(POT:) Dom2's music translated...

[Chazar]

This is partly off-topic: I just reinstalled Dom2 to undo V2.15 to V1.14 for my MP games and thus rediscovered the beautiful music of Dom2 thanks to the default settings. Sure enough, that two songs get easily on your nerves after a few hours of play, but nevertheless I recall that my first hours learning the game with the demo where quite different and much nicer than current gameplay has become: less numbers, cute unit description texts to marvel at (I was amazed by the fountain of blood!) and that music gave it quite a unique mystic atmosphere that held me spellbound... So I decided now to order the full CD of that early music group who performed those songs, let's see if I get the early gaming of dom2 atmosphere back with that music CD...

Anyhow, I was also curious what that awe-inspiring-beautiful voice was singing, and searched the web for the lyrics. It was not too easy to find a translation too, so here is the link that I've eventually found: Cantiga de Santa Maria No. 7, it has the original lyrics in Old Gallician/Portuguese as well as an english translation.

Spoiler warning: You might not like what you find, for the pious lyrics seem to be intended rather funny than mystic-awe-striking... I guess it's similar to Dom2: You wanna know more and more and to learn the mechanics of every tiny bit until you realize that the price for that knowledge is the loss of atmosphere...

[johan osterman]

I think Anna will be pleased to hear that her voice is awe-inspiring-beatiful.

Having read the translation I kind of doubt it is intended to be funny. It might be a little odd to modern eyes though.

[Chazar]

johan osterman said:
Having read the translation I kind of doubt it is intended to be funny. It might be a little odd to modern eyes though.

Funny is most certainly not what I intended to say: I think that the performance of Falsobordone makes this song appear more sacred than it really is. I can hardly imagine the mediaeval church to encourage the singing of a song featuring "mischievous nuns", a "joyous" and pregnant abbess and the literal depiction of a physical examination of said abbess by a bishop! I rather think that this was a more ordinary song, sung by nuns during their daily labor. After all, it teaches strong faith and not to snitch on a faithful abbess.

Well, I am not versed in these historical things, so this is just a dabbler's guess! It would be interesting to learn what experts say about this song.
(@J.O.: Maybe Falsobordone knows more? Please ask them if you must tell them about my compliment... )

[Tricon]

When I first heard this interprtation/rendering of the song, I was quite surprised.
The song is quite popular in rennaisance fairs in Germany and also here in the US. Most renditions I heard up to that point were rather more "uptempo".

I found Versions of this song by Corvus Corax,In Extremo (at least in parts), Estampie and Freiburger Spielleyt. I suspect there are numerous others.

[Chazar]

Yeah, I didnt realize until yesterday that I knew the song as performed by InExtremo. It's just so different...

[Tricon]

Are you by any chance german? I'm always trying to practice my german...
Besides, germans and scandinavians still make the best metal!!

[Morkilus]

The Cantigas de Santa Maria were compiled by Alfonso X (el Sabio) around 1240 in Northern Spain. They all recount stories of how the Virgin Mary rescued ordinary people who were in dire straits and called on her for help. (A lot of the time, she's reattaching people's limbs or putting their tongues back in their heads. I prefer to think of these as the "Surgeon Mary" variety...) This kind of story was popular throughout Europe at the time, and this collection was inspired by a French collection called Les Miracles de Nostre-Dame by Gautier de Coincy. Anyway, they were written, as you said, in the vernacular language, and were generally tuneful and attractive musically (they have refrains, for one thing). They would probably have been sung (by laypeople) as entertainment in court and maybe by pilgrims on their way to one of Mary's shrines.
My favorite cantiga recording was made by Camerata Mediterranea (with Joel Cohen). They use a great deal of Arabic influence, which is cool because the Moors were all over Spain back then.