CSM Cantiga 224 Lyrics: A Reínna en que é comprida toda mesura Cantiga 224This cantiga is metrically wayward, in having a total of eight lines where the first hemistich has an exceptional feminine rhyme, and hence an extra syllable. As a result, the six stanzas with 'regular' metre do not fit the music as written in [E], and indeed only three stanzas (I, IV and XI) out of a total of twelve actually do fit. In [F], there appear to have been some sporadic and clumsy attempts to fix the problem, with lines 12, 18, 34 and 49 having one syllable fewer in the first hemistich (see footnotes for details), but in each case the final syllable is still left unstressed, giving 6' rather than the desired 7.

In addition, there are clear rhythmic problems in the original [E] music, in the refrain and in the first line of the vuelta. The latter is the more obvious case, since here creença rhymes with femença and nacença, but whereas the latter two words each fall on .o + .on + .on (short–long–long), matching the natural stress nicely, the word creença falls on .on + .o + .on (long–short–long), which is very unnatural and clearly out of kilter with the other two. In the refrain the rhymes are different, and both words mesura and natura have .on + .o + .on; obviously there can be no internal metrical mismatch here, but the rhythm still goes against the natural stress.

To be fair, having musical rhythm clash with natural word stress in the Cantigas isn't exactly uncommon—away from the ends of the rhyming lines or hemistichs it doesn't seem to be important at all. Also, as I've said in the notes on Using the musical transcriptions, mensural problems are not my main concern at this stage of my work on the music. However, in this case I believe that the two distinct problems outlined above—hypermetricity and rhythmic mismatch—are related, and actually best fixed all at once. Producing a musically pleasing result for the refrain and every stanza has been a bit of a challenge, and you can see from the number of red notes on the Music tab that I've had to take more liberties than I usually do. However, I stand firmly by the resulting interpretation, and believe that it may well correspond to the original composer's intent, before the music scribe mangled it.

As you can see, my basic approach has been to restore the .o + .on + .on (short–long–long) cadence throughout the score, by adding the final virga .on where it is lacking. I then compensate for this earlier in each line by collapsing two notes .on + .o into one ligature .oyo where metrically necessary. The latter ligature fits the six regular stanzas in all positions but can easily be separated back out into individual notes to accommodate the hypermetric lines, as indicated in my text by the double underlining. Note that in the first two lines of the stanza music, I have merely replaced a single virga .on with .oyo. In the case of the second line, this is to make fitting the word Aguadïana easier in stanza III; in the first, merely so that every line matches neatly, although there is no metrical justification.

I'll leave it as an exercise for the performer to work out how to apply all of these changes to Elmes' edition, but hopefully the inherent regularity will make it all the more easy to do so.

Standard spelling
A Reínna en que é comprida toda mesura
Cantiga 224: A Reínna en que é comprida toda mesura
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 de Terena, que é no reino de Portugal, ressucitou ũa meninna mórta.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura, 7 | 7' A
2 non é sen razôn se faz | miragre sobre natura. 7 | 7' A
 
  Stanza I     
3 Ant' é con mui gran razôn, | a quen parar i femença, 7 | 7' b
4 en haver tal don de Déus | a de que el quis nacença 7 | 7' b
5 fillar por dar a nós paz, | e tal é nóssa creença; 7 | 7' b
6 e quen aquesto non cree, | faz torpidad' e loucura. CSM 224:6In this line we could assume ordinary synaeresis on cree with the same musical outcome. I have chosen to mark the ligature breaking, however, for consistency with the other hypermetric lines where synaeresis is not an option due to intervening consonants. 7' | 7' A .oyo
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 Porend' un miragre séu | vos direi, pois m' ascuitades, 7 | 7' b
8 da Virgen a que déu Déus | poder sobr' enfermidades 7 | 7' b
9 de as toller; e sei ben | que, se i mentes parades, 7 | 7' b
10 veredes que há poder | sobre toda creatura. 7 | 7' A
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/224
 
  Stanza III     
11 Assí com' oí dizer | a quen m' aquest' há contado, 7 | 7' b
12 en riba d' Aguadïana | há un logar muit' honrrado CSM 224:12[F] en is missing at the start of this line, which makes no sense at all. 7' | 7' b .oyo
13 e Terena chaman i, | logar mui sant' aficado, 7 | 7' b
14 u muitos miragres faz | a Sennor de dereitura. 7 | 7' A
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 
  Stanza IV     
15 Ond' avẽo pois assí | que en Béja, u morava 7 | 7' b
16 un hóme casado ben | con sa mollér que amava, 7 | 7' b
17 almoxerife del Rei | éra el, e confïava 7 | 7' b
18 muito en Santa María; | mais havía gran tristura CSM 224:18[F] muit' en Santa Maria. 7' | 7' A .oyo
 
  Stanza V     
19 porque non podí' haver | fillo de que gradoasse 7 | 7' b
20 e que pois sa mórt' en séu | haver herdeiro ficasse. 7 | 7' b
21 Mais sa mollér emprennou, | e u cuidou que folgasse 7 | 7' b
22 con fill' ou filla, entôn | ar vẽo-ll' outra rancura. 7 | 7' A
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/224
 
  Stanza VI     
23 Ca u pariu sa mollér, | naceu-ll' entôn ũa filla 7 | 7' b
24 que ben terredes que foi | muit' estranna maravilla 7 | 7' b
25 ca o braço lle saiu | ontr' o córp' e a verilla 7 | 7' b
26 juntado de sũu assí | que non éra de costura. CSM 224:26Note that the first hemistich here does not have a feminine rhyme: assí is stressed as always on the final syllable. A more normal resolution is therefore appropriate for the surplus syllable, and synalepha in sũu assi fits the bill, with the combined metrical syllable -u a- falling on a descending plica .ron. 7 | 7' A .ron
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 
  Stanza VII     
27 O bon hóm' e sa mollér | foron entôn mui cuitados 7 | 7' b
28 e entenderon que foi | aquesto per séus pecados; 7 | 7' b
29 choraron muito porên, | pero foron conortados, 7 | 7' b
30 eno que Déus quér fazer | cobraron sa queixadura. 7 | 7' A
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 
  Stanza VIII     
31 E un an' enteir' ou mais | en sa casa a crïaron. 7 | 7' b
32 E dos miragres entôn | da Virgen alí contaron 7 | 7' b
33 que faz grandes en Terena; | porend' ambos outorgaron 7' | 7' b .oyo
34 de levar i a meninna, | fizéron atal postura. CSM 224:34Mettmann I and II de levar la menynna. Given that the first hemistich of this line ends with an unstressed syllable in both manuscripts, it still needs another syllable to fix the metre. I have inserted the word i on the model of CSM 176:26 e levou i a omagen, and changed la to a accordingly. The original word la appears in both manuscripts but wouldn't normally be expected in this position (levar a or levá-la would be more regular), so it could be a Castilian-influenced copying error for i a or ia anyway.

Mettmann I fizeron; Mettmann II e fizeron; [F] fezeron; [E] fizeron. The e inserted by Mettmann in his second edition makes some sense, stylistically, but I don't believe it to be essential. If you prefer to keep it, then reading the second hemistich here as e fizeron tal postura would be an acceptable compromise.
7' | 7' A .oyo
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/224
 
  Stanza IX     
35 E ambos de Béja 'ntôn | se saíron pois un día 7 | 7' b
36 con outra companna d' i; | e quando foron na vía, 7 | 7' b
37 ũa légua do logar | u éra Santa María 7 | 7' b
38 de Teren', acharon sa | filla mórta. Lóg' a ura CSM 224:38The word sa in the first hemistich wouldn't naturally be stressed, but here the 7 metre seems to require it. In this case there's no point restoring the unelided form Terena, because that would then just require unnatural stress on the final syllable of acharon instead in order to give 7' rather than 6''. 7 | 7' A
 
  Stanza X     
39 houvéron de a levar | alá por ser soterrada CSM 224:39Mettmann seer; [F] ser; [E] seer. 7 | 7' b
40 eno cimiteiro d' i. | Outro día madrugada 7 | 7' b
41 mandaron missas cantar; | e ũa missa cantada, 7 | 7' b
42 resorgiu a mórt' entôn, | braadando de mesura. 7 | 7' A
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 
  Stanza XI     
43 A vólta foi no logar | grand', e os roméus correron 7 | 7' b
44 aa moça, e entôn | dos panos la desbolveron 7 | 7' b
45 e viron-ll' o braç' alí | desapreso, e renderon 7 | 7' b
46 graças a Santa María, | que é Sennor d' apostura. 7' | 7' A .oyo
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/224
 
  Stanza XII     
47 Pois aquel miragr' atal | viron os que i vẽéron 7 | 7' b
48 en Teren', e lóg' assí | mui grandes ofértas déron 7 | 7' b
49 en Béja e nos logares; | e pois que esto soubéron, CSM 224:49[F] en Bej' e nos logares. 7' | 7' b .oyo
50 feito tan maravilloso, | loaron a Virgen pura. 7' | 7' A .oyo
  A Reínna en que é | comprida toda mesura...    
 

Footnotes

This cantiga is metrically wayward, in having a total of eight lines where the first hemistich has an exceptional feminine rhyme, and hence an extra syllable. As a result, the six stanzas with 'regular' metre do not fit the music as written in [E], and indeed only three stanzas (I, IV and XI) out of a total of twelve actually do fit. In [F], there appear to have been some sporadic and clumsy attempts to fix the problem, with lines 12, 18, 34 and 49 having one syllable fewer in the first hemistich (see footnotes for details), but in each case the final syllable is still left unstressed, giving 6' rather than the desired 7.

In addition, there are clear rhythmic problems in the original [E] music, in the refrain and in the first line of the vuelta. The latter is the more obvious case, since here creença rhymes with femença and nacença, but whereas the latter two words each fall on .o + .on + .on (short–long–long), matching the natural stress nicely, the word creença falls on .on + .o + .on (long–short–long), which is very unnatural and clearly out of kilter with the other two. In the refrain the rhymes are different, and both words mesura and natura have .on + .o + .on; obviously there can be no internal metrical mismatch here, but the rhythm still goes against the natural stress.

To be fair, having musical rhythm clash with natural word stress in the Cantigas isn't exactly uncommon—away from the ends of the rhyming lines or hemistichs it doesn't seem to be important at all. Also, as I've said in the notes on Using the musical transcriptions, mensural problems are not my main concern at this stage of my work on the music. However, in this case I believe that the two distinct problems outlined above—hypermetricity and rhythmic mismatch—are related, and actually best fixed all at once. Producing a musically pleasing result for the refrain and every stanza has been a bit of a challenge, and you can see from the number of red notes on the Music tab that I've had to take more liberties than I usually do. However, I stand firmly by the resulting interpretation, and believe that it may well correspond to the original composer's intent, before the music scribe mangled it.

As you can see, my basic approach has been to restore the .o + .on + .on (short–long–long) cadence throughout the score, by adding the final virga .on where it is lacking. I then compensate for this earlier in each line by collapsing two notes .on + .o into one ligature .oyo where metrically necessary. The latter ligature fits the six regular stanzas in all positions but can easily be separated back out into individual notes to accommodate the hypermetric lines, as indicated in my text by the double underlining. Note that in the first two lines of the stanza music, I have merely replaced a single virga .on with .oyo. In the case of the second line, this is to make fitting the word Aguadïana easier in stanza III; in the first, merely so that every line matches neatly, although there is no metrical justification.

I'll leave it as an exercise for the performer to work out how to apply all of these changes to Elmes' edition, but hopefully the inherent regularity will make it all the more easy to do so.

Line 6:

In this line we could assume ordinary synaeresis on cree with the same musical outcome. I have chosen to mark the ligature breaking, however, for consistency with the other hypermetric lines where synaeresis is not an option due to intervening consonants.

Line 12:

[F] en is missing at the start of this line, which makes no sense at all.

Line 18:

[F] muit' en Santa Maria.

Line 26:

Note that the first hemistich here does not have a feminine rhyme: assí is stressed as always on the final syllable. A more normal resolution is therefore appropriate for the surplus syllable, and synalepha in sũu assi fits the bill, with the combined metrical syllable -u a- falling on a descending plica .ron.

Line 34:

Mettmann I and II de levar la menynna. Given that the first hemistich of this line ends with an unstressed syllable in both manuscripts, it still needs another syllable to fix the metre. I have inserted the word i on the model of CSM 176:26 e levou i a omagen, and changed la to a accordingly. The original word la appears in both manuscripts but wouldn't normally be expected in this position (levar a or levá-la would be more regular), so it could be a Castilian-influenced copying error for i a or ia anyway.

Line 34:

Mettmann I fizeron; Mettmann II e fizeron; [F] fezeron; [E] fizeron. The e inserted by Mettmann in his second edition makes some sense, stylistically, but I don't believe it to be essential. If you prefer to keep it, then reading the second hemistich here as e fizeron tal postura would be an acceptable compromise.

Line 38:

The word sa in the first hemistich wouldn't naturally be stressed, but here the 7 metre seems to require it. In this case there's no point restoring the unelided form Terena, because that would then just require unnatural stress on the final syllable of acharon instead in order to give 7' rather than 6''.

Line 39:

Mettmann seer; [F] ser; [E] seer.

Line 49:

[F] en Bej' e nos logares.

Standard spelling  
Zoom

Footnotes

E1:

See the main footnote on the Lyrics tab for a full account of the changes I have made to the music here.

E2:

This musical shape is a bit of a mess in the manuscript, but it appears that the lower body and the stem are both crossed out, leaving just a punctum on F, which matches the vuelta.

Manuscript references

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

[E]224viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/404small.htmlExternal link
[F]3 

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 224http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=224

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 | 7'  7 | 7'

Stanzas

7 | 7'  7 | 7'  7 | 7'  7' | 7' I IV XI
7 | 7'  7 | 7'  7 | 7'  7 | 7' II V VI VII IX X
7 | 7'  7' | 7'  7 | 7'  7 | 7' III
7 | 7'  7 | 7'  7' | 7'  7' | 7' VIII XII

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXII
Auɾa
b enʦaadesadoaβaaseiʎaadosaɾoŋi.aadaeɾoŋɛɾoŋ

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5022:11
Slow10011:05
Medium1507:24
Fast2005:32
Very fast2504:26

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: 1110