Cancioneiro de Belém
Encyclopedia
The Cancioneiro Musical de Belém (English: Belém Musical Songbook) or simply Cancioneiro de Belém (Santa Maria de Belém
, Lisbon
, National Archaeology Museum, Ms 3391) is a Renaissance Portuguese manuscript
from the beginning of the 17th century.
, in Belém (Lisbon), by the end of the 1960s by professors Arthur Lee-Francis Askins and Jack Sage, specialists in Iberian lyric of the 16th century. It was later studied by Manuel Morais, who published in 1988 a critical edition of the cancioneiro, together with a musical transcription to modern notation of all eighteen songs.
Currently with 77 folios sized 191 x 130 mm, the songs proper are found between folios 58v and 74. In recent times (possibly in the 19th century) the manuscript received a brown leather cover, to which side a title was added: Manuscriptos / Varios.
Inside the songbook, an inscription reads Porto, dia de S. Miguel, 603. (Porto
, St. Michael's day, 1603). In spite of that, the music therein is considerably older, being dated as belonging to the years between 1560-1580. This songbook contains the only Portuguese manuscript madrigal
s known to date, besides vilancetes, cantigas and two rare examples of sacred villancico
s, one for Christmas (Pues a Dios humano vemos) and the other for the feast of Corpus Christi (O manjar bivo, dulçe i provechoso).
A few songs are also found in other manuscript sources, as for instance the Cancioneiro de Elvas
, and in printed Spanish editions of the 16th century, but the majority of the works are unica, that is, found exclusively in this manuscript.
Among the poets that have been identified are Dom Manuel de Portugal (c.1520-1601) and the poet-composer Jorge de Montemor (c.1520-1561), as well as the Castilians Garcilaso de la Vega
(1503-1536) and the little-known poet Cetina "the Nun".
Santa Maria de Belém
Santa Maria de Belém, or just Belém , whose name is derived from the Portuguese word for Bethlehem, is a civil parish of the municipality of Lisbon, in central Portugal...
, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, National Archaeology Museum, Ms 3391) is a Renaissance Portuguese manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
from the beginning of the 17th century.
General description
This little manuscript with just 18 songs was found in the archives of the National Archaeology MuseumNational Archaeology Museum (Lisbon)
The National Archaeology Museum of Lisbon is located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is one of the most important Portuguese museums dedicated to Archaeology....
, in Belém (Lisbon), by the end of the 1960s by professors Arthur Lee-Francis Askins and Jack Sage, specialists in Iberian lyric of the 16th century. It was later studied by Manuel Morais, who published in 1988 a critical edition of the cancioneiro, together with a musical transcription to modern notation of all eighteen songs.
Currently with 77 folios sized 191 x 130 mm, the songs proper are found between folios 58v and 74. In recent times (possibly in the 19th century) the manuscript received a brown leather cover, to which side a title was added: Manuscriptos / Varios.
Inside the songbook, an inscription reads Porto, dia de S. Miguel, 603. (Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, St. Michael's day, 1603). In spite of that, the music therein is considerably older, being dated as belonging to the years between 1560-1580. This songbook contains the only Portuguese manuscript madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s known to date, besides vilancetes, cantigas and two rare examples of sacred villancico
Villancico
The villancico was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol"...
s, one for Christmas (Pues a Dios humano vemos) and the other for the feast of Corpus Christi (O manjar bivo, dulçe i provechoso).
A few songs are also found in other manuscript sources, as for instance the Cancioneiro de Elvas
Cancioneiro de Elvas
The Cancioneiro de Elvas is one of the four Renaissance songbooks of Portuguese music from the 16th century - along with the Lisbon Songbook, the Belém Songbook, and the Paris songbook...
, and in printed Spanish editions of the 16th century, but the majority of the works are unica, that is, found exclusively in this manuscript.
Among the poets that have been identified are Dom Manuel de Portugal (c.1520-1601) and the poet-composer Jorge de Montemor (c.1520-1561), as well as the Castilians Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega was a Spanish soldier and poet. He was the most influential poet to introduce Italian Renaissance verse forms, poetic techniques and themes to Spain.-Biography:...
(1503-1536) and the little-known poet Cetina "the Nun".
List of works
Nº Title Composer Text Concordance Recordings 1. Pues a Dios humano vemos Anonymous SEG 2. Ay de mim sin ventura Anonymous Cetina "the Nun" SEG 3. Baxad, Señora los ojos Anonymous SEG 4. [Oh] Dulçe suspiro mio Anonymous SEG 5. Venid a suspirar al verde prado Anonymous CME STU, SEG, UFF, BAL 6. Desperança vos vestistes Anonymous SEG 7. Dame [a]cogida en tu hato Anonymous SEG 8. Oy[u]elos graçiosos Anonymous CME SEG 9. Mira que negro amor y que nonada Anonymous CME SEG 10. Aquella voluntad que se ha rendido Anonymous D. Manuel of Portugal CME SEG, UFF 11. Sabete Gil que me muero Anonymous SEG 12. En la peña, yunto la peña Anonymous SEG 13. Qu[i]en te hizo Yuan pastor Anonymous SEG 14. Tierras mias ado nasci Anonymous SEG 15. O manjar bivo, dulçe i provechoso Anonymous SEG 16. De mi ventura quexoso Anonymous SEG 17. O mas dura que marmor a mis quexas Anonymous Garcilaso de La Vega SEG 18. Flerida en cuja mano Jorge de Montemor Jorge de Montemor SEG
Concordance with other manuscripts: