CSM Cantiga 276 Lyrics: Quena Virgen por sennor tevér Cantiga 276Only four stanzas of this cantiga (5, 6, 9 and 10) properly fit the music as written. The others, including the first, have one syllable too many in the last two lines for the number of notes and ligatures provided, with the same text in both [E] and [F] (the latter with no musical notation, of course). It appears from [E] that the music scribe was once again determined to make the vuelta match the refrain exactly, despite the fact that the last two lines of the first stanza comprise nine natural syllables, and the last line of the refrain has only eight. The scribe therefore wrote a single plica .oron above the -çoso of viçoso (see E1 on the Music tab), presumably with the conscious intention that the ligature be broken into separate notes to accommodate this word, as well as similarly placed words in seven other stanzas (caudéla, deanteiro, esse and so on).

Note that I'm diverging from Elmes here, who transcribes the music as if the ligature .ra written over the vi- of viçoso were broken instead; but given his rhythmic interpretation, this puts unnatural stress on the final syllable of viçoso, rather than the penultimate as would be expected. Also, Elmes' comment that the lyrics for all twelve stanzas "have three syllable words in the same position" is not correct; it is true of seven stanzas at most.

Standard spelling
Quena Virgen por sennor tevér
Cantiga 276: Quena Virgen por sennor tevér
Please read the notes on using the texts and the IPA transcriptions Please read the notes on using the music transcriptions
   
Standard spelling
Epigraph  

Como Santa María do Prado, que é cabo Segóvia, guariu un monteiro del Rei dũa campãa que lle caeu de suso.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Quena Virgen por sennor 7  A
2 tevér, de todo mal guarrá. 8  B
 
  Stanza I     
3 Ond' un miragre que fez 7  c
4 vos direi, saboroso, 6' d
5 en Prad' a Sennor de prez, 7  c
6 en un logar viçoso, 6' d .oron
7 u há 2  B
 
  Stanza II     
8 ũa sa eigrej' alí, 7  c
9 mui fremosa capéla, 6' d
10 en que fez, com' aprendí, 7  c
11 esta que nos caudéla 6' d .oron
12 e dá 2  B
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/276
 
  Stanza III     
13 saúde e salvaçôn, 7  c
14 que déu a un monteiro 6' d
15 que na sa eigreja 'ntôn 7  c
16 entrou mui deanteiro 6' d .oron
17 alá 2  B
 
  Stanza IV     
18 u viu os sinos estar 7  c
19 e foi que os tangesse, 6' d
20 mais un deles se britar 7  c
21 foi e caeu sobr' esse. 6' d .oron
22 “Ahá,” 2  B
 
  Stanza V     
23 disséron todos, “par Déus, 7  c
24 mórt' é sen nulla falla; 6' d
25 porend' a que val os séus 7  c
26 mestér há que lle valla 6' d
27 ja. 1  B
  Quena Virgen por sennor...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/276
 
  Stanza VI     
28 Ca de guisa ferid' é 7  c
29 que non há ósso são 6' d
30 na cabeça, a la fé, 7  c
31 nen pód' andar por chão, 6' d
32 ca 1  B
 
  Stanza VII     
33 mais mól' a cabeça ten 7  c
34 ca non é pera fóle 6' d
35 nen manteiga; e porên, 7  c
36 pois que a ten tan móle, 6' d .oron
37 alá 2  B
 
  Stanza VIII     
38 ant' o séu altar põer 7  c
39 da Virgen o vaamos.” 6' d
40 E foron assí fazer, 7  c
41 com' en verdad' achamos; 6' d .oron
42 e a 2  B
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/276
 
  Stanza IX     
43 noite ant' essa Sennor 7  c
44 jouve tal come mórto; 6' d
45 mais ant' a luz gran sabor 7  c
46 lle déu a que confórto 6' d
47 1  B
 
  Stanza X     
48 que s' ergesse pera ir 7  c
49 con os outros monteiros, 6' d
50 e tan tóste foi sentir 7  c
51 os óssos muit' enteiros 6' d
52 da 1  B
 
  Stanza XI     
53 tésta. E porên loou 7  c
54 muito a Grorïosa, 6' d
55 porque en ele mostrou 7  c
56 sa vertude fremosa 6' d .oron
57 e sa 2  B
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/276
 
  Stanza XII     
58 mercee que nunca fal, 7  
59 de que é mui grãada; 6' 
60 porên de todos sen al 7  
61 sempre é mui loada e CSM 276:61This line has two extra natural syllables, and therefore requires synalepha in loada e on top of the ligature breaking found in other stanzas. 6'  .oron
62 será. 2  
  Quena Virgen por sennor...    
 

Footnotes

Only four stanzas of this cantiga (5, 6, 9 and 10) properly fit the music as written. The others, including the first, have one syllable too many in the last two lines for the number of notes and ligatures provided, with the same text in both [E] and [F] (the latter with no musical notation, of course). It appears from [E] that the music scribe was once again determined to make the vuelta match the refrain exactly, despite the fact that the last two lines of the first stanza comprise nine natural syllables, and the last line of the refrain has only eight. The scribe therefore wrote a single plica .oron above the -çoso of viçoso (see E1 on the Music tab), presumably with the conscious intention that the ligature be broken into separate notes to accommodate this word, as well as similarly placed words in seven other stanzas (caudéla, deanteiro, esse and so on).

Note that I'm diverging from Elmes here, who transcribes the music as if the ligature .ra written over the vi- of viçoso were broken instead; but given his rhythmic interpretation, this puts unnatural stress on the final syllable of viçoso, rather than the penultimate as would be expected. Also, Elmes' comment that the lyrics for all twelve stanzas "have three syllable words in the same position" is not correct; it is true of seven stanzas at most.

Line 61:

This line has two extra natural syllables, and therefore requires synalepha in loada e on top of the ligature breaking found in other stanzas.

Standard spelling  
Zoom

Footnotes

E1:

See the main note on the Lyrics tab for an explanation of the ligature breaking at this point in several of the stanzas.

Manuscript references

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

[E]276viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/494small.htmlExternal link
[F]80 

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 276http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=276

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

7  8

Stanzas

7  6'  7  6'  2 I II III IV VII VIII XI XII
7  6'  7  6'  1 V VI IX X

Rhyme

AB / cdcdB
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXII
A 
Ba 
c iɛu̯sɛou̯ 
d ozoɛlaei̯ɾoeseaʎaaŋoɔleamosɔɾtoei̯ɾosoza 

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5010:51
Slow1005:25
Medium1503:37
Fast2002:42
Very fast2502:10

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: 543