Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Response to Tiffany Bell's Reflection on Cantigas de Santa Maria by Alfonso X "El Sabio"

Since I was not familiar with the Cantigas de Santa Maria, reading Tiffany’s well-researched, insightful response to this work, inspired me to listen to these songs. After doing a little research on the Cantigas de Santa Maria, I found myself wondering how the troubadours, who lived in southern France, had such a great influence on a Spanish work. Tiffany provided a useful historical background, explaining that it was not uncommon for troubadours to be found in a Spanish court because there was a strong connection between French and Spanish royalty. Tiffany also pointed out the importance pictures have in the performance practice of medieval music by including a photo of musicians in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Portraits in these Medieval works can help musicians determine instrumentation for the piece and can help inform a listener of the instruments to which they are listening.

In many ways, the prologue says a lot about the entire album. As Tiffany stated, the light instrumentation and spoken text tells the listener that the music should support the words. Because it was believed that the word of God is holy and pure, music in the liturgical setting focused on communicating the text. This church practice has been used in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. One important characteristic that I wish Tiffany had dicussed was the usage of meter in these songs. Since these songs are about the Virgin Mary, I expected them to be in a triple meter as was most sacred music of the period. I was wrong. Although some of the songs are in triple meter, the prologue starts off in a duple meter, clearly showing troubadour and secular influence.

Another unique characteristic that intrigued me about the Cantigas de Santa Maria was the use of instrumentalists as soloists. Many of the pieces, including the songs, had an instrumental cadenza that began the piece. For example, the song “Que Por Al Non Devess,” begins with a lute playing a cadenza-like passage. The lute player eventually began playing in time and led the vocalist and other instrumentalists to begin the piece. I found the third track on the album to be especially interesting because it seemed to be completely improvisatory. This instrumental track begins with a vielle cadenza, followed by a flute cadenza colored with drum slaps, rolls, and pitch bends. A steady groove emerges between the musicians, leading into what I found most exciting – a drum solo. Unlike the drum cadenza at the beginning of “Quen Serve Santa Maria," this solo was played in time. I found this to be fascinating because I did not know that drums were used as solo instruments during this time period.

Like many other Medieval instruments, little notation or instruction exists for percussionists outside of Medieval artwork. Orchésographie, the first work toclearly state a percussionist’s role as a musician, was not released until 1588 by Thoinot Arbeau (Montagu 37). Since this work was released well after the Medieval times, scholars must then rely on Medieval artwork to help draw conclusions about instruments. In artwork collected from this period, drums are often seen accompanying other instruments or being played in military settings. Because there is little written down for percussionists during this period, it would lead me to believe that a percussionist’s role was highly improvisatory, and it would not be uncommon to encounter a drum solo similar to the solo experienced in the Cantigas de Santa Maria.

I enjoyed Tiffany’s response to the Cantigas de Santa Maria. I thought she provided information that would be useful to any listener, no matter their knowledge of music history. Though I think it would have been interesting for Tiffany to explore the use of meter, her journal enhanced my listening experience, and gave me a better understanding of troubadour influence on Spanish music.


Bibliography

Montagu, Jeremy. Timpani and Percussion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.

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