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'''Air à boire''' is a French term which was used between the mid-17th and mid-18th centuries for a "drinking song". These were generally strophic, syllabic songs to light texts. Its predecessor was ''chanson pour boire'', the difference being mainly that ''chansons pour boire'' were for one voice with lute accompaniment, whereas ''airs à boire'' are generally for more than one voice.^[1]
''Airs à boire'' are generally contrasted with ''airs sérieux'', which typically had texts on more serious matters, such as "love, pastoral scenes, and political satire."^[2] Most ''airs à boire'' occur in publications from Paris, and are for one to three voices and lute accompaniment. In the 1690s ''airs à boire'' were so popular that new collections containing them were published every three months in Paris. In the period when the term was used, over 250 collections of songs with the title ''Airs sérieux et à boire'' were published.^[2]
Composers who were prolific in the genre were Jean-Baptiste Bousset and Sébastien de Brossard.^[2]

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Reference

★ John H. Baron. "Air à boire", ''Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed December 2 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).

★ John H. Baron. "Chanson pour boire", ''Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed December 2 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).

Notes

1. Baron
2. Baron, Air à boire
3. Baron, Air à boire
4. Baron, Air à boire