Charles Koechlin may not be as famous as other French composers, such as Debussy, Faure, Poulenc, or Duparc, yet his works demonstrate a truly unique style of writing. In composing Rondel Op. 1 , one of his signature works, he chose to set poems by Charles I and Banville to music. Following the Rondeau poetic form, he thus tightly wove together the music and poems, clearly showing the distinctive characteristics of French art songs.

This study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter explains the motivation and purpose, cites literature reviews, and describes the scope and the structure of this study. The second chapter introduces the composer Koechlin’s life and his vocal works. The third chapter contains brief biographies of the two poets, Charles I and Banville. The interpretation and analysis of Rondels, Op.1 are described in the fourth chapter through the lens of music and sound, structure, as well as prosody. Chapter five contains the personal thoughts and comments of the author.