Popular songs in the plays of Parisian Theatres in the 17^th Century Présence de la musique populaire dans les spectacles parisiens au XVII^e siècle

By comparing the repertoire of 17th-century airs, both from songbooks and those composed for the stage, we found evidence of wide circulation of melodies. These airs thus constitute a kind of musical topos. They are based upon a mutual influence in the collective process of creating melodies. This dual focus shows the porousness of artistic boundaries under the Ancien Régime. A wide collective repertoire emerges that is based on both musical practices and compositional processes.