A Madre de Jesu Cristo - Medieval Iberian Song

Oud by Mohab Attalah, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is a historically informed performance of a song from the Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs of Holy Mary) are one of the largest and most important surviving collections of medieval European song: over 400 Galician-Portuguese poems with music, compiled in the 13th century under King Alfonso X “the Wise” of Castile and León (1252–1284). The melody uses an oud, psaltery, flute, and tambourine, alongside a broadly modal approach to the monophonic melody, following Medieval European musical practices of heterophonic embroidery and vocal ornamentation. The pronunciation follows the phonetic system provided by the resource Cantigas de Santa-Maria for singers. Lyrics: A Madre de Jesú-Cristo, Que é Sennor de nobrezas, Non sofre que en sa casa Façan furtos nen vilezas. Verses: E dest' un mui gran miragre Vos direi que me juraron Hómees de bõa vida E por verdade mostraron Que fezo Santa María De Monssarrat, e contaron Do que fez un ávol hóme Por mostrar sas avolezas. Este con outra gran gente Vẽo i en romaría, E acolleu-s' a un hóme Con que fillou companía; E quando chegou a noite, Os dinneiros que tragía lle furtou da esmolneira Por crecer en sas requezas. Outro día de mannãa, Des que as missas oíron, Os que alí albergaron Da eigreja se saíron; Mas el ên saír non pode, E esto muitos o viron, Ca non quis Santa María, Que é con Déus nas altezas, Atá que ben repentido Foss' e ben mãefestado E todo quanto furtara Houvéss' ao outro dado, E que disséss' ante todos De com' havía errado, E saíss' ên con vergonna Por sas maas astruguezas. Tod' aquest' assí foi feito, Ca o quis a verdadeira Madre de Déus pïadosa, Santa e mui justiceira, Que non quis que en sa casa Fossen per nulla maneira Feitas cousas desguisadas Nen cobiíças per pobrezas. Translation: The Mother of Jesus Christ, Who is the Lord of all nobility, Does not suffer that within her house Thefts or vile deeds should be done. And of this I shall tell you A very great miracle, which men Of good and virtuous life swore to me And affirmed to be true: One which Saint Mary Of Montserrat performed. They told Of what a wicked man had done, Showing forth his wickedness. This man, with a great crowd of others, Came there on pilgrimage, And lodged with another man, Whose companionship he took up. And when night had come, The money that the other carried He stole from his alms-purse, So as to increase his own riches. The next morning, After they had heard the Masses, Those who had lodged there Went out from the church; But he could not leave it, And many people witnessed this, For Saint Mary would not allow it, She who is with God in the heights— Until he had truly repented And made a full confession, And everything that he had stolen Had given back to the other man; And until, before everyone, he told How he had done wrong, And then went out in shame For his evil misdeeds. All of this happened just so, For so willed the true Mother of God, merciful, Holy and most just, Who would not allow within her house, In any manner whatsoever, That wrongful things be done, Nor covetousness born of baseness.