Pilgrims in traditional song

[Peter Robins]

I was listening to a traditional song in provencal/occitan called 'Fanfarneta' on the latest album by a group of singers from Marseille called Lo Cor de la Plana (you can listen to it on their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/locordelaplana ), when I caught the words 'camin de sant Jaume'. Investigating further, I find this is an occitan version of 'La Pernette', itself an expanded version of one of the best known French songs 'Ne pleure pas Jeannette' (which doesn't mention the 'chemin de saint Jacques').

The words to La Pernette are at http://thierry-klein.nerim.net/lapernet.htm
". . . bury us both on the road to St James. Pilgrims who pass will go on their knees and say 'May God receive the soul of poor lovers who died for love of one another.'"

What a curious idea! Anyone know of any other traditional songs that mention pilgrims like this?

 

[sillydoll]

Peter, I don't know too many pilgrim songs in English but do you remember the old ballad of the Friar of Orders Gray where the lady describes her lover as clad, like herself, in 'a pilgrim's weedes'?
'And how should I know your true love
From many an other one?
by his scallop shell and hat,
And by his sandal shoon.'

We sang the French pilgrim song at Tosantos and as the sunset at Bercianos. Le chant des pèlerins de Compostelle

For any Latvian members, the 8th International Bach Chamber music festival in Latvia will take place from 26th February till 4th April 2008 in Riga. A baroque group from France called La Fenice will be performing music from the Codex Calixtinus.
The blurb on the website says:
The songs had different themes.

In the first place we should put the lyrical songs dedicated to the Apostle and praising the righteous and asking the favours from Christ for them.
The second group of songs is dedicated to the miracles performed by the Apostle in favour of his worshippers. Mostly they are stories in the form of romance, repeated in many languages and with different melodies each having several versions.
The third group comprises the songs about pilgrimages proper: they tell about the hardships and dangers of travel, the completed leg of the journey, the feelings of pilgrims during their journey, the St James' town, worship of relics etc. And finally we come across scholarly musical compositions created by the masters mostly belonging to St James' cathedral (12th century composer Guillaume d'Aquitaine, a number of Italian composers of 16th - 17th century including Pietro Cerone, Buono Chiodi/, etc.).
And now by means of music let us follow the journey to Compostela as it used to be in the 17th century - from Strasbourg to the gates of St James' town.

http://www.music.lv/bachfestival/en/ind ... howSubPage