The arias composed of three, four, five and six parts were written by Claude Le Jeune and published by Pierre Ballard in 1608, Paris. It was published years after Claude Le Jeune’s death. Even if some of his works were already published by Le Roy et Ballard around 1580, this collection of 127 songs was impressive because it was modern and composed of many songs. They are dedicated to Agrippa d’Aubigné. Some of the texts were probably written by the humanist poet Jean-Antoine de Baïf. They may also have been modified by versifiers like Odet de La Noue or Agrippa d’Aubigné himself. The lines are not bar-lines but a kind of prosody lines in order to divide the verses. “Perdre le sens devant vous” is one of the most famous songs of this collection because it is simple and formal but also new and inspiring.
