Contenance angloise

The Contenance Angloise, or English manner, is a distinctive style of polyphony developed in fifteenth-century England. It used full, rich harmonies based on the third and sixth. It was highly influential in the fashionable Burgundian court of Philip the Good and as a result on European music of the era in general. The leading figure was John Dunstaple, followed by Walter Frye and John Hothby.

Origins of the term

The phrase 'Contenance Angloise' was coined by Martin le Franc in a poem dedicated to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy (1396–1467) in 1441-2 to describe the distinctive musical style of the era. He mentioned English composer John Dunstaple (c. 1390–1453) as the key figure and as a major influence on the major Burgundian composers Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois.

Characteristics

It is not clear exactly what Martin le Franc saw as the elements of the Contenance Angloise. Musicologists have noted the style as a distinctive form of melodic polyphony that used full, rich harmonies based on the third and sixth, which may have made lyrics easier to articulate.