Godard

Godard was a French composer active in the first half of the sixteenth century, whose documented presence can be placed approximately between 1536 and 1560. His known output consists chiefly of four-voice polyphonic chansons, a secular genre very widespread in Paris at the time, so his interest lies in the role he played within the Parisian scene of the Renaissance chanson.

Some nineteen four-voice chansons published in Paris between 1536 and 1559 survive from his output. Some are lively, anecdotal pieces related to the style of Janequin and Passereau, characterised by light, syllabic counterpoint. Others are amorous epigrams of a more languid character, in the gentle manner of Certon, Sandrin and Pierre de Villiers; in three cases the attribution of the work is shared with these authors. The chanson Ce moys de May achieved considerable diffusion: it was reissued in Antwerp and Lyon and held a prominent place in Phalèse's seventh book of chansons, which was frequently reprinted. It subsequently circulated in various arrangements for lute, cittern or organ.

The composer's identity is uncertain. He might be identified with Robert Godard, organist of Beauvais Cathedral in 1540, who left the post in 1560. Fétis mentioned a document naming a tenor called Goddart at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris between 1541 and 1568, but Brenet was unable to confirm this. In addition, Laborde's index records a Georges Godart, organist of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet until his death in 1584, though his relationship with the author of the chansons cannot be established with certainty.

His legacy survives chiefly through the chanson Ce moys de May and through modern editions of some of his pieces, which allow us to understand the secular Parisian repertoire of the mid-sixteenth century.