 46)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thus,
\nwe have an obscure play with a processional background. It is not a small play, however. Hamblin writes, “It is a myst\u00e8re<\/i> of considerable length, involving more than 120
\nspeaking roles in twenty different sites.” (p 4) Later, she says, “[In] order to recreate the Siege<\/i> in its present form, we would need ships,
\nfortresses, tents, break-away towers, walls, a bridge with detachable parts, a
\nriver and an ocean, a means for hovering saints above the stage, canons and
\nvarious dead bodies (one of which can lose its head at will).” (p 54) It’s no wonder that the present form of
\nthe play has never been produced.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There
\nis only one extant copy of the Siege<\/i>. It "is preserved in a single paper manuscript, now in the
\nRegina collection of the Vatican, but formerly in the library of Fleury."
\n(Frank 203) “There are no
\nembellishments or adornments whatsoever in the manuscript.” (Hamblin p 83)
\nFrank writes, "Our manuscript betrays much interest in the complicated
\nstaging and music required by the play . . .. Detailed rubrics . . . also
\nindicate exactly which instruments are to be played during the
\nintermissions." (p 206) Despite this attention to musical detail, there is
\nno sheet music with the manuscript.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Siege,<\/i> however, does mention one chant by name, in folio 354r. Hamblin summarizes the action at this point
\nin the play:<\/p>\n
On Saturday,
\nMay 7, the French attack the defense line of the Tourelles. A heavy battle ensues, and the Pucelle
\nis wounded. She encourages the
\nsoldiers, who go on to victory. Glasidas and others fall into the Loire and drown. The French enter Orl\u00e9ans victorious and
\ncelebrate the English loss. (92)<\/p>\n
This is the high point of action in the play and
\nthe victory considered most miraculous. According to audio in the Maison de Jeanne d\u2019Arc, the French forces were
\nabout to quit the attack for the day, when a badly wounded Jeanne came rushing
\nback to the battle, waving her standard and leading the French to victory. She had also made a prediction that
\n“Glasidas” [sic] would die without bleeding. The day after this battle, in the play and historically, the
\nEnglish retreat to the nearby town of Meung. Therefore it is the battle of Tourelles that raises the
\nsiege. It is also the battle that
\nwas re-enacted as a part of the annual thanksgiving procession. This may be the oldest part of the Myst\u00e8re<\/i> and if so, the author probably remembered the
\nbattle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In line 13638, the last line on the night of May
\n7th, La Pucelle orders the town to chant Te Deum laudamus<\/i>: “Toute la nuit faites sonner Toutes vos cloches en tous lieux, Et \u00e0
\nforte voix sans reserve Chantez Te Deum laudamus<\/i>.” (Gros 821) The people must
\nplay their bells and chant in a strong voice and without reserve all through
\nthe night. Te Deum<\/i> was a widely known and a widely used chant in the
\nMiddle Ages, “sung at the end of Matins on Sundays and feast days . . .. It has
\nalso been used as a processional chant, the conclusion for a liturgical drama,
\na song of thanksgiving on an occasion such as the consecration of a bishop, and
\na hymn of victory on the battlefield.” (Steiner) This usage is clearly as a hymn of victory on the
\nbattlefield as far as the rubrics of the play are concerned. However, since the play also has a
\nprocessional background, the chant is doubly appropriate. The Siege<\/i> is certainly not a liturgical drama, but the
\nsigning of Te Deum<\/i> may still
\nhave been recognized as a dramatic cue. The play does not end at this point,
\nbut it lacks mentions of specific points to break off for the night. Perhaps this is a logical place to quit
\nuntil the next day. The usage of Te
\nDeum<\/i> thus arises not only
\nnaturally out of the rubrics and out of history, but exists in other contexts
\nas well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In actual fact, the historical document, the Journal
\nof the Siege of Orl\u00e9ans,<\/i> reports
\nthat “All the clergy and the people of Orl\u00e9ans devoutly sang Te Deum laudamus<\/i> and rang all the city bells, very humbly thanking
\nOur Lord for this glorious divine consolation” (Pernoud p 48) Thus, the Myst\u00e9re<\/i>, as the name – and the genre – implies, presents
\nhistory as the writer and the intended actors would have remembered it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The rubrics of the play in a pause immediately
\nbelow La Pucelle\u2019s lines state, “Alors ici il y une grande pause et un grand
\nbruit dans la ville, de joie et de vif plaisir; toute la nuit sonnerie de
\ncloches, sonnerie de trompettes et cris: ‘No\u00ebl!'” (Gros 821) Here is a large pause and a great joyous noise in
\nthe city: all night bells are rung, trumpets are sounded and people cry,
\n“No\u00ebl!” The play looks like a
\nhistorical document here, unless the playwright actually expected people to
\nblow trumpets all night, or perhaps, as speculated above, he was envisioning
\nputting a break for the night at this point.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The performance practice of Te Deum<\/i> would have used the sort of instrumentation
\ncontained in the rubrics of the play and recommended by La Pucelle. “[A]
\nfestive performance of the Te Deum <\/i>was
\nnormally accompanied by instruments (in particular organ and bells), the normal
\nconcomitant of which would be polyphony of some kind. Nevertheless, such
\npolyphony was essentially improvised . . .. 15th-century settings are rare.”
\n(Steiner) Although, she goes on, there is a setting by Binchois. Thus, historically, the bells of the
\ntown were rung, but in the rubrics of the play cloches, defined by Pocket
\nManual of Musical Terms<\/i> as
\n“chimes” (Baker p 56), were used to improvise polyphony. This is the only playing of cloches in
\nthe play.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The bells of the village are indicated in the play
\nin other pauses. There is a typical usage after line 2414, “le beffroi de la
\nville sonnera sans cesser durant l’assaut.” (Gros p 165) The bells of the village ring
\nunceasingly during the attack. The
\nbeffroi always function in this play as indicators of battle. They need not indicate that a battle is
\nhappening, but can also ring when a battle is about to occur, as a cue for the
\narmy to assemble. For example, after line 5242, “Alors le beffroi de la ville
\nsonnera et ceux de la ville sortiront.” (Gros p 349) The bells, or belfry, of the city will sound and the
\ncitizens will leave. They are
\nleaving, of course, to go fight a battle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Another particular type of battle bell is the
\ntocsin, or the alarm bell. In the
\npause after line 12174, “Et \u00e0
\nSaint-Loup une cloche sonnera le tocsin, et l’on criera: ‘Alarme!'” (Gros p 775) And in the fortress of
\nSaint-Loup an alarm bell will sound and someone will cry, “Alarm!” This is the only tocsin in the Siege<\/i>. The
\nringers of it are the English, who are occupying Saint-Loup and whom the French
\nare attacking.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Also linked to armies and battles is the clairon,
\nthe instrument called for second most often. What sort of instrument is meant by “clairon” is not clear.
\nNon-musicians, when commenting on the Siege<\/i>, translate this as bugle. This is a logical translation because
\nthe clarions are so often associated with the army in the play. However, since the subject matter of
\nthe play is a military victory, most things in it have at least some
\nassociation to the army. If this
\nwas a bugle, then it was a signal horn, made out of a cow\u2019s horn. (Baines) It would have played bugle calls, such as signals to attack,
\nretreat, assemble, etc. As a
\nnatural horn, it only would have been able to play overtones of the fundamental
\npitch, just as modern bugle calls only use harmonics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gros, when translating the Siege<\/i> from Old French to modern French, leaves the old
\nFrench word clairon intact. The
\nmodern French word clairon unequivocally refers to a bugle. The Old French word may have had a
\ndifferent meaning. In fact, there
\nexisted a separate term for bugles. Baines begins his bugle article with the entomology for the world
\n‘bugle’, “In the Middle Ages a not very common Old French word (also cor
\nbugl\u00e8r, bugleret)<\/i> for a small
\nbovine signaling horn.” Thus there
\nexisted, although not in wide usage, a term that specifically referred to
\nbugles. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Another possible definition of clairon is “The high
\nregister of a trumpet; in its variant forms, the term also designates a kind of
\ntrumpet.” (Dahlqvist) The Pocket
\nManual of Musical Terms<\/i> defines it
\nas “a small, shrill-toned trumpet.” (Baker p 55) This term has it\u2019s own entomology. It comes “[f]rom the medieval Latin clario
\n<\/i>and claro<\/i>, the French form ‘claron’ was developed, and in
\nthe 14th century such forms as ‘clairin’, ‘clarin’, ‘clerain’, ‘clerin’,
\n‘clairon’ (with the diminutives ‘claroncel’, ‘claronchiel’ etc.) began to appear.
\n‘Clairon’ became the most common of these.” (Dalhqvist) The term ‘clairon’ is
\nthe one used by the playwright or the Siege<\/i>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are reasons to believe that the rubrics of
\nthe Siege<\/i> could have been
\nintended to refer either to a short, shrill trumpet, or to the high register of
\na normal trumpet. “During the
\nMiddle Ages trumpeters played in the low register. Johannes de Grocheo wrote (De
\nmusica, c1300<\/i>) that only the first
\nfour partials of the harmonic series were used, a fact corroborated by the
\nearliest surviving trumpet music.” (Tarr, ‘Trumpet’) Thus, if the trumpets in the Siege<\/i> are only playing in the low register, and the
\nplaywright wanted a sound in the higher register, he would be able to so
\nindicate in the rubrics by specifically calling for a clairon sound. Or,
\nperhaps, it was a separate instrument, “Very often clairon and trompette (or
\nthe like) are mentioned in pairs, suggesting two distinct instrument forms. In
\n1468, for example, Margaret of York was greeted ‘\u00e0 son de trompes et de clarons’.”
\n(Dahlqvist) Similarly, “trompettes
\net clairons” is oft repeated in the rubrics of the Siege<\/i>. In
\nfact, the clairon is never mentioned without also calling for trumpets. Untangling exactly what instrument the
\nplaywright intended to specify is probably impossible, or at least, beyond the
\nscope of this paper. Dahlqvist
\nstates, “The precise meaning of these terms may never be understood
\ncompletely.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One example of the clairon being used as a
\nsignaling instrument occurs in lines 5595-5. Talbot says, “Allons, trompettes et clairons, Sonnez pour
\nassembler l’arm\u00e9e.” (Gros p 371) Go trumpets and clarions, sound to assemble the army. Interestingly, the rubrics immediately
\nfollowing Talbot\u2019s speech call for trumpets to be played \u2013 but not clairons. “Alors
\nsonneront les trompettes des Anglais, et ils s’assembleront pour venir
\nassaillir Orl\u00e9ans.” (Gros p. 371) Then the trumpets of the English will sound and they will be assembled
\nto go attack Orl\u00e9ans. This may be
\nan error on the part of the copyist. Hamblin documents many copyist errors and notes that it is the nature of
\nhand-copied documents to contain errors. However, if it is not an error, it shows that trumpets alone are enough
\nto signal the army, and thus casts doubt on translating \u201cclairon\u201d to \u201cbugle.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A similar omission occurs around line 15907. La Pucelle says, “Allons! trompettes et
\nclairons! Pour donner courage et vigueur Aux Fran\u00e7ais tr\u00e8s loyaux et bons . .
\n..” (Gros p 875) Go trumpets and
\nclairons! To give courage to the
\nvery honest and good French . . .. The pause immediately below however calls
\nfor ” . . . trompettes et d’autres instruments.” Trumpets and the other instruments. If clairons refer to army bugles, it is
\nperhaps unlikely that they would be played during an instrumental break, since
\ntheir function is to play signal calls. The “other instruments” could refer to
\norgans, stringed instruments, bells or other instruments not specifically
\nmentioned in the rubrics of the play. These might make an unlikely paring with bugles.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clairons are also played during military
\nparades. For example, after line
\n12198, “Alors elle viendra \u00e0 Orl\u00e9ans: une pause. – Et tous en bon ordre –
\nclairons, trompettes -, am\u00e8nent foison de prisonniers avec les croix rouges,
\nligot\u00e9s;” (Gros p 777) Then La Pucelle will come to Orl\u00e9ans: a pause. And with trumpets and clairons playing,
\nbound English prisoners will enter in good order. Thus, the French are triumphantly marching English prisoners
\n(with red crosses) into Orl\u00e9ans. In a pause after line 12678, the French again march with clairons,
\n“Alors, ici une pause de trompettes, clairons. \u2013 Et tous, en ordre harmonieux,
\nleurs \u00e9tendards d\u00e9ploy\u00e9s,
\npartent; ils iront, descendre de cheval au droit des Bouterons, et l\u00e0 se
\nrassembleront tous.” (Gros p 795) Then, here a pause of trumpets, bugles. – And all will leave, in harmonious
\norder, with their standards unfurled; they will go, down from their horses, to
\nthe right of Bouterons, and will all gather there.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The English army also marches with clairons. The pause after line 8954 indicates,
\n“Alors ils arriveront joyeusement avec trompettes, clairons; Talbot et d’autres
\nvont au-devant d’eux.” (Gros p. 569) Then they will joyfully arrive with trumpets and clairons. Talbot and others will go ahead of
\nthem. In addition, battles and
\nother military actions, such as gathering their arms or putting on armor also
\ncall for clairons.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Because the clairon is never played without
\ntrumpets, trumpets fill the same roles as the clairons. Trumpets alone may be specified in
\ncontexts that in other pauses call for trumpets and clairons. For instance, sometimes trumpets alone
\nare played to assemble the army. Trumpets, however, are called for far more often than clairons,
\nsometimes in contexts where clairons are not used. No less than forty-seven pauses specifically indicate that
\ntrumpets should play. As noted
\nabove, trumpets were played in the low range. “Medieval trumpeters puffed out their cheeks when blowing
\nand produced a tone that was described as airy and trembling, not unlike the vibrato
\nproduced by a boy soprano.” (Tarr, ‘Trumpet’) The trumpets of the time were sometimes straight and
\nsometimes folded. \u201cShortly before 1400 instrument makers learned to bend brass
\ntubing . . ..\u201d (Tarr, \u2018Slide Trumpet\u2019)
\nIt is possible that, in order to get more pitch variety, the playwright
\nmay have intended to use – or at
\nleast not objected to \u2013 slide trumpets. “The single-slide trumpet seems to have
\nbeen introduced . . . \u2013 according to Polk (1997) between 1400
\nand 1420, probably first in Burgundy, then in the Cologne-Flanders area \u2013 and
\nwas soon ubiquitous. It was used until the invention of the double slide around
\n1490.” (Tarr, ‘Slide Trumpet’) Of
\ncourse, the Burgundians sided with the English during the Hundred Years War,
\nmaking it tempting to speculate that the instrument may have been tainted by
\nthis association. The playwright
\nsimply calls for “trompettes,” but what other name he might have used to refer
\nto the new instrument is not clear to modern scholars. “Terminology and nomenclature in a
\nperiod of transition are always problematic. Early mentions of ‘pusun’, for
\nexample in Basle in 1410, could refer to either the long straight trumpet or
\nperhaps the slide trumpet; ‘trompette saicqueboute’, in Burgundy in 1468,
\nprobably meant a slide trumpet . . ..” (Tarr, ‘Slide Trumpet’) <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One place that trumpets are called for, but
\nclairons are not, is to play some specific signal calls to the army, such as
\nsounding a retreat. For example,
\nin the pause following line 2950, the rubrics indicate, “Ensuite ici les
\ntrompettes des Fran\u00e7ais sonneront une retraite . . ..” (Gros p 197) Then, here, the French trumpets will sound a retreat. This use of trumpets and not clairons
\nto play a specific signal call is additional evidence that the clairons were
\nnot bugles. This usage of trumpets
\nis part of the action of the play. Instead of providing a musical pause, the trumpet playing advances the
\nplot. There are other examples of
\nthis sort of usage, for instance, heraldry. In line 15665, Lord John instructs his herald to quickly
\ntake his trumpet and make an announcement to the town. “H\u00e9raut, prenez votre trompette Vite,
\net veuillez \u00e9couter . . .” (Gros p 861) The following pause indicates that the
\nherald plays the trumpet and then makes the announcement. “Alors il sonnera la trompette; ensuite
\nil dit:” (Gros p 861)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For the most part, trumpets are played alone in the
\nsame contexts that they are paired with clairons. That is, they are played during battles, marches, and to
\nassemble the army. They also
\nappear in victory celebrations, for example, when the town chants Te Deum<\/i> and during the plundering of the defeated town of
\nJargeau in the pause after line 16642, “les trompettes sonneront, et la ville
\nde Jargeau sera pill\u00e9e: vaisselle d’argent, \u00e9tain, lits, meubles meublants,
\ndraps, couvertures et tous autres ustensiles de m\u00e9nage . . ..” The trumpets will sound and the town of
\nJargeau will be plundered: silver plate, tin, furniture, cloths, covers and all
\nother household utensils. This
\nrubric, like one that calls for trumpets and clairons, also calls for prisoners
\nto be marched out by the army.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The third most-oft appearing musical instrument is
\nthe organ. Unlike, bells,
\nclairons, and trumpets, the organ fills a purely musical role and is not part
\nof the action of the play. It is
\nfirst called for in folio 171. Hamblin summarizes the action at this point in
\nthe play: <\/p>\n
Charles
\nkneels and prays to God that He have pity on France. Nostre Dame, Saints
\nMichel, Euvertre and Aignan convince God that Charles is sincere. He sends
\nMichel to Barrois, where a young girl will be given the mission of winning the
\nsiege of Orl\u00e9ans. The French, because of their loss of faith, will have no
\npersonal glory in the victory. (p
\n90)<\/p>\n
The pause occurs after God speaks on line 7066, ordering
\nSt. Michel to go to La Pucelle. The rubrics say, “Pause d’orgues. Et il vient aupr\u00e8s de la Pucelle
\noccup\u00e9e \u00e0 garder les brebis de son p\u00e8re et \u00e0 coudre du linge.” (Gros p 459) Pause of organs. And then he goes to the Pucelle, who is
\noccupied keeping her father’s ewes and sewing linen. Thus the organ plays while Michel descends from heaven,
\npossibly a separate stage from where La Pucelle is spinning wool, or, at the
\nvery least, requiring a scene change. Gros attaches a footnote to “orgues,”
\nwhere he states, “Pour le premi\u00e8re fois, dans le Myst\u00e9re, ce sont les orgues
\nqui se font entendre durant la pause Aussi bien le ciel rend-il alors visite \u00e0
\nla terre: le veritable nature de la mission de Jeanne se pr\u00e9cise.” (p 459) For
\nthe first time in the play it is the organs which we hear in the pause. It is at this time that the heavens
\nvisit the earth and reveal the precise nature of Jeanne’s mission. Thus Gros implies a connection between
\nthe organ and themes of holiness. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As this scene was most likely not intended to be
\nperformed in a church, the organ called for is a portative organ. These small, “easily transported
\norgan[s],” (Seay p 73) have “a keyboard of up to two octaves.” (Owen) Seay
\ndescribes the portative as, “[s]mall and capable of being worked by one man
\nwithout assistance, it carried none of the religious overtones associated with
\nits larger [church organ] brother.” (p 73) However, the rubrics only call for organs on four occasions,
\nall of which invoke God. The
\nplaywright clearly intends his choice of instrument to convey religious
\novertones, as Gros states.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Seay goes on to describe the performance practice
\nof the portative organ. “Since one
\nhand of the executant was occupied in building up the air pressure, its
\nposition was not that of a polyphonic instrument, but one used in group
\nperformance, as a member of chamber combinations.” (p 73) Hence, the playwright specifies
\nmultiple organs for the pause.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Finally, string instruments are mentioned once in
\nthe rubrics of the Siege<\/i>. The pause after line 17614 says, “Pause
\nde trompettes, de musiciens jouant d’instruments \u00e0 cordes, et d’autres
\ninstruments. – Puis apr\u00e8s,
\nle messager arrive devant le roi et dit:” (Gros p 911) Pause of trumpets,
\nmusicians playing of string instruments, and other instruments. – Then after, the messenger arrives in
\nfront of the king and speaks. In
\nher summary of the action in this folio, Hamblin writes, “A messenger reports
\nto Charles on the progress made by the French army.” (p 93) This scene takes place at court. The unique mention of strings and other
\ninstruments helps distinguish court musically from outdoor scenes with the
\narmy. Of course, the court scene
\nwould be performed outdoors along with the rest of the play. The music helps provide cues to the
\naudience about the scene.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the very end of the Siege<\/i>, “Jehanne again admonishes the citizens to thank
\nGod for these victories, and to conduct processions in memory of the victories
\ngranted them for God.” (Hamblin p 93) Loyal to Jehanne\u2019s wishes, the citizens of Orl\u00e9ans have not forgotten
\nthe procession, but unfortunately, have neglected the play. The recent publication of Gros’
\ntranslation into modern French may spark popular interest. Perhaps the Siege<\/i>, after so many centuries, will finally have a
\nperformance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Musical Interludes in the Myst\u00e8re du Si\u00e8ge d’Orl\u00e9ans Celeste Hutchins Proseminar Final Paper In the spring of 1429, things looked bleak for Orl\u00e9ans. The English had nearly encircled the city. They held several defensive fortifications, including a tower on the bridge, Tourelles. They had constructed several fortifications called boulevards. Efforts to free the city, … Continue reading <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[203,76,256,11,170],"class_list":["post-1635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-academic","tag-celesteh","tag-joan-of-arc","tag-music","tag-wesleyan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3887,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions\/3887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}