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Rodrigo Martinez
anon.
arr.: Frank Nordberg
arr.: Frank Nordberg
Rodrigo Martines, A las ánsares, ahe! Pensando qu'era vacas Silvávalas. He! Rodrigo Martines, Atán garido, Los tus ansarinos Liévalos el río, ahe! Pensando qu'era vacas Silvávalas. He! Rodrigo Martines, Atán lozano, Los tus ansarinos Liévalos el vado, ahe! Pensando qu'era vacas Silvávalas. He! [Rodrigo Martines, Atán garido.] |
Originally in G minor.
The villancico about Rodrigo Martinez, the gooseherd who's dreaming of becoming a cowherd ;-) is a rather typical example of an early 16th century dance song.
It is also one of the earliest examples of the use of "standard basses" with a second voice very similar to the folia. The main difference between Rodrigo and a "proper" standard bass tune is that the chords don't necessarily last a full bar each.
No complete source for this song survives. "Cancionero de Palacio" includes the full bass line, but the first phrase is missing from the tenor part. Fortunately it isn't hard to reconstruct, since the three phrases are very similar to each other.
Whether there was a third voice as well, is hard to say. All other songs in "Cancionero de Palacio" are in three part settings, but on the other hand, Rodrigo Martinez is rather atypical for the manuscript anyway, and more important, it doesn't seem to need more than two voices. If there was a soprano voice to it, it would probably have been a free "improvised" treble similar in style to the one for Torres' "Alta danza."
The rhythm is vital to Rodrigo Martinez. There are no barlines to help, but think alternating 6/4 and 3/2 bars. When I instruct choir and ensembles I often use "America" (from West Side Story) as a modern example of the same rhythm pattern.
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