CSM Cantiga 41 Lyrics: A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor Cantiga 41This is the first of five cantigas that use the rondeau form, in which the first line of the refrain is repeated after the first two lines of each stanza, with the whole refrain at the end as usual. The other rondeaux are CSM 120, CSM 143, CSM 279 and CSM 308.

Standard spelling
A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor
Cantiga 41: A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor
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 como Santa María guareceu o que éra sandeu.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor, 10  A
2 ben póde dar séu siso 6' B
3 ao sandeu, pois ao pecador 10  A
4 faz haver Paraíso. 6' B
 
  Stanza I     
5 En Seixons fez a Garín cambiador 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
6 que tant' houve de o tirar sabor 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
7 do poder do démo, ca de pavor 10  A
8 del perdera o siso; 6' B
9 mas ela tolleu-ll' aquesta door 10  A
10 e déu-lle Paraíso. 6' B
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor...    
 
  Stanza II     
11 Gran ben lle fez en est' e grand' amor 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
12 que o livrou do dém' enganador, 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
13 que o fillara come traedor 10  A
14 e tollera-ll' o siso; 6' B
15 mas cobrou-llo ela, e por mellor 10  A
16 ar déu-lle Paraíso. 6' B
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/41
 
  Stanza III     
17 Loada será mentr' o mundo for 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
18 de poder, de bondad' e de valor, 10  A
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor    
19 porque a sa mercee é mui maior CSM 41:19Synaeresis is common in the word mercee, and is confirmed in this case by [T] which has the music written out for all stanzas, and assigns a single plica .oron to the compressed syllable -cee. In [E] the corresponding ligature (in the first stanza) has the unique shape .orod, which looks like a possible scribal error. 10  A .oron
20 ca o nósso mal siso, 6' B
21 e sempre a séu Fill' é rogador 10  A
22 que nos dé Paraíso. 6' B
  A Virgen, Madre de Nóstro Sennor...    
 

Footnotes

This is the first of five cantigas that use the rondeau form, in which the first line of the refrain is repeated after the first two lines of each stanza, with the whole refrain at the end as usual. The other rondeaux are CSM 120, CSM 143, CSM 279 and CSM 308.

Line 19:

Synaeresis is common in the word mercee, and is confirmed in this case by [T] which has the music written out for all stanzas, and assigns a single plica .oron to the compressed syllable -cee. In [E] the corresponding ligature (in the first stanza) has the unique shape .orod, which looks like a possible scribal error.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

At this point in the manuscript the music scribe appears to have drawn round an itinerant caterpillar.

E2:

The strange .orod ligature shape that is clearly visible here in Anglés' facsimile of [E] is unique in that manuscript, and I have assumed it to be the result of either medieval scribal error or careless modern retouching. My replacement shape .oron, an ordinary long plica, is the form found in [T]. Elmes has .onod, attaching the lower stem to the first note, and transcribes it accordingly as an augmented long ascending plica. Anglés, in his own transcription, reproduces the shape from his facsimile exactly and tags it "(sic)", but transcribes it descending as if it were .oron or the .royo found in [To].

Manuscript references

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

[E]41viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/122small.htmlExternal link
[T]41 
[To]44view p1http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob043small.gifExternal link
view p2http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob044small.gifExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 41http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=41

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

10  6'  10  6'

Stanzas

10  10  10  6'  10  6'

Rhyme

ABAB / AAABAB
 RIIIIII
A
Bizo

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow507:09
Slow1003:34
Medium1502:23
Fast2001:47
Very fast2501:25

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: 358