CSM Cantiga 340 Lyrics and Music: Virgen Madre grorïosa

Virgen Madre grorïosa

Cantiga 340 (= 412): Virgen Madre grorïosa

Lyrics
Music
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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 de loor de Santa María.

Line	Stanza I	Metrics
1	Virgen Madre grorïosa,	7' a
2	de Déus filla e esposa,	7' a
3	santa, nóbre, precïosa,	7' a
4	quen te loar sabería	7' b
5	ou podía?	3' b
6	Ca Déus que é lum' e día,	7' b
7	segund' a nóssa natura	7' c
8	non viramos sa figura	7' c
9	senôn por ti, que fust' alva.	7' d

	Stanza II
10	Tu és alva per que visto	7' a
11	foi o sól, que éste Cristo,	7' a
12	que o mund' houve conquisto	7' a
13	e sacado du jazía	7' b
14	e jaría,	3' b
15	e de que non saïría;	7' b
16	mais Déus por ti da altura	7' c
17	quis de ti, sa creatura,	7' c
18	nacer, e fez de ti alva.	7' d

	Stanza III
19	Tu és alva dos alvores,	7' a
20	que faze-los pecadores	7' a
21	que vejan os séus errores	7' a
22	e connoscan sa folía,	7' b
23	que desvía	3' b
24	d' haver hóm' o que devía,	7' b
25	que perdeu por sa loucura	7' c
26	Éva, que tu, Virgen pura,	7' c
27	cobraste porque és alva.	7' d
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/340

	Stanza IV
28	Tu és alva dos mesquinnos,	7' a
29	que non érren os caminnos,	7' a
30	a grandes, a pequeninnos;	7' a
31	ca tu lles móstras a vía	7' b
32	per que ía	3' b
33	o téu Fillo todavía,	7' b
34	que nos sacou da escura	7' c
35	carreira maa e dura	7' c
36	per ti que és nóssa alva.	7' d

	Stanza V
37	Tu és alva dos culpados,	7' a
38	que cégos por séus pecados	7' a
39	éran; mais alumeados	7' a
40	son per ti, Santa María.	7' b
41	Quen diría,	3' b
42	nen quen osmar podería	7' b
43	téu ben e ta gran mesura?	7' c
44	Ca sempre en ti atura	7' c
45	Déus a luz ond' és tu alva.	7' d

	Stanza VI
46	Tu és alva dos que creen	7' a
47	e lume dos que non veen	7' a
48	a Déus, e que por mal teen †CSM 340:48In this line Mettmann has tẽen from [E] 340. I prefer to use the form teen from the Festas version (see the main note above) in order to preserve the rhyme with creen and veen.	7' a
49	o ben per sa bavequía	7' b
50	d' heresía,	3' b
51	que é maa ousadía,	7' b
52	e Déus non há destes cura;	7' c
53	mais pela ta gran cordura	7' c
54	lles dás lume come alva.	7' d
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/340

	Stanza VII
55	Tu és alva que pareces	7' a
56	ante Déus e escrareces	7' a
57	os céos, e que mereces	7' a
58	d' haveres sa companía.	7' b
59	E querría	3' b
60	t' éu veer con el, ca sería	7' b	.on
61	quito de maa ventura	7' c
62	e metudo na folgura	7' c
63	u és con Déus, u és alva.	7' d

Footnotes

For this cantiga, I have chosen to depart from Mettmann's reading of the first five lines as a refrain, as is suggested (more or less) by the version numbered as CSM 340 in [E]. Instead, I have followed the interpretations of [SP1987], [CLXG], [JMMS] and Elmes, which take the alternative version found under Festas de Santa Maria in the same manuscript (= CSM 412 in Mettmann's own numbering scheme) as having the correct, through-composed structure, with no refrain. I have also moved the stanza beginning Tu es alva per que visto from fifth to second place, in order to match CSM 412, but otherwise, the text is unchanged from Mettmann's 1989 volume except for line 48 (see below).

Line 48:

In this line Mettmann has tẽen from [E] 340. I prefer to use the form teen from the Festas version (see the main note above) in order to preserve the rhyme with creen and veen.

Standard spelling

Expand edits Number notes and ligatures Expand long plicas and augmented notes Zoom

Footnotes

E1:

This transcription is based solely on the version at FSM 2 in [E], which Mettmann numbers 412. See the main footnote on the Lyrics tab for more details. Note that, apart from the lack of a refrain here, the differences between this version and 340 itself are minor, and quite unimportant in a Cantiga that clearly invites a rhythmically free interpretation.

Manuscript references

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

[E]	340	viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/606small.htmlExternal link
[E]	FSM 2	viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/007small.htmlExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data: CSM 340http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=340

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

Stanzas

7' 7' 7' 7' 3' 7' 7' 7' 7'

Rhyme

aaabbbccd

	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
a	oza	isto	oɾes	iɲos	ados	e.eŋ	eʦes
b	i.a
c	uɾa
d	alβa

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min.		Time
Very slow	50	9:31
Slow	100	4:45
Medium	150	3:10
Fast	200	2:22
Very fast	250	1:54

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: 476