CSM Cantiga 73 Lyrics: Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar

Standard spelling
Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar
Cantiga 73: Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar
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 tornou a casula branca que tingiu o vinno vermello.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar 12  A
2 a que pód' os pecados das almas lavar. 12  A
 
  Stanza I     
3 E dest' un miragre fremoso vos direi 12  b
4 que avẽo na Clusa, com' escrit' achei, 12  b
5 que fez Santa María; e creo e sei 12  b
6 que mostrou outros muitos en aquel lugar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza II     
7 De monjes gran convento éran i entôn 12  b
8 que servían a Virgen mui de coraçôn; 12  b
9 un tesoureir' i éra aquela sazôn, 12  b
10 que Santa María sabía muit' amar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/73
 
  Stanza III     
11 E quando algũa cousa ll' ía falir, 12  b
12 lóg' a Santa María o ía pedir, 12  b
13 e ela llo dava; porend' ena servir 12  b
14 éra todo séu sis' e todo séu coidar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza IV     
15 Onde ll' avẽo que na fésta de Natal, 12  b
16 que dizían os monges missa matinal, 12  b
17 fillou ũa casula de branco cendal 12  b
18 pola ir põer entôn sôbelo altar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza V     
19 E fillou na outra mão, com' aprendí, 12  b
20 vinno con que fezéssen sacrifiç' alí; 12  b
21 e indo na carreira avẽo-ll' assí 12  b
22 que houv' en ũa pédra a entrepeçar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/73
 
  Stanza VI     
23 E avẽo-ll' assí que quand' entrepeçou, 12  b
24 que do vinno sôbrela casula 'ntornou, 12  b
25 que éra mui vermello; e tal la parou 12  b
26 como se sangue fresco fossen i deitar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza VII     
27 E aquel vinn' éra de vermella coor 12  b
28 e espessa tan muito que nïún tintor 12  b
29 vermello non podería fazer mellor, 12  b
30 e u caía nono podían tirar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza VIII     
31 Quando viu o monj' esto, pesou-lle tant' ên 12  b
32 que per poucas houvéra de perder o sen, 12  b
33 e diss' entôn: “Ai, Madre do que nos mantên, 12  b
34 Virgen Santa María, e ven-mi ajudar. CSM 73:34Obligatory synalepha after unstressed mi; see the Concordance for more examples. 12  A .on
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/73
 
  Stanza IX     
35 E non me leixes en tal vergonna caer 12  b
36 com' esta, ca ja nunca, enquant' éu viver, 12  b
37 non ousarei ant' o abad' aparecer, 12  b
38 nen u for o convento ousarei entrar.” 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza X     
39 Esto dizend' e chorando muito dos séus 12  b
40 ollos, acorreu-lle lóg' a Madre de Déus 12  b
41 e fez tal vertude, per que muitos roméus 12  b
42 vẽéron de mui lonj' a casul' aorar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
 
  Stanza XI     
43 Ca u vermella éra, tan branca a fez 12  b
44 que o non fora tanto da primeira vez. 12  b
45 Porên Santa María, Sennor de gran prez, 12  b
46 loaron quantos oíron desto falar. 12  A
  Ben pód' as cousas feas fremosas tornar...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/73
 

Footnotes

Line 34:

Obligatory synalepha after unstressed mi; see the Concordance for more examples.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

The three notes and ligatures that I have deleted here are repeated either side of the page break in the manuscript.

Manuscript references

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

[E]73viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/178small.htmlExternal link
[T]73 
[To]89viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/To/bob079small.gifExternal link

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 73http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=73

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

12  12  12  12

Rhyme

AA / bbbA
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXI
A
b ei̯aliou̯ɛu̯s

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5016:19
Slow1008:09
Medium1505:26
Fast2004:04
Very fast2503:15

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: 816