CSM Cantiga 220 Lyrics: E quena non loará a que todo mal tólle Cantiga 220This cantiga looks a bit difficult to sort out at first, as there are three surplus metrical syllables in the first stanza, and yet the music in [E] has a separate note for each one. However, if we compare the musical phrases of the refrain with those of the stanza, a resolution is readily apparent. Specifically, the refrain music for a que todo mal tolle e todo is exactly the same as the stanza music for Ca muito é gran dereito quen d' angeos, except that the plica .ohod and ligature .owo have each been broken into separate puncta .o + .o. (In Elmes' edition, these are the notes F-G on -to é in the second bar of line 4, and C-D on ge-os in the second bar of line 5). Likewise, the music for e nos todo mal tolle no mundo e in the second line of the stanza is the same again, but with just the .owo from the refrain broken into two puncta (Elmes C-D on -do e). The resolution, therefore, is to join these puncta back together as the corresponding ligated forms; this makes the second and third stanzas completely normal, and just requires us to view the first stanza as having two cases of synalepha and one of synaeresis.

Standard spelling
E quena non loará a que todo mal tólle
Cantiga 220: E quena non loará a que todo mal tólle
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 Refrain  Metrics  
1 E quena non loará 7  A
2 a que todo mal tólle | e todo ben nos dá? CSM 220:2Mettmann splits this line into two, between mal and tólle, but then claims in his metrical summary that these two lines have six and seven syllables respectively, which is clearly not the case—it would be five and eight. (The elision tóll' e would make it five and seven, but that wouldn't fit the music as written.) In any case, tólle seems to me to sit better before the caesura, for the sense, the metre and the music, and having all on one line matches the stanza structure better, and avoids exposing a non-rhyming word. 6' | 6  A
 
  Stanza I     
3 Ca muito é gran dereito, | quen d' ángeos é servida 6' | 6' b .ood .owo
4 e nos todo mal tólle | no mundo e nos dá vida, CSM 220:4See main note to this cantiga. 6' | 6' b .owo
5 que sempre a loemos; | ca de loor comprida CSM 220:5See main note to this cantiga. 6' | 6' b
6 éste e sempre será. 7  A
  E quena non loará...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 Dereit' é que loemos | a que sempr' é loada 6' | 6' b
8 e da corte dos céos | servida e honrrada, 6' | 6' b
9 e que ao séu Fillo | por nós é avogada; 6' | 6' b
10 e grande razôn i há. 7  A
  E quena non loará...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/220
 
  Stanza III     
11 Dereit' é que loemos | a que todos los santos 6' | 6' b
12 loan días e noites | con mui fremosos cantos, 6' | 6' b
13 e Déus en nós por ela | móstra miragres quantos 6' | 6' b
14 por outra non mostrará. 7  A
  E quena non loará...    
 

Footnotes

This cantiga looks a bit difficult to sort out at first, as there are three surplus metrical syllables in the first stanza, and yet the music in [E] has a separate note for each one. However, if we compare the musical phrases of the refrain with those of the stanza, a resolution is readily apparent. Specifically, the refrain music for a que todo mal tolle e todo is exactly the same as the stanza music for Ca muito é gran dereito quen d' angeos, except that the plica .ohod and ligature .owo have each been broken into separate puncta .o + .o. (In Elmes' edition, these are the notes F-G on -to é in the second bar of line 4, and C-D on ge-os in the second bar of line 5). Likewise, the music for e nos todo mal tolle no mundo e in the second line of the stanza is the same again, but with just the .owo from the refrain broken into two puncta (Elmes C-D on -do e). The resolution, therefore, is to join these puncta back together as the corresponding ligated forms; this makes the second and third stanzas completely normal, and just requires us to view the first stanza as having two cases of synalepha and one of synaeresis.

Line 2:

Mettmann splits this line into two, between mal and tólle, but then claims in his metrical summary that these two lines have six and seven syllables respectively, which is clearly not the case—it would be five and eight. (The elision tóll' e would make it five and seven, but that wouldn't fit the music as written.) In any case, tólle seems to me to sit better before the caesura, for the sense, the metre and the music, and having all on one line matches the stanza structure better, and avoids exposing a non-rhyming word.

Line 4:

See main note to this cantiga.

Line 5:

See main note to this cantiga.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

See the lyric notes for a full account of the replacements here and at E2 and E3.

E4:

The decorated capital E appears to have been erased at this point. No doubt the illuminator drew the wrong letter, which happens rather frequently elsewhere.

Manuscript references

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

[E]220viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/399small.htmlExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 220http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=220

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  6' | 6

Stanzas

6' | 6'  6' | 6'  6' | 6'  7

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIII
Aa
b idaadaantos

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow504:32
Slow1002:16
Medium1501:30
Fast2001:08
Very fast2500:54

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: 227