Introduction to the Project

Our project is devoted to the 30-volume collection of 17th- and 18th-century songs and poems, preserved in an 18th-century manuscript and known as the ‘Chansonnier dit de Maurepas’, now held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris: https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc438032/cd0e708.

Song sheets would be printed, then sold and distributed in Paris, largely on the Pont-Neuf and in bars, usually containing just the words, but almost always accompanied by the name of a popular tune of the day to which the words would be sung. 

The song sheets gave Parisian inhabitants the chance to hear the latest news and/or gossip that would normally not be accessible to them. 

We intend to document and transcribe these song-sheets and to track down the music to as many of the songs as possible, both producing musical scores for these songs and recording them in collaboration with 'Badinage', a professional period-instrument ensemble. 

This site contains both the texts and performances of many pieces, and is the starting point of a larger project devoted to Parisian Soundscapes.