CSM Cantiga 52 Lyrics: Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer

Standard spelling
Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer
Cantiga 52: Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer
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 fez vĩir las cabras montesas a Montsarrat, e se leixavan ordennar aos monges cada día.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer 12  A
2 a Santa María, de que Déus quis nacer. 12  A
 
  Stanza I     
3 E dest' un miragre, se Déus m' ampar, 10  b
4 mui fremoso vos quér' óra contar, 10  b
5 que quiso mui grand' a Grorïosa mostrar; 12  b
6 oíde-mio, se ouçades prazer: CSM 52:6As noted by Mettmann and Elmes, [E] has this line as oyde-mio, se Deus vos amostre prazer, but these words are laid under only enough notes to fit se ouçades prazer. The latter is the form of words found in both [To] and [T], although in both cases as a correction written over an erasure. Elmes' main score therefore has the [E] music with the [To] words—which is good, and exactly what we want. However, Elmes also provides a suggestion for making the [E] words fit the music: simply use the second line of music from the refrain instead, as would happen in regular virelai form. Unfortunately, this would conflict with every other stanza, all of which are metrically fine and have the ten syllables needed to fit the music, so we can safely ignore this solution. As it happens, Mettmann notes that [E] itself has se ouçades written in between the lines by a later hand, which pretty much wraps up the issue. Just one final point: Elmes' syllabation of oide-mio (or "oyde-mio") isn't right: he has given both words two syllables, whereas the first should have three, and the second just one. 10  A
  Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 En Monsarrat, de que vos ja contei, 10  b
8 há ũ' igreja, per quant' apres' hei, 10  b
9 feita no nome da Madre do alto Rei 12  b
10 que quis por nós mórte na cruz prender. 10  A
  Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/52
 
  Stanza III     
11 Aquel logar a pé dun mont' está 10  b
12 en que muitas cabras montesas há; 10  b
13 ond' estranna maravilla avẽo ja, 12  b
14 ca foron todas ben juso decer 10  A
 
  Stanza IV     
15 ant' a eigreja qu' en un vale jaz, 10  b
16 e ant' a pórta paravan-s' en az 10  b
17 e estavan i todas mui quedas en paz, 12  b
18 ta que os monges las ían monger. 10  A
  Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer...    
 
  Stanza V     
19 E quatr' anos durou, segund' oí, 10  b
20 que os monges houvéron pera si 10  b
21 assaz de leite; que cada noite alí 12  b
22 viínnan as cabras esto fazer, 10  A
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/52
 
  Stanza VI     
23 atẽes que un crerizôn sandeu 10  b
24 furtou un cabrit' ên e o comeu; 10  b
25 e das cabras depois assí lles conteceu 12  b
26 que nunca mais las podéron haver. 10  A
  Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer...    
 
  Stanza VII     
27 E desta guisa a Madre de Déus 10  b
28 quis governar aqueles monges séus, 10  b
29 por que depois gran romaría de roméus 12  b
30 vẽéron polo miragre saber. 10  A
  Mui gran dereit' é d' as bestias obedecer...    
 

Footnotes

Line 6:

As noted by Mettmann and Elmes, [E] has this line as oyde-mio, se Deus vos amostre prazer, but these words are laid under only enough notes to fit se ouçades prazer. The latter is the form of words found in both [To] and [T], although in both cases as a correction written over an erasure. Elmes' main score therefore has the [E] music with the [To] words—which is good, and exactly what we want. However, Elmes also provides a suggestion for making the [E] words fit the music: simply use the second line of music from the refrain instead, as would happen in regular virelai form. Unfortunately, this would conflict with every other stanza, all of which are metrically fine and have the ten syllables needed to fit the music, so we can safely ignore this solution. As it happens, Mettmann notes that [E] itself has se ouçades written in between the lines by a later hand, which pretty much wraps up the issue. Just one final point: Elmes' syllabation of oide-mio (or "oyde-mio") isn't right: he has given both words two syllables, whereas the first should have three, and the second just one.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

See the note to line 6 on the Lyrics tab for more on the textual underlay to this stave in the manuscript.

Manuscript references

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

[E]52viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/142small.htmlExternal link
[T]52 
[To]66view p1http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob062small.gifExternal link
view p2http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob063small.gifExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 52http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=52

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

12  12

Stanzas

10  10  12  10

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVII
A
b ei̯aieu̯ɛu̯s

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow509:43
Slow1004:51
Medium1503:14
Fast2002:25
Very fast2501:56

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: 486