Villancico
Encyclopedia
The villancico was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula
and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol
". Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina
, Pedro de Escobar
, Francisco Guerrero, Gaspar Fernandes, and Juan Guttiérez de Padilla.
The villancico developed as a secular polyphonic genre until religious villancicos gained popularity in the second half of the 16th century in Spain and its colonies in Latin America. These devotional villancicos, which were sung during matins of the feasts of the Catholic calendar, became extremely popular in the 17th century and continued in popularity until the decline of the genre in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its texts were sometimes didactic, designed to help the new converts understand and enjoy the new religion.
The service of matins
was structured in three nocturnes, each with three readings and responsories. Thus, during each matins
service nine villancicos could be performed, or at least eight if the last responsory was substituted by the Te Deum, a hymn of thanksgiving reserved for the high feasts. An enormous amount of villancicos were written in the Spanish world for such feasts as the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Epiphany, Corpus Christi, Ascension, Assumption, and other occasions of the Catholic
liturgical year. Others were written for important saints days such as Santiago (St. James), St. Peter and Paul, St. Cecilia, and St. Rose of Lima. In colonial Mexico, villancicos were performed before mass on special feast days as part of a theatrical spectacle that served as lighthearted, comical entertainment which drew large crowds from all sectors of society and included ornate costuming and stage effects to accompany the musical numbers and spoken dialogue. Some have argued that it was the juxtaposition of these disparate, incongruent elements---the sacred against the profane, the refined against the vulgar, the high against the low---that gave the villancico its mass popularity.
While the villancico in Spain and its Latin American colonies generally share a common history of development, the Latin American villancico tradition is particularly known for its incorporation of dialects and rhythms drawn from its diverse ethnic population. The texts were mostly in Spanish, but some employed pseudo-African, Náhuatl, or corrupt Italian, French, or Portuguese words.
Frequently named after the ethnic group that was characterized in the lyrics, these humorous songs were often accompanied by non-orchestral, “ethnic” instruments, such as rattles, tambourines, bagpipes, and gourds, while the lyrics mimicked the speech patterns of these groups. For example, villancicos called “negro” or “negrillo,” imitated African speech patterns and used onomatopoeic phrases such as, "gulungú, gulungú" and "he, he, he cambabé!" possibly to invoke a childlike and uneducated stereotype of that marginalized group. Other negrillo lyrics, however, offer intriguing fraternal sentiments, such as the negro for Jan. 31, 1677 by the famed villancico poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, which sings "tumba, la-lá-la, tumba la-lé-le/wherever Peter enters, no one remains a slave." Other examples of "ethnic" villancicos include the jácara, gallego,and tocotín.
Villancico composers, who typically held positions as maestro de capilla (chapel master) at the major cathedrals in Spain and the New World, wrote in many different renaissance and baroque
styles, including homophony, imitative polyphony, and polychoral settings. Among the most outstanding New World composers of villancicos are José de Loaiza y Agurto, Manuel de Sumaya, and Ignacio Jerúsalem in New Spain; Manuel José de Quirós
and Rafael Antonio Castellanos
, in Guatemala
; José Cascante, in Colombia
; and Juan de Araujo and Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco
, in Peru
.
depends on the number of lines in the mote: if there are 2 or 3 it is a vilancete, if there are 4 or more it is a cantiga. Each line of a vilancete is usually divided in five or seven metric syllables ("old measure"). When the last line of the mote is repeated at the end of each stanza, the vilancete is "perfect".
Here is an example of a Portuguese vilancete, written by Luís de Camões
:
This poem has a common rhyme scheme, abb cddc cbb. The theme of this type of villancico was usually about the saudade
, about the countryside and the shepherds, about 'the perfect woman' and about non-returned love and consequent suffering. Iberian poets were strongly influenced by Francesco Petrarca, an Italian poet.
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Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
". Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina
Juan del Encina
Juan del Enzina – the spelling he used – or Juan del Encina – modern Spanish spelling – was a composer, poet and playwright, often called the founder of Spanish drama...
, Pedro de Escobar
Pedro de Escobar
Pedro de Escobar , a.k.a. Pedro do Porto, was a Portuguese composer of the Renaissance, mostly active in Spain. He was one of the earliest and most skilled composers of polyphony in the Iberian Peninsula, whose music has survived.-Life:He was born at Oporto, Portugal, but nothing is known of his...
, Francisco Guerrero, Gaspar Fernandes, and Juan Guttiérez de Padilla.
Spain and the New World
Derived from medieval dance forms, the 15th century Spanish villancico was a type of popular song sung in the vernacular and frequently associated with rustic themes. The poetic form of the Spanish villancico was that of an estribillo (or refrain) and coplas (stanzas), with or without an introduction. While the exact order and number of repetitions of the estribillo and coplas varied, the most typical form was a loose ABA framework, often in triple meter.The villancico developed as a secular polyphonic genre until religious villancicos gained popularity in the second half of the 16th century in Spain and its colonies in Latin America. These devotional villancicos, which were sung during matins of the feasts of the Catholic calendar, became extremely popular in the 17th century and continued in popularity until the decline of the genre in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its texts were sometimes didactic, designed to help the new converts understand and enjoy the new religion.
The service of matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
was structured in three nocturnes, each with three readings and responsories. Thus, during each matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
service nine villancicos could be performed, or at least eight if the last responsory was substituted by the Te Deum, a hymn of thanksgiving reserved for the high feasts. An enormous amount of villancicos were written in the Spanish world for such feasts as the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Epiphany, Corpus Christi, Ascension, Assumption, and other occasions of the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
liturgical year. Others were written for important saints days such as Santiago (St. James), St. Peter and Paul, St. Cecilia, and St. Rose of Lima. In colonial Mexico, villancicos were performed before mass on special feast days as part of a theatrical spectacle that served as lighthearted, comical entertainment which drew large crowds from all sectors of society and included ornate costuming and stage effects to accompany the musical numbers and spoken dialogue. Some have argued that it was the juxtaposition of these disparate, incongruent elements---the sacred against the profane, the refined against the vulgar, the high against the low---that gave the villancico its mass popularity.
While the villancico in Spain and its Latin American colonies generally share a common history of development, the Latin American villancico tradition is particularly known for its incorporation of dialects and rhythms drawn from its diverse ethnic population. The texts were mostly in Spanish, but some employed pseudo-African, Náhuatl, or corrupt Italian, French, or Portuguese words.
Frequently named after the ethnic group that was characterized in the lyrics, these humorous songs were often accompanied by non-orchestral, “ethnic” instruments, such as rattles, tambourines, bagpipes, and gourds, while the lyrics mimicked the speech patterns of these groups. For example, villancicos called “negro” or “negrillo,” imitated African speech patterns and used onomatopoeic phrases such as, "gulungú, gulungú" and "he, he, he cambabé!" possibly to invoke a childlike and uneducated stereotype of that marginalized group. Other negrillo lyrics, however, offer intriguing fraternal sentiments, such as the negro for Jan. 31, 1677 by the famed villancico poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, which sings "tumba, la-lá-la, tumba la-lé-le/wherever Peter enters, no one remains a slave." Other examples of "ethnic" villancicos include the jácara, gallego,and tocotín.
Villancico composers, who typically held positions as maestro de capilla (chapel master) at the major cathedrals in Spain and the New World, wrote in many different renaissance and baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
styles, including homophony, imitative polyphony, and polychoral settings. Among the most outstanding New World composers of villancicos are José de Loaiza y Agurto, Manuel de Sumaya, and Ignacio Jerúsalem in New Spain; Manuel José de Quirós
Manuel José de Quirós
-Life:Born in Santiago de Guatemala, present day Antigua Guatemala, towards the end of the 17th century, Quirós had a religious education while pursuing his musical apprenticeship and reaching the level of a journeyman...
and Rafael Antonio Castellanos
Rafael Antonio Castellanos
Rafael Antonio Castellanos was a Guatemalan classical composer. His style is that of the late Spanish baroque, pre-classical, and classical periods, with frequent reference to Guatemalan folk music idioms.-Life:...
, in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
; José Cascante, in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
; and Juan de Araujo and Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco
Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco
Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez was a Spanish composer, musician and organist based in Peru, associated with the American Baroque.-Life:...
, in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Portuguese type
This type of poem has a mote - the beginning of the poem, which functions, when in music, as a refrain - followed by one or more intervening stanzas - the volta, copla or glosa - each one with 7 lines. The difference between the vilancete and the cantigaCantiga
A cantiga is a medieval monophonic song, characteristic of the Galician-Portuguese lyric. Over 400 extant cantigas come from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, narrative songs about miracles or hymns in praise of the Holy Virgin...
depends on the number of lines in the mote: if there are 2 or 3 it is a vilancete, if there are 4 or more it is a cantiga. Each line of a vilancete is usually divided in five or seven metric syllables ("old measure"). When the last line of the mote is repeated at the end of each stanza, the vilancete is "perfect".
Here is an example of a Portuguese vilancete, written by Luís de Camões
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas...
:
| Original | English Translation |
| (Mote:) Enforquei minha Esperança; Mas Amor foi tão madraço, Que lhe cortou o baraço. (Volta:) Foi a Esperança julgada Por setença da Ventura Que, pois me teve à pendura, Que fosse dependurada: Vem Cupido com a espada, Corta-lhe cerce o baraço. Cupido, foste madraço. | (Mote:) I hanged my Hope; But Love was so knavish He cut off the rope. (Volta:) Hope was condemned By verdict of Fate To be hanged for having me Hanging out with her Then comes Cupid with the sword And cuts the rope short. O Cupid, you were knavish. |
This poem has a common rhyme scheme, abb cddc cbb. The theme of this type of villancico was usually about the saudade
Saudade
Saudade ) is a unique Galician-Portuguese word that has no immediate translation in English. Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return...
, about the countryside and the shepherds, about 'the perfect woman' and about non-returned love and consequent suffering. Iberian poets were strongly influenced by Francesco Petrarca, an Italian poet.
External links
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