The first use of the term air de cour was in Adrian Le Roy's Airs de cour miz sur le luth (Book on Court Tunes for the Luth),Robin, et al., 2007, p. 82 a collection of music published in 1571. The earliest examples of the form are for solo voice accompanied by lute;Buelow, 2004, p. 156 towards the end of the 16th century, four or five voices are common, sometimes accompanied (or instrumental accompaniment may have been optional); and by the mid-17th century, most airs de cour were again for solo voice with accompaniment. Beginning in 1608, airs de cour were often taken from ballets de cour, a form of ballet which was quickly becoming popular at the French court.
