Artist: Paulina Ceremużyńska
Album: “Cantigas de amor e de amigo” (2004)
Origin: Galician-Portuguese lyrical poetry
Genre: Friend song
Troubadour: Denis I of Portugal (Portuguese king)
The song ‘Amigo, queredes-vos ir?’ (Friend, do you wish to leave?), composed by the troubadour and king Denis I of Portugal, is a friend song, although it presents some features similar to love songs as well, but overall, it's part of the the Galician-Portuguese lyrical tradition. The work is a dialogue between two protagonists: the ‘senhor’ (the lady) and the ‘amigo’ (the friend, i.e., the boyfriend), revealing the complex feelings of suffering and devotion typical of medieval love relationships. The dialogue structure of the song allows for a direct confrontation between the male and female perspectives regarding the imminent separation.
In this composition, it is the woman who opens with an anguished question, ‘Friend, do you wish to leave?’ (0:34), expressing her distress over the idea of such separation. This question gives rise to a sequence of answers, in which both protagonists alternate between painful and justified declarations. On one hand, the lady, realising that her friend's departure is inevitable, expresses a deep and fatalistic sorrow (2:48). The lady's suffering is represented not only in her emotional language, but also in the way she questions her beloved. For her, separation is such a serious threat that she even blames him for her impending death (3:58). On the other hand, the friend is serene and protective. Despite the pain he feels, as he wants to remain close to his beloved, he values her safety above all else, and therefore, sees his departure as the only way to protect her. His decision reflects an altruistic love, as he would rather suffer with his own death than put his lady's honour and well-being at risk, believing that his presence would bring mutual suffering.
The work in question portrays the duality between a desire for unity and an inevitable separation, recurring themes within the troubadour's lyrical universe, which, in this case, oscillates between the typical genres of both friend and love songs. The female voice, although dominant in doubt and despair, voices her pain and demands her lover's attention, thus challenging the idea of passivity associated with friend songs, whilst the friend, although sacrificing himself for his beloved, displays the typical reverence and suffering found in love songs. The interaction between the two protagonists reveals the impossibility of achieving the full concretisation of love, a constant pattern in King Denis' poetic collection, where love relationships are marked by irresolvable tension. Altogether, the poem offers an in-depth look at the idealised love during the medieval period, where sacrifice and suffering were perceived as the maximal expressions of devotion and protection.
Song & Lyrics (Source): cantigas.fcsh.unl.pt/cantiga.asp?cdcant=600&pv=sim
Artwork: illustration (p. 75), by Manuel de Macedo & Alfredo Roque Gameiro for the novel «Mysterios da inquisição», 1900-1904