Cantiga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cantiga (cantica, cantar) is a medieval monophonic song from Spain or Portugal. It was differentiated from the decir, which was considered a poetic form. The majority of the extant cantigas come from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, which contains over four hundred cantigas either in praise of or describing miraculous interventions by Mary, mother of Jesus. There are a small number of extant secular cantigas with music which are not from this repertoire by Martín Codax and Denis of Portugal. There are other secular cantigas which survive without music.[1]
There are several different types of cantigas, categorized by their subject matter. These include cantigas de milagres, describing miracles (of Mary); cantigas de loor, praising Mary; cantigas de amigo, love songs in a feminine voice; cantigas de escárnio e maldizer, satirical songs; and cantigas de gesta, epics or stories.[2]
Cantiga is also the name of a poetic and musical form of the Renaissance, often associated with the villancico and the canción.[3]
[edit] References
- Jack Sage. "Cantiga", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed September 17, 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).