A ''cantiga'' (''cantica'', ''cantar'') is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

monophonic

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, characteristic of the Galician-Portuguese lyric. Over 400 extant ''cantigas'' come from the ''

Cantigas de Santa Maria The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' (, ; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, Alfonso X of Castile ''El Sabio'' (1221–1284). T ...

'', narrative songs about miracles or hymns in praise of the Holy Virgin. There are near 1700 secular ''cantigas'' but music has only survived for a very few: six cantigas de amigo by Martín Codax and seven ''cantigas de amor'' by Denis of Portugal. Cantiga is also the name of a poetic and musical form of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, often associated with the villancico and the

canción ''Canción'' ("song") is a popular genre of Latin American music, particularly in Cuba, where many of the compositions originate.Orovio, Helio 2004. ''Cuban music from A to Z''. p42 Its roots lie in Spanish popular song forms, including tiranas, P ...

References

* Rip Cohen. ''500 Cantigas d’Amigo,'' edição crítica/critical edition. Porto: Campo das Letras, 2003. * Giulia Lanciani and Giuseppe Tavani (edd.). ''Dicionário da Literatura Medieval Galega e Portuguesa''. Lisbon: Caminho, 1993. * Manuel Pedro Ferreira. ''O Som de Martin Codax. Sobre a dimensão musical da lírica galego-portuguesa (séculos XII-XIV''). Lisbon: UNISYS/ Imprensa Nacional – Casa de Moeda, 1986. * Manuel Pedro Ferreira. ''Cantus Coronatus: 7 Cantigas d’El Rei Dom Dinis''. Kassel: Reichenberger, 2005. *Manuel Rodrigues Lapa. ''Cantigas d’escarnho e de mal dizer dos cancioneiros medievais galego-portugueses'', edição crítica. 2nd ed. Vigo: Editorial Galaxia, 1970. *Walter Mettmann. ''Afonso X, o Sabio. Cantigas de Santa Maria''. 4 vols. Coimbra: Por ordem da Universidade, 1959–72 (rpt. Vigo: Ediçóns Xerais de Galicia, 1981). *Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos. ''Cancioneiro da Ajuda'', edição critica e commentada. 2 vols. Halle a.S.: Max Niemeyer, 1904 (rpt. with Michaëlis 1920, Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional – Casa de Moeda, 1990). *Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos. “Glossário do Cancioneiro da Ajuda”. ''Revista Lusitana'' (1920) 23: 1–95. *José Joaquim Nunes. ''Cantigas d’amor dos trovadores galego-portugueses''. Edição crítica acompanhada de introdução, comentário, variantes, e glossário. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, 1932 (rpt. Lisbon: Centro do Livro Brasileiro, 1972). *Jack Sage. "Cantiga", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed September 17, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *Giuseppe Tavani. ''Trovadores e Jograis: Introdução à poesia medieval galego-portuguesa''. Lisbon: Caminho. 2002. {{refend Song forms Songs in classical music Galician-Portuguese lyric Medieval compositions

See also

References