Helas Madame by Henry VIII

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Psallite performs "Helas Madame" by King Henry VIII at St. Cecilia at the Tower IV.

King Henry VIII had a musical education and, when he became king, was a great patron of music. During his reign, he increased the court’s staff of musicians from five to fifty-eight, promoted the use of music during court ceremonies, and collected a large number of musical instruments. Contemporary accounts praised his ability to sing, dance, and play organ, lute, and virginal. He was also a composer of both sacred and secular works.

"Hélas madame", originally for four vocal lines with lyrics in Middle French, is found in a collection of secular works from Henry’s court that was compiled around 1518. Like similar pieces, it is believed to be one of Henry’s earlier compositions, possibly dating from as early as 1501, when he was 10 years old. It is probable that this piece was preserved not for its merits but because of the social position of its composer.

The melody is based on a tune from Continental Europe, but the harmonization is Henry’s and reveals some of the flaws of his early technique: for example, nonstandard doublings of the third and clunky passages in parallel sixths. Our performance features the melody, which is lovely, along with our own more modern chords.

The lyrics of this piece are interesting because of their almost folk-song-like indifference to structural consistency. The poet is relatively free with the number of syllables in the line (extra syllables are occasionally added). Our English translation mimics the unevenness of the original French. Additionally, the back-and-forth conversation between the two speakers occurs somewhat awkwardly and unsteadily, without reference to stanza, but we have tried to clarify which character is speaking by using two voices to perform the song.