Claude Le Jeune (c.1530-1600), catalogued here as Jeune, was a French Renaissance composer and one of the leading figures of musique mesurée. Born in Valenciennes, he worked within the cultivated poetic and musical circles of late sixteenth-century France.

His output includes chansons, psalm settings, sacred works and pieces shaped by the rhythms of classical verse. He became especially important in the Protestant psalm tradition and in experiments linking music closely to poetic metre.

Le Jeune’s music is clear, elegant and rhythmically alert, with a refined sensitivity to text. It can sound poised and courtly, but also fresh in its treatment of language and accent.

He stands among the most significant French composers of his generation. His work shows Renaissance song listening carefully to poetry, counting not only beats but syllables, breath and meaning.