CSM Cantiga 384 Lyrics: A que por mui gran fremosura éste chamada Fror das frores Cantiga 384Mettmann assigns this cantiga to his metrical category XIII in which every hemistich of both the refrain and the stanzas has 7' syllables (i.e. eight syllables with the final one unstressed). This clearly comes from a desire to match the refrain to the stanzas, since the latter essentially have 7' syllable hemistichs throughout, notwithstanding certain irregularities in the first stanza, which unfortunately are supported by the musical notation (more on this below).

The refrain as written in [E], however, clearly has hemistichs of 8' syllables (i.e. nine with the final one unstressed). In order to force it into the 7' model, Mettmann had to drop the word mui from the first hemistich, write é in the second even though this is corrected to éste in the manuscript, drop the second lle in the third, and finally assume synaeresis to compress loores to two syllables in the fourth (apparently, although he made no comment on this last point). Previously on this website—though admittedly after a lot of toing and froing—I accepted these changes, preferring above all to keep the musical structure of the refrain and the stanza exactly the same. However, that decision was based on not being aware of the é → éste correction, and also accepting perhaps too readily the synaeresis in loores, something José-Martinho Montero Santalha describes in A estrutura métrica de algumas das Cantigas de Santa Maria as 'a form so exceptional [as to be] inadmissible'. (Note that modern Portuguese has louvores which strengthens the original hiatus with a consonant.) Whilst it might be possible to work around this by dropping the d' of d' outras and marking synalepha (giving seu nome que_outras loores), I have, for now at least, decided that the safest option is to reinstate the manuscript version of the refrain lyrics, and to transcribe its music without modification.

The stanzas, however, still need a bit of work. Unfortunately, in the first stanza as it appears in the manuscript, the first hemistich of line 5 and both hemistichs of line 6 have 8' syllables, and the music is written to accommodate this. In order to fit the other twelve stanzas I have therefore accepted Mettmann's edition of line 6, which drops the word end' and changes daquesto to desto, and I have also removed the superfluous conjunction e from the start of line 5. See the Music tab for details of my corresponding minor modifications to the musical notation.

Standard spelling
A que por mui gran fremosura éste chamada Fror das frores
Cantiga 384: A que por mui gran fremosura éste chamada Fror das frores
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 levou a alma dun frade que pintou o séu nome de tres coores.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores, 8' | 8' A
2 mui mais lle praz quando lle loan | séu nome que d' outras loores. 8' | 8' A
 
  Stanza I     
3 Desto direi un miragre, | segundo me foi contado, 7' | 7' b
4 que avẽo a un monge | bõo e ben ordinnado 7' | 7' b
5 que as hóras desta Virgen | dizía de mui bon grado, CSM 384:5See the main footnote to this cantiga. 7' | 7' b
6 e maior sabor havía | desto que d' outras sabores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 Este mui bon clérigu' éra | e mui de grado liía CSM 384:7Compare CSM 65:7 and the many instances of the alternative form crérig' (see the Concordance). 7' | 7' b
8 nas Vidas dos Santos Padres | e ar mui ben escrivía; 7' | 7' b
9 mais u quér que el achava | nome de Santa María 7' | 7' b
10 fazía-o mui fremoso | escrito con tres colores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/384
 
  Stanza III     
11 A primeira éra ouro, | coor rica e fremosa 7' | 7' b
12 a semellante da Virgen | nóbre e mui precïosa; 7' | 7' b
13 e a outra d' azur éra, | coor mui maravillosa 7' | 7' b
14 que ao céo semella | quand' é con sas esplandores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza IV     
15 A terceira chaman rósa, | porque é coor vermella; 7' | 7' b
16 onde cada ũa destas | coores mui ben semella 7' | 7' b
17 aa Virgen que é rica, | mui santa, e que parella 7' | 7' b
18 nunca houv' en fremosura, | ar é mellor das mellores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza V     
19 Ond' aqueste nome santo | o monge tragía sigo 7' | 7' b
20 da Virgen Santa María, | de que éra muit' amigo, 7' | 7' b
21 beijando-o ameúde | por vencer o ẽemigo 7' | 7' b
22 dïabo que sempre punna | de nos meter en errores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/384
 
  Stanza VI     
23 Onde foi ũa vegada | que jazía mui doente 7' | 7' b
24 dũa grand' enfermidade, | de que éra en possente; 7' | 7' b
25 e pero assí jazía, | viínna-lle sempre a mente CSM 384:25It is rather hard to choose between synaeresis in viínna and elision of sempre to resolve the surplus syllable here; neither would be remarkable in a different context. I've chosen the synaeresis, though, if only because the scribe could easily have written sempr if that had been intended. 7' | 7' b .o
26 de seer da Virgen santa | un dos séus mais loadores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza VII     
27 O abade e os monges | todos veer-o vẽéron, 7' | 7' b
28 e poi-lo viron maltreito, | un frade con el poséron 7' | 7' b
29 que lle tevésse companna; | e pois alí estevéron 7' | 7' b
30 un pouco, foron-se lógo. | Mais a Sennor das sennores 7' | 7' A
 
  Stanza VIII     
31 apareceu ao frade | que o guardav', en dormindo, 7' | 7' b
32 e viü que ao leito | se chegava passo indo, 7' | 7' b .bowa
33 e dizía-lle: “Non temas, | ca te farei ir sobindo 7' | 7' b
34 mig' óra a paraíso, | u veerás os maiores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/384
 
  Stanza IX     
35 Ca por quanto tu pintavas | méu nome de tres pinturas, 7' | 7' b
36 levar-t-ei suso ao céo, | u verás as aposturas, 7' | 7' b .o
37 e eno Livro da Vida | escrit' ontr' as escrituras 7' | 7' b
38 serás ontr' os que non mórren, | nen han coitas nen doores.” 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza X     
39 Entôn levou del a alma | sigo a Santa Reínna. 7' | 7' b
40 E o frad' espertou lógo | e foi ao leit' aginna; 7' | 7' b
41 e pois que o achou mórto, | fez sõar a campaínna 7' | 7' b
42 segund' estableçud' éra | polos séus santos doctores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza XI     
43 Mantenente o abade | chegou i cono convento, 7' | 7' b
44 que éran i de companna | ben oiteenta ou cento; 7' | 7' b
45 e aquel monge lles disse: | “Sennores, por cousimento 7' | 7' b
46 o que vi vos direi todo, | se m' ên fordes oïdores.” 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/384
 
  Stanza XII     
47 Entôn contou o que vira, | segundo vos hei ja dito; 7' | 7' b
48 e o abade tan tóste | o fez meter en escrito 7' | 7' b
49 pera destrüír as óbras | do ẽemigo maldito, 7' | 7' b
50 que nos quér levar a lógo | u sempr' hajamos pavores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 
  Stanza XIII     
51 E pois soubéron o feito, | loaron de voontade 7' | 7' b
52 a Virgen Santa María, | a Sennor de pïedade; 7' | 7' b
53 e se en algũa cousa | ll' erraran per necidade, 7' | 7' b
54 punnaron de se guardaren | que non fossen pecadores. 7' | 7' A
  A que por mui gran fremosura | éste chamada Fror das frores...    
 

Footnotes

Mettmann assigns this cantiga to his metrical category XIII in which every hemistich of both the refrain and the stanzas has 7' syllables (i.e. eight syllables with the final one unstressed). This clearly comes from a desire to match the refrain to the stanzas, since the latter essentially have 7' syllable hemistichs throughout, notwithstanding certain irregularities in the first stanza, which unfortunately are supported by the musical notation (more on this below).

The refrain as written in [E], however, clearly has hemistichs of 8' syllables (i.e. nine with the final one unstressed). In order to force it into the 7' model, Mettmann had to drop the word mui from the first hemistich, write é in the second even though this is corrected to éste in the manuscript, drop the second lle in the third, and finally assume synaeresis to compress loores to two syllables in the fourth (apparently, although he made no comment on this last point). Previously on this website—though admittedly after a lot of toing and froing—I accepted these changes, preferring above all to keep the musical structure of the refrain and the stanza exactly the same. However, that decision was based on not being aware of the é → éste correction, and also accepting perhaps too readily the synaeresis in loores, something José-Martinho Montero Santalha describes in A estrutura métrica de algumas das Cantigas de Santa Maria as 'a form so exceptional [as to be] inadmissible'. (Note that modern Portuguese has louvores which strengthens the original hiatus with a consonant.) Whilst it might be possible to work around this by dropping the d' of d' outras and marking synalepha (giving seu nome que_outras loores), I have, for now at least, decided that the safest option is to reinstate the manuscript version of the refrain lyrics, and to transcribe its music without modification.

The stanzas, however, still need a bit of work. Unfortunately, in the first stanza as it appears in the manuscript, the first hemistich of line 5 and both hemistichs of line 6 have 8' syllables, and the music is written to accommodate this. In order to fit the other twelve stanzas I have therefore accepted Mettmann's edition of line 6, which drops the word end' and changes daquesto to desto, and I have also removed the superfluous conjunction e from the start of line 5. See the Music tab for details of my corresponding minor modifications to the musical notation.

Line 5:

See the main footnote to this cantiga.

Line 7:

Compare CSM 65:7 and the many instances of the alternative form crérig' (see the Concordance).

Line 25:

It is rather hard to choose between synaeresis in viínna and elision of sempre to resolve the surplus syllable here; neither would be remarkable in a different context. I've chosen the synaeresis, though, if only because the scribe could easily have written sempr if that had been intended.

Standard spelling  
Zoom

Footnotes

E1:

The only flat written in [E] is the one at E4 after the folio break. Both Anglés and Elmes are of the opinion that it should be present throughout, however, and it is possible that the folio containing most of the staves escaped correction, accidentally. I have not added the flats to every stave (as that would not be in line with my general policy of minimal intervention to only fix unequivocal errors) but as a performer you can make your own choice.

E2:

See the main note on the Lyrics tab for the background to the changes that I have made here and at E3 and E5. In this case, and at E3, the single plica .ood is intended to keep the rhythm of the .o + .e sequence that it replaces, but (of course) to accommodate just one syllable rather than two.

E3:

See E2.

E4:

See E1.

E5:

See E2. Here I have matched the syllable count simply by copying the music for dizia in the preceding line.

Manuscript references

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

[E]384viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/686small.htmlExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 384http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=384

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

8' | 8'  8' | 8'

Stanzas

7' | 7'  7' | 7'  7' | 7'  7' | 7'

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXIIXIII
Aoɾes
b adoi.aozaeʎaigoenteɛɾoŋindouɾasiɲaentoitoade

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5026:43
Slow10013:21
Medium1508:54
Fast2006:40
Very fast2505:20

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: 1336