Design: Cantigas de Santa Maria
Music arrangement and the different designs derives from Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs to the Virgin). It is a collection of several medieval manuscripts that were written during the reign of Alfonso X “El Sabio” (1221-1284) and are one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the middle ages.
The Designs:
I have studied the historic parchments and notations to make suitable designs, that I then hand etch or engrave on to my antique materials. Every item in my online shop, I have designed and engraved or etched by hand, which makes them unique and one of a kind items. I wanted to create something meaningful and beautiful but I also wanted to include the mindset of sustainability in to it. Therefor the materials are old antique items redesigned for a bigger and musical purpose of connection and friendship.
The items patina therefor gives the history and culture context more veritas, and also reminds us of the people who came before us. I also arrange, record and make music videos of all my designs. In the different slideshows down below, you can see some of the designs from different Cantigas and painted images.
Knife Designs – Cantigas de Santa Maria:
My current Cantiga-designs are:
- Cantiga no 1 – DES HOGE MAIS QUER ÉU TROBAR
- Cantiga no 10 – RÓSA DAS RÓSAS E FROR DAS FRORES
- Cantiga no 26 – NON É COUSA SE SABE BON JOIZO DAR
- Cantiga no 37 – MIRAGRES FREMOSOS FAZ POR NÓS SANTA MARIA
- Cantiga no 42 – A VIRGEN MUI GRORIOSA REÍNNA ESPERITAL
- Cantiga no 77 – DA QUE DÉUS MAMOU O LEITE DO SÉU PEITO
- Cantiga no 100 – ANTA MARIA, STRELA DO DIA
- Cantiga no 166 – COMO PÓDEN PER SAS CULPAS OS HÓMES SEER CONTREITOS
- Cantiga no 302 – A MADRE DE JESÚ CRISTO, QUE É SENNOR DE NOBREZAS
- Cantiga no 327 – PORQUE BEN SANTA MARIA SABE OS SÉUS DOES DAR
- Cantiga no 353 – QUEN A OMAGEN DA VIRGEN E DE SÉU FILLO HONRRAR
- Cantiga no 422 – MADRE DE DÉUS, ÓRA POR NÓS TÉU FILL’ ESSA HÓRA
Spoon Designs – Cantigas de Santa Maria:
The History:
The Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs to the Virgin) is several medieval manuscripts that were written during the reign of Alfonso X “El Sabio” (1221-1284) and are one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the middle ages.
It is one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the Middle Ages and is characterized by the Virgin Mary being mentioned in each song, while every tenth song is a psalm.
The Cantigas have survived in four different manuscripts. Two are located at the El Escorial Spain, one at the Madrid National Library, and one in Florence, Italy.
E codex from El Escorial is illuminated with colored images showing pairs of musicians playing a variety of instruments. The Codice Rico (T) from El Escorial and the one in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence (F) are richly illuminated with narrative vignettes.
The cantigas are written in Galician-Portuguese, using Galician spelling; this was due to the fact that Galician-Portuguese was fashionable as a lyrical language in Castile at the time, as well as the fact that Alfonso X had spent part of his first years in Galicia and had probably been a fluent speaker since his childhood.
Cantigas is a collection of 420 lyrics, of which 356 are in a narrative format related to Marian miracles; the rest of them, besides an introduction and two prologues, are of hymns or involve Marian festivities. Cantigas portrays the Virgin Mary in a very humanized way, and often makes her play a role in earthly episodes.
The authors are unknown, although several studies have suggested that the Galician poet Airas Nunes may have been the author of a large number of Cantiga songs. King Alfonso X – referred to as Affonso in Cantigas – is also believed to be the author of some of them when he refers to himself in the first person. Support for this theory is found in the prologue of Cantigas. Many sources also credit Alfonso for his influence on other works in the poetic tradition, including his introduction to religious singing. Although King Alfonso X’s authorship can be discussed, his influence is not. While the other major works that came from Alfonso’s workshops, including stories and other prose texts, were in Castilian, Cantigas is in Galician-Portuguese, and reflects the popularity of the Castilian court for other poetic corpora such as cantigas d’amigo and cantigas d’amor.
Kleberg Design – Cantiga de Santa Maria
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: