Mes pas semez
from Doulce mémoire by Mignarda
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about
Adrian Le Roy (c. 1520 – 1598)
Arranged by Ron Andrico
“Mes pas semez” is from Adrian Le Roy’s 1556 Second livre de guiterre (four-course renaissance guitar), where it is labeled “Chanson a plaisir” as a page heading. Based on other examples of Le Roy’s work, both the poetry and the music were likely purloined from Italian examples, this time employing the Cara cosa ground, a variant of the popular and enduring La Folia.
The poetry to “Mes pas semez” is distinctly Petrarchian in form, and the content of poem appears to be a direct adaptation of Petrarch’s “O passi sparsi” set to music by Italian Sebastiano Festa (c. 1490 – 1524). Festa’s setting is perhaps best known in an intabulation for lute by Le Roy’s mentor, Italian Alberto da Ripa (c. 1500 – 1551). Our recording of “O passi sparsi” is available on the album Sfumato.
“Mes pas semez” presents a challenge in performance: The fundamental pulse and intricate dance rhythms must support poetry that describes anxiety and despair, but without crossing the line and cancelling the emotional content of the piece. If the pulse is overly languid, the essential energy of speech rhythm is lost. If the pulse is overly quick, it trivializes the meaning of the words.
Our performance follows 16th-century practice and adapts Le Roy’s original version for four-course guitar (ukulele, basically) to the (more dignified) lute, complementing the sparse arrangement with a fuller lower register and adding an appealing bass line. As with any dance tune, rhythmic vitality is essential but also adds substance to the emotional depth of the poetry.
Arranged by Ron Andrico
“Mes pas semez” is from Adrian Le Roy’s 1556 Second livre de guiterre (four-course renaissance guitar), where it is labeled “Chanson a plaisir” as a page heading. Based on other examples of Le Roy’s work, both the poetry and the music were likely purloined from Italian examples, this time employing the Cara cosa ground, a variant of the popular and enduring La Folia.
The poetry to “Mes pas semez” is distinctly Petrarchian in form, and the content of poem appears to be a direct adaptation of Petrarch’s “O passi sparsi” set to music by Italian Sebastiano Festa (c. 1490 – 1524). Festa’s setting is perhaps best known in an intabulation for lute by Le Roy’s mentor, Italian Alberto da Ripa (c. 1500 – 1551). Our recording of “O passi sparsi” is available on the album Sfumato.
“Mes pas semez” presents a challenge in performance: The fundamental pulse and intricate dance rhythms must support poetry that describes anxiety and despair, but without crossing the line and cancelling the emotional content of the piece. If the pulse is overly languid, the essential energy of speech rhythm is lost. If the pulse is overly quick, it trivializes the meaning of the words.
Our performance follows 16th-century practice and adapts Le Roy’s original version for four-course guitar (ukulele, basically) to the (more dignified) lute, complementing the sparse arrangement with a fuller lower register and adding an appealing bass line. As with any dance tune, rhythmic vitality is essential but also adds substance to the emotional depth of the poetry.
lyrics
Mes pas semez & loing allez
Par diuers solitaires lieux:
Sont de pensers entremellez,
Qui rendent humides mes yeux,
Et tant plus i'ay ma voix haucée
Tant mois ie me sens exaucée.
Et si ne sçay quand i'aurai mieux.
Ie n'ai tenu mes pas si chers,
Ny mon esprit tant endormy,
Que par montaignes & rochers
Ie n'aye cherché mon amy:
L'œil au guet, l'aureille ententiue,
La parole prompte & naïue,
Mais de luy n'ay mot ne demy.
Ton bon sçauoir ny parler prompt
Ne m'acquierent aucun plaisir:
Car l'absence de l'amy, rompt
Tout ce qu'en espere mon desir:
Mais puis que c'est ma destinée,
Que ie soye amante obstinée,
Ie quitte propos & plaisir.
Respondant à plusieurs parleurs,
Ie n'en ay sceu trouuer aucun,
Qui s'aprochast de tes valeurs:
Pour cela i'entretiens chacun,
C'est en attendant ta presence:
Car ie suis en ferme constance,
Parler à tous, & n'aimer qu'un.
My steps, wandering and scattered
Through many lonely places,
Are mingled with thoughts
that wet my eyes with tears.
And the more I’ve called out,
The less I’ve felt I was heard.
Yet I do not know when I shall have things better.
I have never found my steps so precious,
Nor my mind so benumbed,
as in this searching among
mountains and boulders for my beloved.
My eyes, watchful, my ears alert,
My tongue ready and open –
But not a word of him.
Your learning, your ready speech
Bring me no pleasure;
For the absence of my beloved shatters
Everything my longing hopes for.
But since it’s my destiny
to be a stubborn lover,
I abandon my discourse and my pleasure.
Answering several suitors,
I’ve not found any
To approach your worth.
And so I entertain each of them
Only in awaiting your return.
For I am constant:
Speaking to all and loving only one.
Par diuers solitaires lieux:
Sont de pensers entremellez,
Qui rendent humides mes yeux,
Et tant plus i'ay ma voix haucée
Tant mois ie me sens exaucée.
Et si ne sçay quand i'aurai mieux.
Ie n'ai tenu mes pas si chers,
Ny mon esprit tant endormy,
Que par montaignes & rochers
Ie n'aye cherché mon amy:
L'œil au guet, l'aureille ententiue,
La parole prompte & naïue,
Mais de luy n'ay mot ne demy.
Ton bon sçauoir ny parler prompt
Ne m'acquierent aucun plaisir:
Car l'absence de l'amy, rompt
Tout ce qu'en espere mon desir:
Mais puis que c'est ma destinée,
Que ie soye amante obstinée,
Ie quitte propos & plaisir.
Respondant à plusieurs parleurs,
Ie n'en ay sceu trouuer aucun,
Qui s'aprochast de tes valeurs:
Pour cela i'entretiens chacun,
C'est en attendant ta presence:
Car ie suis en ferme constance,
Parler à tous, & n'aimer qu'un.
My steps, wandering and scattered
Through many lonely places,
Are mingled with thoughts
that wet my eyes with tears.
And the more I’ve called out,
The less I’ve felt I was heard.
Yet I do not know when I shall have things better.
I have never found my steps so precious,
Nor my mind so benumbed,
as in this searching among
mountains and boulders for my beloved.
My eyes, watchful, my ears alert,
My tongue ready and open –
But not a word of him.
Your learning, your ready speech
Bring me no pleasure;
For the absence of my beloved shatters
Everything my longing hopes for.
But since it’s my destiny
to be a stubborn lover,
I abandon my discourse and my pleasure.
Answering several suitors,
I’ve not found any
To approach your worth.
And so I entertain each of them
Only in awaiting your return.
For I am constant:
Speaking to all and loving only one.
credits
from Doulce mémoire,
released September 3, 2021
Donna Stewart, voice
Ron Andrico, lute
Recorded at the Lava Room, Beachwood, OH
Engineer, Chris Ebbert
lute by Robert Lundberg, with thanks to Susan Sandman
Donna Stewart, voice
Ron Andrico, lute
Recorded at the Lava Room, Beachwood, OH
Engineer, Chris Ebbert
lute by Robert Lundberg, with thanks to Susan Sandman
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Mignarda Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Mignarda specializes in thoughtful programming illuminating the vibrant mingling of renaissance music & poetry. Noted for awakening modern audiences to an appreciation for historical music, their work encompasses concertizing, teaching & recording, with 17 critically-acclaimed CDs, a series of 16 music editions, scholarly articles, reviews and the internationally-popular blog, Unquiet Thoughts. ... more
discography
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Jun 2022 -
Sep 2021 -
Apr 2021 -
Nov 2020
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