Villancicos and Romancespage from Cancionero del Palacio
There are several large collections, called cancioneros, of polyphonic music that was popular during the reign of the Catholic Kings and later. The most common poetic and musical form in these collections are villancicos which used a specific poetic form with a refrain that was commonly repeated in the verses of the song. They usually involved rustic settings and pastoral themes.
Romances were more like English ballads, and told a story. There are many romances based on the exploits of El Cid, as well as Roland who was also popular in French poetry at the time. Most of the songs are written in multiple voices (or parts), and meant to be sung by an ensemble, or by a solo voice and multiple instruments. FAVORITES Riu Riu Chiu - A villancico about the nativity of Christ Tres Morillas - A zejel about three merry Moorish maids Amor con Fortuna - A villancico about the war between love and fortune |
LinksCancionero de Palacio (Choral Wiki)
Thankfully, many of the songs in these collections have been transcribed and are available for free download from the wonderful folks at the Choral Public Domain Library. This cancionero contains over 400 songs. Not all of them are included on the Choral Wiki site, but it does include a link to the Wikipedia site, which lists all the remaining songs from the cancionero. Cancionero de Upsala (Choral Wiki) This collections is interesting to note because of the included educational songs included in one voice. Solo Voces Downloads Many of the Choral Wiki links will take you here. I thought I would give them a special mention because their arrangements are particularly nice. |