CSM Cantiga 169 Lyrics: A que por nos salvar fezo Déus Madr' e Filla

Standard spelling
A que por nos salvar fezo Déus Madr' e Filla
Cantiga 169: A que por nos salvar fezo Déus Madr' e Filla
Please read the notes on using the texts and the IPA transcriptions Please read the notes on using the music transcriptions
   
Standard spelling
Epigraph  

Esta é dun miragre que fezo Santa María por ũa sa eigreja que é ena Arreixaca de Murça, de como foron mouros acordados de a destroír e nunca o acabaron.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 A que por nos salvar 6  A
2 fezo Déus Madr' e Filla, 6' B
3 se se de nós honrrar 6  A
4 quér non é maravilla. 6' B
 
  Stanza I     
5 E daquest' un miragre | direi grande, que vi 6' | 6  c
6 des que mi Déus déu Murça, | e oí outrossí 6' | 6  c
7 dizer a muitos mouros | que moravan ant' i 6' | 6  c
8 e tiínnan a térra | por nóssa pecadilla, CSM 169:8The word tiínnan must keep its three natural syllables in order for the first hemistich of this line to match the other stanzas. However, in the music in both [E] and [T], the whole word is laid under just two notes/ligatures .e + .ra, as if tii- were compressed by synaeresis. In order to fit all stanzas to the music, though, I think it is better rhythmically to leave these notes alone, and instead break the clivis .royo at the end of the phrase into virga .on + punctum .o (as shown at E3 on the music tab) thereby matching the structure of the preceding three stanza lines. With reference to Elmes' edition, this means replacing the DC slur in the fourth bar of line 6 with separate D (minim) + C (crotchet) notes, and then expanding "ti-ian" to "ti-i-an" to fill out the underlay. 6' | 6' B
 
  Stanza II     
9 dũa eigrej' antiga, | de que sempr' acordar 6' | 6  c
10 s' ían, que alí fora | da Reínna sen par 6' | 6  c
11 dentro na Arreixaca, | e ían i orar 6' | 6  c
12 genoeses, pisãos | e outros de Cezilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/169
 
  Stanza III     
13 E davan sas ofértas, | e se de coraçôn 6' | 6  c
14 aa Virgen rogavan, | lógo sa oraçôn 6' | 6  c
15 deles éra oída, | e sempre d' oqueijôn 6' | 6  c
16 e de mal os guardava; | ca o que ela filla 6' | 6' B
 
  Stanza IV     
17 por guardar, é guardado. | E porende poder 6' | 6  c
18 non houvéron os mouros | per ren de mal fazer 6' | 6  c
19 en aquel logar santo, | nen de o ên toller, 6' | 6  c
20 macar que xo, tiínnan | ensserrad' en sa pilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
 
  Stanza V     
21 E pero muitas vezes | me rogavan porên 6' | 6  c
22 que o fazer mandasse, | mostrando-mi que ben 6' | 6  c
23 éra que o fezésse, | depois per nulla ren, 6' | 6  c
24 macar llo acordaron, | non valeu ũa billa. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/169
 
  Stanza VI     
25 E depois a gran tempo | avẽo outra vez, 6' | 6  c
26 quand' el Rei d' Aragô(o)n, | Don James de gran prez, CSM 169:26The first hemistich here is short of a syllable in the original, and given that it also has final stress (in Aragón) which is at odds with the metrical scheme, it would appear that the syllable is missing from the end, technically speaking. The use of melisma here therefore seems likely to have been the intention, i.e. drawing out -gón over the two notes .on + .o, paralleling the syllable -rrar of honrrar on the two-note clivis .royo in the refrain. (This is in effect the opposite of the fix for line 8.) 6 | 6  c .on
27 a eigreja da Sée | da gran mezquita fez, 6' | 6  c
28 quando s' alçaron mouros | des Murç' atá Sevilla; 6' | 6' B
 
  Stanza VII     
29 que entôn a Aljama | lle vẽéron pedir 6' | 6  c
30 que aquela eigreja | fezéssen destroír 6' | 6  c
31 que n' Arraixaca éra; | e macar consentir 6' | 6  c
32 o foi el, non podéron | nen tanger en cravilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
 
  Stanza VIII     
33 Depois aquest' avẽo, | que fui a Murça éu, 6' | 6  c
34 e o mais d' Arreixaca | a Aljama mi déu 6' | 6  c
35 que tolless' a eigreja | d' ontr' eles; mas mui gréu 6' | 6  c
36 me foi, ca éra toda | de nóvo pintadilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/169
 
  Stanza IX     
37 Porên muit' a envidos | entôn llo outorguei, 6' | 6  c
38 e toda a Aljama | foi ao mouro rei 6' | 6  c
39 que o fazer mandasse; | mas diss' el: “Non farei, 6' | 6  c
40 ca os que Marïame | desama, mal os trilla.” 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
 
  Stanza X     
41 Depois, quand' Aboíuçaf, | o sennor de Çalé, 6' | 6  c
42 passou con mui gran gente, | aquesto verdad' é 6' | 6  c
43 que cuidaron os mouros, | por eixalçar sa fé, 6' | 6  c
44 gãar Murça per arte. | Mais sa falss' armadilla 6' | 6' B
 
  Stanza XI     
45 desfez a Virgen santa, | que os ende sacou, 6' | 6  c
46 que ena Arraixaca | poucos deles leixou; 6' | 6  c
47 e a súa eigreja | assí deles livrou, 6' | 6  c
48 ca os que mal quér ela, | ben assí os eixilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/169
 
  Stanza XII     
49 E porend' a eigreja | súa quita é ja, 6' | 6  c
50 que nunca Mafométe | poder i haverá; 6' | 6  c
51 ca a conquereu ela | e demais conquerrá 6' | 6  c
52 Espanna e Marrócos, | e Céta e Arcilla. 6' | 6' B
  A que por nos salvar...    
 

Footnotes

Line 8:

The word tiínnan must keep its three natural syllables in order for the first hemistich of this line to match the other stanzas. However, in the music in both [E] and [T], the whole word is laid under just two notes/ligatures .e + .ra, as if tii- were compressed by synaeresis. In order to fit all stanzas to the music, though, I think it is better rhythmically to leave these notes alone, and instead break the clivis .royo at the end of the phrase into virga .on + punctum .o (as shown at E3 on the music tab) thereby matching the structure of the preceding three stanza lines. With reference to Elmes' edition, this means replacing the DC slur in the fourth bar of line 6 with separate D (minim) + C (crotchet) notes, and then expanding "ti-ian" to "ti-i-an" to fill out the underlay.

Line 26:

The first hemistich here is short of a syllable in the original, and given that it also has final stress (in Aragón) which is at odds with the metrical scheme, it would appear that the syllable is missing from the end, technically speaking. The use of melisma here therefore seems likely to have been the intention, i.e. drawing out -gón over the two notes .on + .o, paralleling the syllable -rrar of honrrar on the two-note clivis .royo in the refrain. (This is in effect the opposite of the fix for line 8.)

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

This flat symbol has a very unusual form for the [E] manuscript, being much more like the more familiar b shape. This suggests that it may have been written in as a later correction, since the flat at E3 has the regular form.

E2:

See the note to lyric line 26 for an explanation of the melisma on this note in stanza VI.

E3:

See E1.

E4:

See the note to lyric line 8 for discussion of the substitution I've made here in order to fit all stanzas to the music.

Manuscript references

External links marked are to facsimiles on Greg Lindahl's Cantigas de Santa Maria website.

[E]169viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/318small.htmlExternal link
[T]169 

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 169http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=169

Links to the Oxford database are provided with the kind permission of the project team. When planning a concert or recording, I would recommend that you use (and credit) my more pragmatic texts and supporting materials in the preparation of your performance, but that you request permission from the Oxford database team to reproduce (and credit) their own critically edited texts in your programme or liner notes, as these adhere to stricter criteria that keep them closer to the original sources, and undoubtedly have the greater academic authority.

Metrical summary

Refrain

6  6'  6  6'

Stanzas

6' | 6  6' | 6  6' | 6  6' | 6' I II III IV V VII VIII IX X XI XII
6' | 6  6 | 6  6' | 6  6' | 6' VI

Rhyme

ABAB / cccB
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXII
A 
Biʎa
c iɛu̯ei̯ɛou̯a

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5019:27
Slow1009:43
Medium1506:29
Fast2004:51
Very fast2503:53

These are very approximate total times for a full sung (or spoken) performance of all stanzas with all repeats of the refrain. Note that the speed is in average syllables per minute, and no particular mensural interpretation is assumed. More ornamented music will reduce the syllabic speed considerably. Remember also to add time for instrumental preludes, interludes and postludes.

Total syllables: 973