CSM Cantiga 257 Lyrics: Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude sas relicas

Standard spelling
Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude sas relicas
Cantiga 257: Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude sas relicas
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 guardou sas relicas que se non danassen entr' outras muitas que se danaron.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude 13' A
2 sas relicas per que muitos receben saúde. 13' A
 
  Stanza I     
3 Desto direi un miragre grand' a maravilla, 13' b
4 que al Rei Don Afonsso avẽo. En Sevilla 13' b
5 foi guardar relicas da Madre de Déus e Filla 13' b
6 e de santos; e direi com', e Déus i m' ajude. 13' A
  Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 As relicas éran muitas de Santa María 13' b
8 e de santos e de santas, por que Déus fazía 13' b
9 miragres; e el Rei ensserró-as aquel día 13' b
10 e foi-s' end', e nonas mandou catar amïúde. 13' A
  Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/257
 
  Stanza III     
11 Foi-s' el Rei pera Castéla u morou déz anos; 13' b
12 e pois vẽo a Sevilla, achou grandes danos 13' b
13 nas relicas, pero siían envóltas en panos; CSM 257:13In this line and line 16, synaeresis is required in the same word, siían. Here the compressed metrical syllable falls on just a single short note, but the musical result is quite acceptable. See also CSM 84:27 which has synaeresis in the same word. 13' b .o
14 mas a Virgen precïosa ao séu recude. 13' A
  Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude...    
 
  Stanza IV     
15 Toda-las outras relicas achou mal danadas 13' b
16 e as arcas en que siían mal desbaratadas; CSM 257:16See the note to line 13. In this case the compressed metrical syllable happens to fall on a descending plica .ron so the three natural syllables come out in the singing. 13' b .ron
17 mais as de Santa María éran ben guardadas, 13' b
18 ca o dano das sas cousas mui ben se sacude. 13' A
  Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude...    
 
  Stanza V     
19 Quand' aquesto viu el Rei Don Afonsso, loores 13' b
20 déu grandes a Jesú-Cristo, Sennor dos sennores; 13' b
21 e houve des i da Virgen tan grandes amores, 13' b
22 que cuido que o coraçôn nunca ende mude. 13' A
  Ben guarda Santa María pola sa vertude...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/257
 

Footnotes

Line 13:

In this line and line 16, synaeresis is required in the same word, siían. Here the compressed metrical syllable falls on just a single short note, but the musical result is quite acceptable. See also CSM 84:27 which has synaeresis in the same word.

Line 16:

See the note to line 13. In this case the compressed metrical syllable happens to fall on a descending plica .ron so the three natural syllables come out in the singing.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

The stave break here in the manuscript is after this plica, but before the final syllable of Afonsso that belongs with it. It all works out by the end of the line though.

Manuscript references

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

[E]257viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/463small.htmlExternal link
[F]44 

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 257http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=257

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

13'  13'

Stanzas

13'  13'  13'  13'

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIIIIVV
Aude
b iʎai.aanosadasoɾes

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow508:57
Slow1004:28
Medium1502:59
Fast2002:14
Very fast2501:47

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: 448