CSM Cantiga 20 Lyrics: Virga de Jésse, quen te soubésse loar

Standard spelling
Virga de Jésse, quen te soubésse loar
Cantiga 20: Virga de Jésse, quen te soubésse loar
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, por quantas mercees nos faz.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Virga de Jésse, 4' A
2 quen te soubésse 4' A
3 loar como mereces, 6' B
4 e sen houvésse 4' A
5 per que dissésse 4' A
6 quanto por nós padeces! 6' B
 
  Stanza I     
7 Ca tu noit' e día 5' c
8 sempr' estás rogando 5' d
9 téu Fill', ai María, 5' c
10 por nós que, andando 5' d
11 aquí pecando 4' d
12 e mal obrand' — o 4' d
13 que tu muit' avorreces — 6' B
14 non quéra, quando 4' d
15 sevér julgando, 4' d
16 catar nóssas sandeces. 6' B
  Virga de Jésse...    
 
  Stanza II     
17 E ar todavía 5' c
18 sempr' estás lidando 5' d
19 por nós a perfía 5' c
20 o dém' arrancando, 5' d
21 que, sossacando, 4' d
22 nos vai tentando 4' d
23 con sabores rafeces; 6' B
24 mas tu guardando 4' d
25 e amparando 4' d
26 nos vas, poi-lo couseces. 6' B
  Virga de Jésse...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/20
 
  Stanza III     
27 Miragres fremosos 5' c
28 vas por nós fazendo 5' d
29 e maravillosos, 5' c
30 per quant' éu entendo, 5' d
31 e corregendo 4' d
32 muit' e sofrendo, 4' d
33 ca non nos escaeces, 6' B
34 e, contendendo, 4' d
35 nos defendendo 4' d
36 do démo, que sterreces. 6' B
  Virga de Jésse...    
 
  Stanza IV     
37 Aos soberviosos 5' c
38 d' alto vas decendo, 5' d
39 e os homildosos 5' c
40 en honrra crecendo, 5' d
41 e enadendo 4' d
42 e provezendo 4' d
43 tan santas grãadeces. 6' B
44 P'ren m' acomendo CSM 20:44The surplus syllable, which features in all three manuscripts, has no easy resolution here. [E] has pore macomendo—not porẽ as would be expected—but this is just scribal error and offers no clues. It is clear though that, despite the presence of the long plica .oron at the end of the musical phrase, we should not break it to fit -mendo, as this would be completely at odds with the rhyme and rhythm. The only reasonable option seems to be to squeeze the whole word porên onto the first note .on of the phrase of music, as indicated here. Fortunately, pr is a common syllable onset in other words, so the result sounds quite natural. 4' d
45 a ti e rendo, 4' d
46 que os téus non faleces. 6' B
  Virga de Jésse...    
 

Footnotes

Line 44:

The surplus syllable, which features in all three manuscripts, has no easy resolution here. [E] has pore macomendo—not porẽ as would be expected—but this is just scribal error and offers no clues. It is clear though that, despite the presence of the long plica .oron at the end of the musical phrase, we should not break it to fit -mendo, as this would be completely at odds with the rhyme and rhythm. The only reasonable option seems to be to squeeze the whole word porên onto the first note .on of the phrase of music, as indicated here. Fortunately, pr is a common syllable onset in other words, so the result sounds quite natural.

Standard spelling  
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Manuscript references

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

[E]20viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/089small.htmlExternal link
[T]20 
[To]20viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob020small.gifExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 20http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=20

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

4'  4'  6'  4'  4'  6'

Stanzas

5'  5'  5'  5'  4'  4'  6'  4'  4'  6'

Rhyme

AABAAB / cdcdddBddB
 RIIIIIIIV
Aɛse 
Beʦes
c i.aozos
d andoendo

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow508:02
Slow1004:01
Medium1502:40
Fast2002:00
Very fast2501:36

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: 402