fbpx
Wikipedia

Cantigas de Santa Maria

August 19, 2023

The Cantigas de Santa Maria (Galician: [kanˈtiɣɐz ðɪ ˈsantɐ maˈɾi.ɐ], Portuguese: [kɐ̃ˈtiɣɐʒ ðɨ ˈsɐ̃tɐ mɐˈɾi.ɐ]; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile El Sabio (1221–1284). Traditionally, they are all attributed to Alfonso, though scholars have since established that the musicians and poets of his court were responsible for most of them, with Alfonso being credited with a few as well.[1]

An illustration from the E codex of the Cantigas de Santa Maria.

It is one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the Middle Ages and is characterized by the mention of the Virgin Mary in every song, while every tenth song is a hymn.

The Cantigas have survived in four manuscript codices: two at El Escorial, one at Madrid's National Library, and one in Florence, Italy. The E codex from El Escorial is illuminated with colored miniatures showing pairs of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments. The Códice Rico (T) from El Escorial and the one in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence (F) are richly illuminated with narrative vignettes.

Description

 
"Santa Maria, strela do dia"
Cantiga 100, "Santa Maria, strela do dia"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The Cantigas are written in the early Medieval Galician variety[2][3] of Galician-Portuguese, using Galician spelling; this was because of Galician-Portuguese being fashionable as a lyrical language in Castile at the time, as well as Alfonso X having passed part of his early years in Galicia and so probably being a fluent speaker since his childhood.

The Cantigas are a collection of 420 poems, 356 of which are in a narrative format relating to Marian miracles; the rest of them, except an introduction and two prologues, are of songs of praise or involve Marian festivities. The Cantigas depict the Virgin Mary in a very humanized way, often having her play a role in earthly episodes.

The authors are unknown, although several studies have suggested that Galician poet Airas Nunes might have been the author of a large number of the Cantiga poems. King Alfonso X — named as Affonso in the Cantigas — is also believed to be an author of some of them as he refers himself in first person. Support for this theory can be found in the prologue of the Cantigas. Also, many sources credit Alfonso owing to his influence on other works within the poetic tradition, including his introduction on religious song. Although King Alfonso X's authorship is debatable, his influence is not. While the other major works that came out of Alfonso's workshops, including histories and other prose texts, were in Castilian, the Cantigas are in Galician-Portuguese, and reflect the popularity in the Castilian court of other poetic corpuses such as the cantigas d'amigo and cantigas d'amor.

 
A lute player.

The metrics are extraordinarily diverse: 280 different formats for the 420 Cantigas. The most common are the virelai and the rondeau. The length of the lines varies between two and 24 syllables. The narrative voice in many of the songs describes an erotic relationship, in the troubadour fashion, with the Divine. The music is written in notation which is similar to that used for chant, but also contains some information about the length of the notes. Several transcriptions exist.[4] The Cantigas are frequently recorded and performed by early music groups, and quite a few CDs featuring music from the Cantigas are available.

Codices

 
Miniatures, Cantiga #35

The Cantigas are preserved in four manuscripts:[5]


  • To (códice de Toledo, Biblioteca Nacional de España, MS 10069, link to manuscript)
  • T (códice rico, Biblioteca de El Escorial, MS T.I.1, link to manuscript)
  • F (códice de Florencia, Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale, MS b.r. 20, link to manuscript)
  • E (códice de los músicos, Biblioteca de El Escorial MS B.I.2, link to manuscript)


E contains the largest number of songs (406 Cantigas, plus the Introduction and the Prologue); it contains 41 carefully detailed miniatures and many illuminated letters. To is the earliest collection and contains 129 songs. Although not illustrated, it is richly decorated with pen flourished initials, and great care has been taken over its construction. The T and F manuscripts are sister volumes. T contains 195 surviving cantigas (8 are missing due to loss of folios) which roughly correspond in order to the first two hundred in E, each song being illustrated with either 6 or 12 miniatures that depict scenes from the cantiga. F follows the same format but has only 111 cantigas, of which 7 have no text, only miniatures. These are basically a subset of those found in the second half of E, but are presented here in a radically different order. F was never finished, and so no music was ever added. Only the empty staves display the intention to add musical notation to the codex at a later date. It is generally thought that the codices were constructed during Alfonso's lifetime, To perhaps in the 1270s, and T/F and E in the early 1280s up until the time of his death in 1284.

The music

The musical forms within the Cantigas, and there are many, are still being studied. There have been many false leads, and there is little beyond pitch value that is very reliable. Mensuration is a particular problem in the Cantigas, and most attempts at determining meaningful rhythmic schemes have tended, with some exceptions, to be unsatisfactory. This remains a lively topic of debate and study. Progress, while on-going, has nevertheless been significant over the course of the last 20 years.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fassler 2014, pp. 163–164.
  2. ^ Rübecamp, Rudolf (1932). "A linguagem das Cantigas de Santa Maria, de Afonso X o Sábio". Boletim de Filologia. I: 273–356.
  3. ^ Vaz Leão, Ângela (2000). "Questões de linguagem nas Cantigas de Santa Maria, de Afonso X". Scripta. 4 (7): 11–24. doi:10.5752/P.2358-3428. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. ^ Ferreira, Manuel Pedro (2015). "Rhythmic paradigms in the Cantigas de Santa Maria: French versus Arabic precedent". Plainsong and Medieval Music. 24 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1017/S0961137115000017. S2CID 163583685.
  5. ^ Walter Mettmann, Alfonso X. el Sabio: Cantigas de Santa Maria, Clásicos Castalia, Madrid 1986–1989.

Bibliography

  • The Songs of Holy Mary by Alfonso X, the Wise: A Translation of the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Translated by Kathleen Kulp-Hill. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Tempe 2000. ISBN 0-86698-213-2
  • Studies on the "Cantigas de Santa Maria": Art, Music, and Poetry: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the "Cantigas de Santa Maria" of Alfonso X, el Sabio (1221–1284) in Commemoration of Its 700th Anniversary Year–1981. Co-Editors Israel J. Katz & John E. Keller; Associate Editors Samuel G. Armistead & Joseph T. Snow. Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, Madison, 1987. ISBN 0-942260-75-9
  • Cobras e Son: Papers on the Text Music and Manuscripts of the "Cantigas de Santa Maria". Edited by Stephen Parkinson. European Humanities Research Centre, University of Oxford, Modern Humanities Research Association, 2000. ISBN 1-900755-12-2
  • (Gal) Pena, Xosé Ramón, "Historia da litratura medieval galego-portuguesa", Santiago de Compostela, 2002, 199-210.
  • Fassler, Margot (2014). Frisch, Walter (ed.). Music in the Medieval West. Western Music in Context: A Norton History (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-92915-7.
  • Ferreira, Manuel Pedro (Summer 2016). "The Medieval Fate of the Cantigas de Santa Maria: Iberian Politics Meets Song". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 69 (2): 295–353. doi:10.1525/jams.2016.69.2.295.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cantigas de Santa Maria.

August 19, 2023
cantigas, santa, maria, galician, kanˈtiɣɐz, ðɪ, ˈsantɐ, maˈɾi, portuguese, ˈtiɣɐʒ, ðɨ, ˈsɐ, mɐˈɾi, canticles, holy, mary, poems, with, musical, notation, written, medieval, galician, portuguese, language, during, reign, alfonso, castile, sabio, 1221, 1284, tr. The Cantigas de Santa Maria Galician kanˈtiɣɐz dɪ ˈsantɐ maˈɾi ɐ Portuguese kɐ ˈtiɣɐʒ dɨ ˈsɐ tɐ mɐˈɾi ɐ Canticles of Holy Mary are 420 poems with musical notation written in the medieval Galician Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile El Sabio 1221 1284 Traditionally they are all attributed to Alfonso though scholars have since established that the musicians and poets of his court were responsible for most of them with Alfonso being credited with a few as well 1 An illustration from the E codex of the Cantigas de Santa Maria It is one of the largest collections of monophonic solo songs from the Middle Ages and is characterized by the mention of the Virgin Mary in every song while every tenth song is a hymn The Cantigas have survived in four manuscript codices two at El Escorial one at Madrid s National Library and one in Florence Italy The E codex from El Escorial is illuminated with colored miniatures showing pairs of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments The Codice Rico T from El Escorial and the one in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence F are richly illuminated with narrative vignettes Contents 1 Description 1 1 Codices 1 2 The music 2 See also 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksDescription Edit Santa Maria strela do dia source source Cantiga 100 Santa Maria strela do dia Problems playing this file See media help The Cantigas are written in the early Medieval Galician variety 2 3 of Galician Portuguese using Galician spelling this was because of Galician Portuguese being fashionable as a lyrical language in Castile at the time as well as Alfonso X having passed part of his early years in Galicia and so probably being a fluent speaker since his childhood The Cantigas are a collection of 420 poems 356 of which are in a narrative format relating to Marian miracles the rest of them except an introduction and two prologues are of songs of praise or involve Marian festivities The Cantigas depict the Virgin Mary in a very humanized way often having her play a role in earthly episodes The authors are unknown although several studies have suggested that Galician poet Airas Nunes might have been the author of a large number of the Cantiga poems King Alfonso X named as Affonso in the Cantigas is also believed to be an author of some of them as he refers himself in first person Support for this theory can be found in the prologue of the Cantigas Also many sources credit Alfonso owing to his influence on other works within the poetic tradition including his introduction on religious song Although King Alfonso X s authorship is debatable his influence is not While the other major works that came out of Alfonso s workshops including histories and other prose texts were in Castilian the Cantigas are in Galician Portuguese and reflect the popularity in the Castilian court of other poetic corpuses such as the cantigas d amigo and cantigas d amor A lute player The metrics are extraordinarily diverse 280 different formats for the 420 Cantigas The most common are the virelai and the rondeau The length of the lines varies between two and 24 syllables The narrative voice in many of the songs describes an erotic relationship in the troubadour fashion with the Divine The music is written in notation which is similar to that used for chant but also contains some information about the length of the notes Several transcriptions exist 4 The Cantigas are frequently recorded and performed by early music groups and quite a few CDs featuring music from the Cantigas are available Codices Edit Miniatures Cantiga 35The Cantigas are preserved in four manuscripts 5 To codice de Toledo Biblioteca Nacional de Espana MS 10069 link to manuscript T codice rico Biblioteca de El Escorial MS T I 1 link to manuscript F codice de Florencia Florence Biblioteca Nazionale MS b r 20 link to manuscript E codice de los musicos Biblioteca de El Escorial MS B I 2 link to manuscript E contains the largest number of songs 406 Cantigas plus the Introduction and the Prologue it contains 41 carefully detailed miniatures and many illuminated letters To is the earliest collection and contains 129 songs Although not illustrated it is richly decorated with pen flourished initials and great care has been taken over its construction The T and F manuscripts are sister volumes T contains 195 surviving cantigas 8 are missing due to loss of folios which roughly correspond in order to the first two hundred in E each song being illustrated with either 6 or 12 miniatures that depict scenes from the cantiga F follows the same format but has only 111 cantigas of which 7 have no text only miniatures These are basically a subset of those found in the second half of E but are presented here in a radically different order F was never finished and so no music was ever added Only the empty staves display the intention to add musical notation to the codex at a later date It is generally thought that the codices were constructed during Alfonso s lifetime To perhaps in the 1270s and T F and E in the early 1280s up until the time of his death in 1284 The music Edit The musical forms within the Cantigas and there are many are still being studied There have been many false leads and there is little beyond pitch value that is very reliable Mensuration is a particular problem in the Cantigas and most attempts at determining meaningful rhythmic schemes have tended with some exceptions to be unsatisfactory This remains a lively topic of debate and study Progress while on going has nevertheless been significant over the course of the last 20 years See also EditLiterature of Alfonso X Cantiga de amigo Llibre Vermell de Montserrat Pergaminho Sharrer Martin Codax The Legend of Ero of ArmenteiraReferences Edit Fassler 2014 pp 163 164 Rubecamp Rudolf 1932 A linguagem das Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X o Sabio Boletim de Filologia I 273 356 Vaz Leao Angela 2000 Questoes de linguagem nas Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X Scripta 4 7 11 24 doi 10 5752 P 2358 3428 Retrieved 16 November 2017 Ferreira Manuel Pedro 2015 Rhythmic paradigms in the Cantigas de Santa Maria French versus Arabic precedent Plainsong and Medieval Music 24 1 1 24 doi 10 1017 S0961137115000017 S2CID 163583685 Walter Mettmann Alfonso X el Sabio Cantigas de Santa Maria Clasicos Castalia Madrid 1986 1989 Bibliography EditThe Songs of Holy Mary by Alfonso X the Wise A Translation of the Cantigas de Santa Maria Translated by Kathleen Kulp Hill Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Tempe 2000 ISBN 0 86698 213 2 Studies on the Cantigas de Santa Maria Art Music and Poetry Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Alfonso X el Sabio 1221 1284 in Commemoration of Its 700th Anniversary Year 1981 Co Editors Israel J Katz amp John E Keller Associate Editors Samuel G Armistead amp Joseph T Snow Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies Madison 1987 ISBN 0 942260 75 9 Cobras e Son Papers on the Text Music and Manuscripts of the Cantigas de Santa Maria Edited by Stephen Parkinson European Humanities Research Centre University of Oxford Modern Humanities Research Association 2000 ISBN 1 900755 12 2 Gal Pena Xose Ramon Historia da litratura medieval galego portuguesa Santiago de Compostela 2002 199 210 Fassler Margot 2014 Frisch Walter ed Music in the Medieval West Western Music in Context A Norton History 1st ed New York W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 92915 7 Ferreira Manuel Pedro Summer 2016 The Medieval Fate of the Cantigas de Santa Maria Iberian Politics Meets Song Journal of the American Musicological Society 69 2 295 353 doi 10 1525 jams 2016 69 2 295 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cantigas de Santa Maria Cantigas de Santa Maria Codice rico Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial Ms T I 1 link to manuscript http www pbm com lindahl cantigas facsimiles illuminations links to transcriptions Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers full text with syllable marks pronunciation guide and concordance http www medieval org emfaq composers cantigas html a comprehensive database of the released Cantigas recordings http csm mml ox ac uk the Centre for the Study of the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Oxford University https web archive org web 20041013090228 http perso club internet fr brassy PartMed Cantigas CSMIDI html French site MIDI files based on Angles transcriptions also texts but with many OCR errors and thousands of missing letters Portuguese wikisource the same inaccurate texts as the French site above Free scores by Alfonso X of Castile at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Free scores from Cantigas de Santa Maria in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cantigas de Santa Maria amp oldid 1131628256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.