Cobras E Son: Papers on the Text, Music and Manuscripts of the 'Cantigas De Santa Maria'

by Stephen Parkinson

The 13th-Century (Cantiagas de Santa Maria) were composed and set to music at the court of King Alfonso X of Castille. They were songs in praise of the Virgin Mary, composed in the Galican-Portugese language. While there has been long-standing debate over the musical notations, only recently scholars have become aware of textual problems demanding a close study of all many script components, paticularly the relation between the poetry (Cobras) and music (Son). This volume consists mainly of papers given at an international colloquium held in Oxford in 1994. The meeting discussed textual, musical, palaeographical and iconographical problems of the Cantiagas de Santa Maria, questioning many views about the relationships between the manuscripts, the evolution of the collections, the source of the music and the place of the collections in relation to artistic and scriptorial developments in Europe. Contributors include: Stephen Parkinson, Manuael Pedro Ferreira, David Wulston, Mary O'Neill, Ana Dominguez Rodriguez, Susana Zapke, Valeria Bertolucci Pizzorusso, Jesus Montoya Martinez, Martha Schaffer.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000