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• 7 Villancicos from the Cancionero de Palacio

7 Villancicos from the Cancionero de Palacio

for 4 voices or instruments.

This final selection (in this series) from the mighty Cancionero de Palacio includes songs in a variety of forms, on a variety of subjects. We have typically sardonic songs about the more comic side of amorous pursuits (no. 1 and 3), songs of pure unrequited love (no.4), a religious song apparently relevant to Easter (no. 5), and a drinking song (no.6). These pieces confirm the view that this Spanish repertoire is more wide-ranging in its subject than, for instance, the contemporary chanson repertoire from France.
The pieces in which the sections are labelled A and B are examples of the classic villancico form, where a complete verse consists of ABBAA. Not all pieces adhere to this scheme - some are simply through-composed.
There is practically no surviving Spanish instrumental music in ensemble form from the sixteenth century, apart from the duos in the Uppsala Cancionero (printed in LPM 206) and the famous Alta by Francisco de la Torre (see EML 120); even the tientos by Bermudo printed in EML 362 were probably really intended for keyboard instruments. So it is clear that instrumentalists of the time must have turned to suitable “vocal” music for repertoire. In fact, many of the villancicos in the Palace book, with their clear, simple harmonies, make excellent starting-points for improvisation.
In this edition the original note values have generally been halved. Editorial accidentals are printed small above the stave, applying to the one note only. For the sake of simplicity, the original accidentals, printed on the stave, are taken as applying to the whole bar until corrected.