CSM Cantiga 18 Lyrics: Por nos de dulta tirar

This is the first of a small number of awkward cantigas where the first stanza is metrically irregular relative to all later stanzas. In this case, the line En Estremadura has six natural syllables rather than the five required. Unfortunately, as often happens, the music appears to have been set down with only this first stanza in mind: in all three manuscripts, it includes the irregularity, providing a separate note or ligature for all six syllables (see E2 in the music, and click 'Expand edits' if necessary). However, comparing the musical phrasing for lines 5 and 6 with that of lines 7 and 8, it quickly becomes apparent that the two separate puncta .o .o given to -tre•ma- (Elmes: D and C in the fifth bar of line 4) are in effect a broken .oyo ligature that must be joined up again in order to fit all subsequent stanzas. The most appropriate musical resolution for this hypermetric line is therefore to conflate the natural syllables tre and ma as indicated, although of course the pronunciation is unaffected. By the way, this is a very good example where ignoring the music would lead almost inevitably to the wrong conclusion: from a purely metrical point of view, the elision 'n Estremadura or En 'Stremadura would most likely be proposed, and that'd be the end of it.

Possibly due to the underlaid text being very compressed in [E], Elmes has made an error in syllabation in this line, and the next, in his edition: he has Segóvia with four syllables instead of the correct three, and all following words are out of step with the music by one syllable until we reach soya (= soía), which Elmes divides into just two syllables instead of the correct three.

See line 9.

Synaeresis in aa works fine musically, the compressed syllable falling on the four-pitch ligature .bohod. In [To], the first a of aa appears to have been erased, although it is still just visible.