A Musical Biography: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria 2025

In this 13^th year of my production, for public radio, I present the narrative and play list to “Las Cantigas de Santa Maria: A Musical Biography of 13^th Century Monarch, King Alfonso X”

I dedicate this program to my mentor, the late David W. Bauguess and to all music teachers who instill the love of music in their students.

I invite you to listen to this program on December 24, from 2:00 to 4 p.m. in the Central Time Zone. The public radio station that has sponsored Las Cantigas in this 13^th year is High Plains Public Radio. Please tune in on hppr.org under holiday programming (not to be confused with HPPR connect, the talk show portion of their dual programming).

Hello. I’m Debra Bolton. Welcome to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Holy Canticles of St. Mary), Songs and poems in praise of the Virgin Mary – and the poetic/musical biography of Alfonso, “the wise”, The King of Castile-Leon, now Spain, and who lived from 1221 to 1284. I’m happy you’ve joined me today.

Today, my research comes from the authors Deirdre Jackson, Dr. Jessica Knauss, and Emilio Villalba with Sara Marina, and Maestro Jordi Savall.

I like to begin this musical journey with The Learned King declaring himself Mary’s Troubadour who will take her teachings to his Kingdom and beyond. We hear the prologue where The Learned King states, “I am here to spread your good word to my people, and in doing that, I pray for my place in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This is Pavel Zarukin 1:18

Followed by the spoken declaration that Alfonso the Wise states that from henceforth, he will be Mary’s troubadour. :18 and CSM #4 by Ricardo Alves Pereira with the Prologue CSM B 3:47

That was Ricardo Alves Pereira with an instrumental version of the CSM Prologue B and King Alfonso X announcement that he serves as the Virgin Mary’s troubadour, henceforth, from Emsemble Obsidienne with Emmanuel Bonnardot. the Learned King’s spoken declaration that he is Mary’s greatest public relations ad man, so to speak. Alfonso pledges to use every means to extol Mary’s virtues, especially where her miracles are concerned.

In writing about the Enigma of the Cantigas de Santa Maria or the CSM, Emilio Villalba, says, “The curious thing about this marvellous musical monument from the 13th century is that it still holds many secrets and enigmas that make this work even more valuable.” He adds, “There is no doubt that Alfonso was one of the first kings to sign a musical book, making this work a unique codex.

The CSM collection consists of poems put to music. The king also engaged 2D and 3D artists to depict visually what the songs portrayed. The catalog consists of more than 420 poems set to music beginning with what is called a “cantiga de loor” song of love, that is “courtly love” and every 10th song is a song of love while the others focus on scenarios related to sins and crimes with their accompanying stories of Mary’s miracles from which Alfonso X hopes to promote morality in his kingdoms of Castile and Leon, which later become what we know as Spain.

Let’s turn to the works of This Breton band called Bleizi Ruz, meaning red wolves in the Breton language. This interpretation demonstrates that the Cantigas de Santa Maria continues to be of interest to musicians and scholars world wide. Here Blizi Ruz collaborates with Spanish Ensemble, La Musigaña.

Cantigas de Santa Maria: 4:04

CSM 1 – Des oge mais quer’ eu trobar. Hana Blaziková, Barbora Kabátková, Margit Übellacker & Martin Novák 5:44

That was Hana Blaziková, Barbora Kabátková, Margit Übellacker & Martin Novák performing CSM 1, The Seven Joys. We began the set with Blizi Ruz and La Musigaña with an instrumental of CSM 1.

You can find this transcript, along with photos, and links in my blog, Peopleandcultures.blog. Look for “Cantigas de Santa Maria 2025”

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X and his devotion to the Virgin Mary. In this, we come to understand the miracles of the Virgin Mary as seen through the eyes and ears of Alfonso X, who ruled what is now Spain during the 13^th Century.

Each year, when I prepare this production, I like to read different scholarly interpretations of the CSM. King Alfonso X remains an enigma. Instead of having his musicians and scholars do the work, he worked alongside them offering his own poetry and musical notations to the songs praising the miracles of the Virgin Mary. Musician and musicologist, Emilio Villalba posits that four copies of the vast works were made so that the King could have them at each of his palaces. During great illness, the King held the rather weighty volumes on his chest as a sort of balm for healing.

We’ll dive into works of other Alfonsine scholars later in this program. Let’s continue with an Arabic tribute to the Virgin Mary. Remember, King Alfonso X was a pluralist, and he ruled his kingdom, rather effectively, with Muslims, Jewish, and Christians side by side. We’ll hear two version of a la quarte estampie royal. A Royal dance, specifically of Medieval times:

La quarte estampie royal – Ensemble Alcatraz 2:33

La quarte Estampie Royal – Jordi Savall 4:47

We just heard Jordi Saval and his Hesperion XXI (21) from an album called Estampies & Danses Royales on the Alia Vox label.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X. I’m Debra Bolton. We now pause for this station break: 2:00

Welcome back to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century monarch, King Alfonso X, who ruled what is now Spain from 1251 to 1284. I’m your host, Debra Bolton. A friend from Spain shares a few articles he’s found on King Alfonso. One such article, Work and Workers in Alfonso X’s CSM by Deirdre Jackson, sheds light on ways men and women coped with work challenges from work accidents to crop failure. Some scholars posit that Alfonso the Wise made a conscious effort to preserve ways of life in his kingdom, while committing himself to creating a cultural time capsule in the dominant language of the time: Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian of today. We’ll hear two pieces of the CSM that speak to work life, with the added twist of Mary intervening to ease a tragedy.

CSM 213 tells the story of A man named don Tomé from Elvas who made his living carrying things to market on his beasts. Tome worked with the thought that his wife was faithful to him, but he was mistaken.

One day authorities found her stabbed to death. When Tome returned to Elvas, they tried to arrest him, but he fled to the border.

He settled in Badajoz, and decided to go to Terena on pilgrimage hoping the Virgin would protect him from arrest, since the charge was unjust. He prayed to the Virgin to have mercy on him and to defend him.

On his return to Badajoz, he encountered his enemies, but the Virgin prevented them from seeing him. Still hoping to find him, they went to Terena. On a riverbank, they saw the devil in the man’s guise.

Once the devil’s trick was revealed, the authorities understood that Tome was innocent, and they begged his pardon.

Here we have Tomoko Sugawara, performing CSM 213 on the Konghou, a plucked concert harp instrument of ancient China.

CSM 213 Tomoko Sugawara 3:49

CSM 267 Aquel Trovar 4:44

That was Aquel Trovar performing CSM 267, A rich merchant from Portugal vowed someday to go on pilgrimage to Rocamadour.

The merchant loaded his ship and sailed up the Atlantic coast toward Flanders. The ship was struck by a storm and the merchant was thrown into the sea. As he sank into the waves, he asked the Virgin to save him. The Virgin calmed the sea and carried the merchant to dry land.

The ancient city of Rocamadour, with a current population of 604 people, includes buildings that appear to have been carved in the clifftop. Considered a religious city in the Occitania region of southern France, Rocamadour borders Spain and features the body of St. Amadour and the sculpture of the Black Virgin. This village figures into the CSM frequently.

Let’s hear CSM #8, the Minstrel of Rocamadour, named, Pedro de Sigrar, who sang and played his fiddle in front of a statue of the Virgin. He prayed that she’d give him a candle, and she caused one to rest on his fiddle. A monk, the shrine treasurer, snatched it back, and accused the minstrel of sorcery. The candle returned to the fiddle and the people, seeing this, did not allow the monk to take it away from the minstrel again. The monk acknowledged the miracle, repented, and asked the minstrel’s pardon. This is the Waverly Consort with the late Michael Jaffee, leading.

CSM 8: A virgen Santa Maria Pt. 1 0:19

CSM 8: Song 3:38

Waverly Consort: eBay Australia (source)

That was the Waverly Consort from their album: Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, one of my first encounters with the CSM, and it continues to delight.

You’re listening to a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X of what is now Spain. I’m your host Debra Bolton. Thank you for listening. Coming up in the second hour of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, we’ll look at some contemporary interpretations of the CSM, including electric guitars replacing instruments of the 13^th Century.

In this vast collections of the CSM, we learn that of the 420 songs, every 10^th song is a Cantiga de Loor, a song of courtly love. Let’s continue with Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, a musicologist and multi-instrumentalist specializing in period instruments of the time including viola de rueda, a.k.a. the hurdy gurdy, the oud (precursor to the guitar), the organetto (a portable organ), and varying horns and recorders. You can see some of these instruments on my blog: peopleandcultures.blog. We’ll hear CSM 80 and CSM 130, songs of courtly love, performed by Eduardo Paniagua.

CSM 80 2:54

CSM 130 3:02

Maestro Eduardo Paniagua: Architect and Musician: Melomano Digital – “The Cantigas are kind of like a chest of gold coins!”

We just heard Eduardo Paniagua with CSM 80 and 130, songs of courtly love.

As we approach the top of the hour, I hope you join us for the second hour to further our exploration of the history, the music, the King’s goals for this vast collection, and much more.

Let’s listen to Frederic Hand performing, what he calls, a CSM fantasy followed by CSM 139, the boy who offered bread to the Christ Child. You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X. I”m your host, Debra Bolton.

HR 1 Segment 2 total timing: 29:27

HR 2 Segment 1

Welcome to the second and final hour of this holiday special Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and musical biography of Alfonso X, the King of Castile-Leon, now Spain. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Alfonso X ruled from 1252 to 1284. To put the world into perspective at the time, the English language continued to change from its Germanic-rooted Olde English of the Beowulf poet (circa 9^th or 10^th century) after the Norman invasion of 1066. In the next century, we hear the English of Geoffrey Chaucer of Canterbury Tales fame and the Gawain Poet. Europeans now use Arabic numerals in favor of Roman Numerals. In the Mongol Empire, Mongke, officially, marks the worship of his grandfather, Genghis Khan while Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity flourish. The Inca Empire of Peru is thriving. England begins the process of segregation of Jewish peoples, and other countries begin to follow suit. Poland became a place of refuge for exiled and homeless Jewish Peoples, but it later became host to many Jewish death camps under the Hitler regime. The Mexica people, also known as Aztecs, are building their great capital city Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco, what is now Mexico City. King Alfonso X’s bid to be King of the Holy Roman Empire but fails as Pope Alexander IV (4^th) denies Alfonso’s rights to the throne in favor of Count Rudolf, bringing prominence to the Habsburg family. Count Rudolf was considered mediocre by many, as Alfonso was too ambitious and certainly too bright for that particular Pope of the time.

From the 13^th to the 21^st Century, the Cantigas de Santa Maria continue to influence new and exciting interpretations. Let’s begin this second hour looking at an electric influence of one of the most recognizable of the CSM, , and since it has an even number, 100, we know that it’s a song of love. Here we have Gabriel Fox with his contemporary interpretation of CSM 100.

Gabriel Fox, CSM 100 2:37

Takashi Tsunoda, CSM Medley 6:26

Album Cover: Apple Music (No copyright infringement intended)

That was Takashi Tsunoda performing on the Oud Harp, an instrument that he helped to build. Tsunoda also plays the gourd banjo in that piece. Tsunoda is listed under classical, jazz, and world music genres.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m Debra Bolton, your host. By the bye, you can read the transcript along with photos of the instruments and the musical playlist on my blog, peopleandcultures.blog. Also, you can comment or communicate with me through the blog, too.

Let’s continue with our exploration of the CSM. Often, the performers will list their song or instrumental by the first few lines of the poem. Thanks to the Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database, I can find the CSM number by using the lines from the poem. Let’s hear Enea Sorini’s interpretation of CSM 48, the stream that was diverted for the monks of Montserrat.

CSM 48 3:46

CSM 77-119 by Forfaitz 5:12

That was the Ensemble Forfaitz with CSM 77-119. I can find little to no information about Ensemble Forfaitz other than they play with Ensemble Unicorn. I’ve noticed that many interpreters of the CSM tend to bundle CSM 77-119 into a medley. Rather than my telling you what each of the stories entail, this is where you can find each of the 420 poems: the Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database. I continue to be fascinated by the stories in each of the poems.

King Alfonso ruled Castile-Leon in the Iberian Peninsula. If you think about it, Muslim rule began in 711 and lasted until 1492, the year of the Inquisition, when Muslims and Jewish people were victims displacement by Christian rule some 200 years after King Alfonso X’s rule. Alfonso the Wise ruled alongside his Muslim counterparts.

Let’s listen to the music of al-Andalus, the name of Muslim rule of the region. This is Eduardo Paniagua, an architect, musicologist, and multi-instrumentalist dedicated to reviving the music of the Iberian Peninsula in the Medieval era. Here he plays with Ensemble El Arabi. This is called Cordoba Lozana

El Arabi with Eduardo Paniagua Cordoba Lozana 5:52

That was El Arabi with Eduardo Paniagua. You’re listening the a musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host, Debra Bolton. Let’s take this break from your public radio station, and then we will return with the second part of this hour.

Music bed: Istampitta: La Manfredina (Italia Medieval) Jordi Savall 2:00

(Hour 2: Segment 2)

Welcome back to the final segment of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host, Debra Bolton Thank you for listening and for supporting your public radio station.

Scholars and Alfonsine devotees continue to celebrate the Learned King’s birthday on November 23 of each year, this being the 804th year since his birth in 1221.

Let’s discuss, for a moment, the language of King Alfonso X.

In a past interview with Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss, she noted that the great legacy of El Sabio is that he lived up to his name, “the wise” because he was obsessed with writing everything down. Whether it was mathematics, astronomy, the virtue of playing board games and other leisurely activities to balance hard works, laws to govern his subjects, and teaching morality, he not only wrote continually, but he chose not to write in Latin, the language of Kingdoms of the day. What made his legacy so strong is that he wrote in Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian, the present-day Spanish, though, like all language, changes continually as it incorporates varying native language of the Americas and other places colonized by Spain . The Learned King is considered the “Father of Castilian.” Was he that much of a visionary? It would seem so since Spanish only trails Chinese as the most common language worldwide, flanked by English, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda, aka, “Western Punjabi” according to The World Economic Forum and Encyclopedia Britannica online.

Let’s begin this segment with Maestro Jordi Savall, the music scholar, historian, and viola de gambist extraordinaire! I’ve had the great honor of attending three of his performances in Kansas City. Nearing 90, Savall still gathers musicians from around the globe to see his vision of bringing to the fore music through the centuries from composers, obscure and famous.

Here, we have Savall’s arrangement of CSM 248-353.

Ductia (CSM 248-353) ( 3:43) Jordi Savall

Je vivroie liement (I’ve been living)– Ensemble Gilles Binchois 3:06

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, I’m Debra Bolton. That was Ensemble Gilles Binchois with Je vivroie Liement, I’’ve been living! Preceded by Jordi Savall with his arrangement of CSM 248-353.

When I spoke to Alfonsine scholar Dr. J.K. Knauss, who lives in Spain and focuses on writing books, non-fiction and historical fiction, she told me that the higher the number in the CSM collection of more than 420 poems, the more local the miracle is happening.

Let’s hear Hana Blažíková performing CSM 383, The Pilgram woman saved from drowning, saved by the Virgin to whom the woman prayed.

CSM 383 – Hana Blažíková O fondo do mar tan 5:07

Alfonso X El Sabio – Narciso Yepes 4:58

That was the great Narciso Yepes, born in Lorca Spain in 1927 and died in Murcia, Spain in 1997. Yepes brought to prominence, the 10-String Classical guitar known for its range and timbre. Yepes performed his arrangement of a CSM medley in 1989.

Well, our time together is waning. Thank you for listening to this special programming, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria with your host, Debra Bolton. Be sure to check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog for this narrative and song selections. You can also see pictures of the medieval instruments featured on this show. Speaking of instruments, let’s hear the Viola de Rueda, which translates to a violin of the wheel. I’m speaking of the hurdy gurdy also called Zamphona. I read that it takes five years to build one hurdy gurdy. On my blog, peopleandcultures.blog I show the anatomy of the hurdy gurdy, a most fascinating instrument still played today. Let’s listen to Eduardo Paniagua and his Fuego de San Marcial.

Fuego de San Marcial Eduardo Paniagua 2:38

That was Musica Antigua led by Maestro Paniagua.

Thank you for listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. I’m your host Debra Bolton. Thank you for supporting your public radio station.

To take us to the top of the hour, Waverly Consorts CSM medley Instrumental from Waverly Consort’s Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (6:43)

Instruments of the time:

Shawm – 12^th c conical bored double reed instrument of Middle Eastern origin, a precursor of the oboe. Like the oboe, it is conically bored; but its bore, bell, and finger holes are wider, and it has a wooden disk (called a pirouette, on European shawms) that supports the lips

Recorder – Yes. That woodwind instrument that many of us learned in grade school. We hear this in the CSM, usually, on a wider variety of wood recorders.

Organetto – a small portable organ, often championed by Soprano, Esther Lamandier

Oud – Literally, wood in Arabic, short-necked, pear-shaped with 11 – 13 strings grouped in 5, 6, or 7 courses. A few of the oud players that stand oud are Driss El Maloumi, a group called 3MA and Haik Egitim Merkezi Yalova, both Maloumi and Yalova perform with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion groups. The Oud is considered the most important instrument in Middle Eastern Music.

Qanun (a.k.a., kanun, ganoun, kanoon) an Arabic stringed instrument, introduced to Europe in the 12^th Century. It’s played on the lap with picks that surround both index fingers, and the player can change the pitch of the strings with brass levers.

Hakan Güngör plays Kanun on the right, with Jordi Savall playing his vièle

Hurdy Gurdy, a.k.a. Viola de Rueda, and the Zanfona. Here we hear this instrument in Musica Antigua.

Vielle – the Medieval fiddle with five strings and six tied frets.

See image above

Rebec – A three-string “fiddle” often held between the legs as it’s played.

Viola de Gamba – (a.k.a., Viol or gamba), a six-stringed instrument, said to be a precursor of the four-stringed cello. The Gamba, usually, is much larger and has frets, like a guitar.

Gaita – Galician bag pipe, also common in Portugal.

Duduk – Double reed Armenian flute, featuring those mournful, lamenting tones. Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian, pictured below, plays with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion group.

I wrote this part for narrative, but did not include in radio program.

For perspective of the time, King Henry III ruled England about the same time Alfonso X ruled Castile-Leon, the greater part of what is now known as Spain. While El Sabio ruled his lands with Christians, Muslims, and Jewish peoples living and studying side-by-side with some appreciation and great tolerance, it would not be until 208 years later that Isabella and Ferdinand would expel all non-Christians and the time Christopher Columbus would set sail for Asia but landed in the Americas, which changed extensively the lives that he touched. Before that, well-civilized Indigenous tribes had not yet had contact with European colonizers. The surnames that most people connect with Latin American countries were the surnames of their Spanish conquerors. During and after the inquisition, many non-Christians, Jewish and Muslim people, added the suffixes of –ez, -es, or –os, meaning “son of,” to their surnames. For example, the Muslim man, Alvar, became Alvarez. The Jewish man, Martin became Martinez. Consistent with most surnames, there remained a connection to the family trade or place of origins. The Herrera were Sehphardic Jewish iron-smiths of Galicia. Those hailing from Galicia, or Galego, were the Galegos. In the present day, an extra “L” was added to make it “Gallegos” with the double-L being pronounced as “ya.”

Let’s explore the music of the Iberian Peninsula during Alfonso’s time with music of the Jewish and Muslim peoples. First, we turn to the music of Jewish People of the region known as the Sephardim, who populated Spain, North Africa, Turkey, differing from the Ashkenazi Jewish of Eastern Europe. King Alfonso welcomed Christians, Jewish, and Muslims musician into his Court. He respected Muslims, the keepers of classical knowledge and for their sophisticated, cultured and their technological advances. They were poets, artists, artisans, mathematicians, merchants, and ship builders. the Jewish were known as astronomers, writers, economists, scholars, and architects. You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century monarch, Alfonso the Wise. Be sure to check out my blog, peopleandcultures.blog for a transcript of this presentation and pictures of the many instruments played in these musical pieces.

King Alfonso employed artists to create two and three-dimensional works of art to correspond to the poems and songs, which would have made the Learned King an early pioneer in multi-media. Now, here we are putting it all in digital form! Scholars say the works of art, the songs and the poems were Alfonso’s way of teaching morality to the subjects of his kingdom on many levels. While those in his court were, themselves, learned and well-educated people, there were many in his kingdom who, perhaps, could not read or write. Hence the need for the lessons in more than written forms.

As we think of the language of Galician-Portuguese morphing into Castilian, and many now call the language “Spanish” coming from Spain, originally. During the expulsion of Jewish and Muslims in 1492, we can see some of the suffixes that may be telling of their origins. Christian suffixes were –ez, -es, and –os. When colonizing other lands, ironsmiths were quite important. Think of the many people you know with the surname of “Smith.” Hierro means iron in Castilian. The surname Hernandez denotes the Christian ironsmiths, and the surname Herrera were the Sephardic Jewish ironsmiths, and the Gallegos hailed from Galicia. We don’t think that the double-l was pronounced with the “y” sound at the time. In case you’re wondering about Galician-Portuguese, the language that is now known as Castilian, here’s a short phonics lesson, “Cs” and “Zs” were pronounced with a “TH” sound or a lisp. Most of those pronunciations hold true today in the Iberian Peninsula. When Castilian came to the Americas beginning in1492, the thousands of Indigenous languages were erased, in most cases, as each of those countries were colonized by Columbus and those who followed him from Spain, a European Country. Spain made it to what is now New Mexico about 25 years before the Plymouth rock landing. Spain continued south and the English settlers moved west, illustrating why we speak English in the United States and much of Canada.

Thanks to the authors who continue to educate me. My references come from the writings of Dr. J.K. Knauss. In addition, I refer to the research of Maestro Jordi Savall, and Maestro Eduardo Paniagua. , John Esten Keller, Robert I. Burn, Editor of “The Emperor of Culture” and from Oxford Univesity’s CSM database.

Thank you for reading my blog. Be sure to listen to this radio program on High Plains Public Radio, December 24, at 2:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. (hppr.org)

Distinguished Alumni!

On the 50th anniversary of my graduation from Montrose High School, I was selected as a “Distinguished Alumni!” I remember that my sister, Eileen, had nominated me two times, but that was about 5-7 years ago. It was so great. I set out to write my speech to the 2025 graduating class and their families. I strove to make the points that everything one learns in high school, in deed, all our school days, can be applied to our adult lives. I hope I made the points.

May 18, 2025

Members of the Montrose County School District Board, President Fishering, Montrose Education Foundation, Inc. Members, Superintendent, Dr. Stephensen, Principal Voehringer, and Montrose High School Graduates, I am honored to stand before you today as the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award.

First, I want to acknowledge that we stand on the original lands of my Father’s People, the Ute. Please remember this truth.

Graduates: You reached another great milestone in your lives. Have you asked yourselves: “Where will I be in 50 years? What will I be doing?” Well, as a graduate in 1975, 50 years ago, I didn’t ask myself that question either! I never dreamed that I’d be standing before you these 50 years later. My sense of determination, learned from my parents, is what brings me here. I don’t know if you still do this, but we had to talk to the guidance counselor regarding our futures. In my exit interview, the first words out of my guidance counselor’s mouth were, “I guess you’ll want to go work at the candy factory, because I don’t think college is for you.” He didn’t really know me! I was a 3.75 gpa student, but luckily, I had great teachers in my school days who saw me in a different light. Everything we learn in elementary, middle, and high school prepares us for our futures. Those years prepared me for who I am today!

My middle school English teacher, Mrs. Bowers, recognized my gift for language and encouraged me to stay the course. I wrote my master’s thesis, The Origins and Traditions of Foods in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, because Mrs. Heavers did a great job of helping us fall in love with literature. I wish Bowers, Heavers, and Seivers, my English teachers, knew that I was an English teacher for 12 years at a community college.

I love math, because of Mr. Saults, my 9^th grade math teacher, taught with humility and a little humor. I wish he knew that he laid the ground for me to love numbers and use those numbers in my quantitative research!

Je parle français parce que j’ai pris deux ans avec Mademoiselle Halverson, et que je continue à utiliser cette langue dans mon travail aujourd’hui avec des refugies du Viet Nam, d’Haiti, du Senegal, et de la Cote d’Ivoire.

French class was great! We produced Neige Blanche et le sept nan! I was cast as one of the dwarves! (chante: hi ho, le temps c’est q’il fait beau…)

I continue to sit in the front row at any program, lecture, or event, because Mrs. Sievers, my 11^th grade English teacher, suggested it.

I retired from Kansas State University after 20 years, and now I have the honor of teaching geography at Haskell Indian Nations University. How did all this happen?

I stand before you, with years of education behind me, and working in academics as a professor and researcher because David Walter Bauguess, my high school choral teacher, told me I was destined to do great things. He used to call me “Dr. Debby.” He loaned me his master’s thesis so that I could digest concepts of academic writing. He made it a point to honor each of my graduations with thoughtful reminders for me to believe in myself. My brother Danny, a wonderful musician himself, and I were founding members of The Bel Canto Singers, under the direction of Mr. Bauguess. He encouraged all of us to do great things. Sadly, we lost Mr. Bauguess on December 27, 2023. David Bauguess would laugh at my bringing all of our music programs from 1971 to 1975 with me today. The Bel Canto Singers performed its last of 1975 on May 20, shortly before graduation! We even performed at our baccalaureate (sing a few lines of The Road Not Taken). I have our record album here, too! When the Japanese wrestlers came to MHS to compete against our wrestlers, Mr. Bauguess taught us the Japanese National Anthem (Sing: Ki me ga a yo oh wah…).

The lovely backdrop of my speech, indeed, my home: The San Juan Mountain Range

My parents were my strongest teachers. My now 95-Year-old Mother Tina encouraged my imagination. She never told me that my two imaginary friends, Deddie and Knocky, were not real, and she even set the dinner table with a place for them. She also modeled hard work, and we learned from that. My Dad, Frank, modeled voracious reading and study. He read National Geographic Magazine from cover to cover. Sadly, Dad passed in 2007, may he rest in power. Dad didn’t know that I was awarded National Geographic Explorer Scholarships in 2017 and 2018, joining other explorers like Jaques Cousteau, Sir Edmund Hilary, and Alexander Graham Bell. And Dad had passed by the time I received my Ph.D. in Geography.

Later today, I have the honor of attending Olathe High School Graduation, where my Grandson Dellon Nusz graduates at 12:30. Graduating today from MHS are my niece, Alexis Hernandez and nephew, Hayden Hensley. So, I am honored to have many of my family members here today. Each of whom continue to be great inspirations to me.

Graduates, my greatest message to you today is. Always know who you are. Study your ancestry. Know how things work, whether it’s machines, political arenas, the mechanics of language, or about finances. Know why numbers are important. They tell us the truth. Practice gratitude every day. Honor your parents, your leaders, your teachers, your family, your siblings, and yourselves! Use your voice to stand up for yourselves and others. Be interested in everyone you meet, and finally: Know everything about something, and know something about everything. Congratulations on your hard work to graduate high school. I pray that your futures are bright. Go Redhawks!

July 2025

My graduating class hosted its 50th class reunion. It was great to connect with high school mates, and to see where we are 50 years later. Of the beautiful friends with whom to connect were my best friends Roy W. and Lynnae C. My brother Danny and I were in the same friend groups. Here we are.

Thank you for reading my blog.

A Reflection on King’s Legacy

For the past five years, I have offered a pre-luncheon reflection to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. I post these remarks for your contemplation.

Please join me in an attitude of reflection.

As we gather to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s powerful legacy, we stand in the wake of the passing, last Monday, of his second son, Dexter Scott King, himself a civil rights activist. The Universe reminds us of how fragile life can be and our need to care for one another, as admonished by Dr. King. May Dexter Scott King rest in Power. The elder King modeled for us servant leadership and showed us the power in finding value in each and every human and choosing love over hate and exclusion. We observe that King, often, had to stand alone on these beliefs. Dr. King said, “The ultimate measure of persons is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.” Were Dr. King alive today, what would he see? Would he see progress or further chasms between love and hate? King’s work toward social Justice and equity, possibly, leads us to ask, “Why does this struggle continue today?” “What have we learned?”
Remember that King was lodged into the Birmingham Jail, because it was illegal for “Black Folk” to participate in public demonstrations; an exercise NOT afforded to those who were deemed “un-worthy” or “un-deserving.” Hear his voice, “We protest for the Negro brothers and sisters smothering in airtight cages of poverty in the midst of an affluent society.” What do we observe these 56 years later?

Dr. King emphasized, “If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must transcend our, so-called, races, our tribes, our classes, and our nation. This means we must develop a world perspective and tear down the walls of separation and hatred to seek common ground and to dissolve hierarchies.” He added, “Humans are put on this earth to serve one another.”

Alas, let’s ponder the words of U.S. Youth Poet Laureate, Alexandra Huynh: “Find shelter and strength in one another to go the distance that spans across what we’ve been given and what we deserve. Self-sovereign smiles and applause at every turn. It’s not so impossible when you start to consider that we are bigger together as brothers and sisters.”

May Kansas State University, as a community defined by pluralism, find the common ground to stand together against darkness and hate to find light and love.

As we prepare for these bodily nourishments, let us greet one another with our own words or action that communicate Love. “Every effort we make to connect is meaningful.” Verily, I say unto you…, and so it is.

I wish each of you, readers, love and respect.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Las Cantigas de Santa Maria 2023

This is the transcript and playlist for my annual radio program called Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X. One place to hear the music and production is on the world wide web. http://www.hppr.org on December 22 at 2:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Opens with Cantiga #1 Des Oge Mais Quer’ eu Trobar

Alvaro Sanchez Guillaumet: 4:35

We began this musical journey with The Learned King declaring himself Mary’s Troubadour who will take her teaching to his Kingdom and beyond. We just heard Alvaro Sanchez Guillaumet performing CSM#1 on the Hurdy Gurdy with frame drums and Oud.

The Cantigas de Santa Maria is a collection of poems put to music. The catalog consists of more than 420 poems set to music beginning with what is called a “cantiga de loor” song of love, and every 10 song is a song of love while the others focus on scenarios related to sins and crimes with their accompanying morality story. Let’s hear the Waverly Consort in their English language interpretation of CSM #1 when the Learned King declares himself the Virgin Mary’s Troubadour and asks the “noble lady” to bestow the inheritance of eternal life and grant Alfonso’s kingdom a place in eternity. 2:43

That was the Waverly Consort led by the late Michael Jaffe with the prologue that precedes CSM# 1. You heard an English translation of the King declaring himself the Virgin’s troubadour. The first time I heard the Waverly Consort’s CSM was a live recording from the Cloisters in NYC presented on NPR. Again, of the more than 420 Marian poems written by King Alfonso X and his assistant scribes, every 10^th poem is a song of love for the Virgin.

Ben Sab à Que Pod è Val “Miragre” (Mirage) Musica Iberica de Holanda (Iberian Music of Holland) 6:54

That was Ben Sab a Que Pod e Val by Musica Iberica de Holanda (Iberian Music of Holland) with a story of power and forgiveness.

King Alfonso ruled his Kingdom of Castile-Leon, now Spain, from 1252 until his death. Scholars and Alfonsine devotees continue to celebrate the Learned King’s birthday on November 23 of each year, this being his 801^st year since his birth.

Let’s discuss, for a moment, the language of King Alfonso X.

In a past interview with Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss, she noted that the great legacy of El Sabio is that he lived up to his name, “the wise” because he was obsessed with writing everything down. Whether it was mathematics, astronomy, the virtue of playing board games and other leisurely activities to balance hard works, laws to govern his subjects, and teaching morality, he not only wrote continually, but he chose not to write in Latin, the language of Kingdoms of the day. What made his legacy so strong is that he wrote in Galician-Portuguese, the embryonic Castilian, the present-day Spanish. The Learned King is considered the “Father of Castilian.” Was he that much of a visionary? It would seem so since Spanish only trails Chinese as the most common language worldwide, flanked by English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda, aka, “Western Punjabi” according to The World Economic Forum.

In a very short phonics lesson, “Cs” and “Zs” were pronounced with a “TH” sound or a lisp, which I illustrate here in one of many miracles of in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. This is CSM#368 Maria de Cordoba y Santa Cruz de Cadiz: A woman, named Mary, lived in Cordoba next to the Church of Holy Mary the Great [the former great mosque]. She believed that she had a snake in her stomach and she travelled through Extremadura and then to Castile.

The abbot of Silos [Santo Domingo?] appeared to her in a vision and instructed her to go there. He said that the Virgin would show her how to get well.

When she got to Silos, she had another vision. This time, she was instructed to visit Santa Maria do Porto. The next day, the woman set off for that place.

When she arrived, she held a vigil and fell asleep in front of the altar. In a vision, the Virgin instructed her to go to the cathedral at Cádiz at daybreak.

She boarded a ship and they put out to see. When the people on board saw Cádiz and the church they praised the God and the Virgin.

Then the woman coughed up a red snake, like a thick eel. Everyone was amazed and praised the Virgin.

Performed by Eduardo Paniagua, the hurdy gurdy master devoted to recording all existing CSMs.

CSM#368 Maria de Cordoba y Santa Cruz de Cadiz. 6:39

END OF SEGMENT ONE

You’re listening to this holiday special Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and musical biography of Alfonso X, the King of Castile-Leon, now Spain. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Alfonso X ruled from 1252 to 1284. To put the world into perspective at the time, the English language continued to change from its Germanic-rooted Olde English of the Beowulf poet (circa 9^th or 10^th century) after the Norman invasion of 1066. In the next century, we hear the English of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Gawain Poet. Europeans now use Arabic numerals in favor of Roman Numerals. In the Mongol Empire, Mongke, officially, marks the worship of his grandfather, Genghis Khan while Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity flourish. The Inca Empire of Peru is thriving. England begins the process of segregation of Jewish peoples, and other countries begin to follow suit. The Mexica people, also known as Aztecs, are building their great city on a lake in what is now Mexico City. King Alfonso X’s bid to be King of the Holy Roman Empire fails in favor of Count Rudolf, bringing prominence to the Habsburg family, Rudolf was considered mediocre as Alfonso was too ambitious and certainly too bright for the Pope of the time.

Let’s begin this segment with Patrizia Bovi Ensemble Micrologus and a song of love for the Virgin Mary 2:32

Cantigos de Santa Maria: Prologue instrumental (Gaita) the Galician Bagpipe: Ensemble Jehan de Channey, Vincent Aliquot, Vincent Barthelemy 1:26

CSM#159: 2:31 Talks about the Pilgrims to Rocamadour whose meat was stolen. Performed by Ensemble Jehan de Channey, Vincent Aliquot, Vincent Barthelemy.

We just heard three pieces: We began with a song of love performed by Patrizia Bovi Ensemble Micrologus and we heard the Prologue performed on the Gaita, the Galician Bagpipe and we heard CSM#159, about the Pilgrim to Rocamadour whose meat was stolen. These stories are presented as miracles that put an end to pain, suffering, and criminal ways after the Virgin intervenes.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, El Sabio, the wise. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Let us turn now to a song of love for the Virgin Mary as envisioned by King Alfonso X. This is called Eno Mome de Maria, CSM#70 performed by Universalia in Re 5:41

That was Universalia in Re performing a song of love for the Virgin Mary. You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the musical biography of Medieval King of Spain, Alfonso X.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary in music, poetry, and art. My name is Debra Bolton. I am your host for this special music. If you go out to my website you will find examples of some of the art that corresponds with the songs and poetry and this narrative with the songs for today’s musical program. The website is https://wordpress.com/post/peopleandcultures.blog/1728

This is CSM 13, the story of A thief named Elbo always prayed to the Virgin and commended himself to her.

One day he was caught stealing and the magistrate ordered him to be hanged.

As Elbo was hanging on the gallows, the Virgin supported his feet so that he did not choke. He stayed on the gallows for three days.

The magistrate passed by, noticed the thief was still alive, and had the rope adjusted. The Virgin continued to protect Elbo.

The thief spoke to the magistrate and his men, explaining that the Virgin had been keeping him alive. The magistrate praised the Virgin and had him taken down from the gallows. Elbo joined a monastery.

Performed by Robin Rolfhamre 5:34

You just heard the oud in that piece. The oud was the precursor to the guitar, oud being the Arabic word for wood. That was the story of Elbo, who changed his thieving ways and joined a monastery. Robin Rolfhamre is a professor of music and researcher in Sweden who plays lute, oud, and psaltry and who investigates the functions and performance of music in France in the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

Next, we’ll explore CSM 77-119, performed by Forfaitz. 5:12

77: A woman was almost entirely paralyzed. Her limbs were shriveled and twisted, and no medicine could cure her. On the Virgin’s feast in August, Mary straightened her limbs. Each of her limbs made a loud cracking sound as the shrunken tendons stretched. The bishop and the people who witnessed her healing wept and gave thanks to the Virgin.

78: The Count of Toulouse favored one of his courtiers. The man was devoted to the Virgin and refused to hear any mass but hers. The other courtiers were jealous of the pious man and plotted against him. They lied to the count, slandering him and accusing him of terrible crimes. The count decided to burn the man. He instructed the lime burner to throw into the fire the first man who came his way. He sent his victim on an errand to the lime burner, but, on his way, the man stopped to hear mass recited at a hermitage. The count, thinking the deed had been done, sent another man to the lime burner. This man was the one who had slandered the Count’s favorite. The lime burner seized him and threw him into the flames. When the count saw the good man alive and learned of the slanderer’s death, he realized justice had been served. He wept, praising the Virgin, and promised to have the miracle proclaimed in all her churches.

CSM 77-119, each tell a story of an afflicted person or one who engages in crimes and how each time the afflicted or the criminal cries out to the Virgin with much contrition, and low, the Virgin saves them from their disease or sentencing.

Forfaitz. 5:12

Quen a omagen – Ansambl Triola 3:04

According to Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J.K. Knauss,

King Alfonso employed artists to create two and three-dimensional works of art to correspond to the poems and songs, which would have made the Learned King an early pioneer in multi-media. Now, here we are putting it all in digital form! Some scholars point of the works of art, the songs and the poems as Alfonso’s way to teach morality to the subjects of his kingdom on many levels. While those in his court were, themselves, learned and well-educated people, there were many in his kingdom who, perhaps, could not read or write. Hence the need for the lessons on morality in more than written forms.

Regarding the language:

The poems and songs employ the language of the time, which is Galician-Portuguese, Medieval Galician, or as some linguists and historians simply call the language, Romance, the root language of Castilian, the language of Spain and its subsequent colonized countries in the Americas.

When we think about world events of King Alfonso’s time, between the 12 and 14^th centuries, there was a sect of Christians called the Cathare, a

fundamentalists sect who believed there were two gods: A good one who presided over the spiritual world, and an evil one who ruled the physical world. Cathars viewed even sex within marriage and reproduction as evil, and so lived strict lives of abstention. Here I present the spoken text of the Papal Bull legislating torture of those practicing Catharism, called “Ad Exstirpanda.” Papal bulls are edicts issued by the Pope of the Catholic Church. We know the one issued in 1492 before the launching of Columbus, the edict of colonizing so called, “Non-Christian” countries and enslaving Indigenous peoples some 200 years after Alfonso X’s rule.

At odds with the Catholic church, The Cathare believed in female deities and believed that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married. The text is presented in Latin, as the Cathar of the time were in France and Italy.

This lament, performed by Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI Veri dulcis in tempore” translated “A true Sweet season” of the time from the CD “The Forgotten Kingdom.

Veri dulcis in tempore: 3:57

That was Jordi Savall and his Hesperion XXI performing music of the forgotten Kingdom of the Cathare in France and Italy.

After 1492, in addition to colonizing the lands and its people, Spain, also, colonized the languages of the Americas and the Caribbean. Since the so called, “first contact,” we saw Castilian overwhelming, and often erasing, many Native languages of the islands and the continents, thanks to the Doctrine of Discovery establishing a so called, “spiritual, political, and legal” justification for colonization and seizure of land NOT inhabited by visibly Christian (white) People. Again, the Spanish we hear today differs widely from that of the CSM and Alfonso X’s time. However, you don’t need to understand Galician-Portuguese to enjoy this music, known for its complex musical structures and its use of what we now call, ancient instruments.

Coming up in the next hour of Cantigas de Santa Maria, we will hear more songs and tunes about miracles of the Virgin Mary as we continue this musical biography of King Alfonso X, the wise, of 13^th Century Spain

Go to an instrumental played by the Waverly Consort, Cut #15, to play to the end. 6:43

Hour Two

Hello, I’m Debra Bolton. Welcome to the second hour of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Holy Canticles of St. Mary), songs and poems in praise of Holy Mary – and the poetic/musical biography of Alfonso, “the wise”, The Kind of Castile-Leon, now Spain, and who lived from 1221 to 1284. I appreciate your joining me today.

As we continue in this exploration of this very small part of King Alfonso X’s tribute to the Virgin Mary, my references come from the writings of Dr. J.K. Knauss. In addition, I refer to the writing of Professor Joseph F. O’Callahan, Mr. Andrew Casson, Maestro Jordi Savall, Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, John Esten Keller, Robert I. Burn, Editor of “The Emperor of Culture” and from Oxford Univesity’s CSM database.

From Burn’s edited book, The Emperor of Culture, Ellen Kosmer and James Powers write: The period witnessed a dramatic rise in the growth of European towns. As urban economies prospered, so too did craftsmen [see a] dramatic increase in the thirteenth century. The book trade went from a monastic to a lay enterprise, which mirrored the changing society. Thus, Alfonso’s commission of this literary works, written in a vernacular, the Galician dialect, with its lavish illustrations [and 3-D art]puts him in the company of other great 13^th Century royal patrons, like Louis IX (9^th) of France, the southern courts of Italy, and in English with Henry III and Edward I. The CSM is distinguished from other royal works for its length, depth, and wide range of topics.

Prologue: Ensemble Scandicus : 4:36

SM Strela do dia Apollo’s Fire: 4:22

You’re listening to a musical biography of Spain’s Medieval King, Alfonso X. I’m your host Debra Bolton. We just listened to two pieces: The Prologue was performed by Ensemble Scandicus, a multicultural European group focused on early music.

Also, we heard Apollo’s Fire with Santa Maria do dia. Apollo’s Fire is a Cleveland Ohio-based early music ensemble as part of the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra.

Author J. K. Knauss describes the importance of the Cantigas de Santa Maria saying, “The most appropriate single adjective for the corpus of cultural work produced under Alfonso X is ‘encyclopedic.’” He wrote books of history, astronomy/astrology, law, poetry, board games, and music. Even his written leisure activities continue to survive the vagaries of time, bearing the King’s name as patron or author.”

Here’s the New London Consort with Quen a Virgen Ben Servira. 8:24

That was CSM#103: The Monk who listened to a Bird’s Song for Three Hundred Years, Performed by the New London Consort.

Let’s take a moment to talk about some of the instruments that you’re hearing on this musical journey of 13^th Century Spain, then called, Castile-Leon.

Recorder – Yes. That woodwind instrument that many of us learned in grade school. We hear this in the CSM, usually, on a wider variety of wood recorders.

Organetto – a small portable organ, which you heard performed by Esther Lamandier

Hurdy Gurdy, a.k.a. Viola de Rueda, and the Zanfona. Here we hear this instrument in Musica Antigua.

Vielle – the Medieval fiddle with five strings and six tied frets.

Rebec – A three-string “fiddle” often held between the legs as it’s played.

Viola de Gamba – (a.k.a., Viol or gamba), a six-stringed instrument, said to be a precursor of the four-stringed cello. The Gamba, usually, is much larger and has frets, like a guitar.

Gaita – Galician bag pipe, also common in Portugal.

Duduk – Double reed Armenian flute, featuring those mournful, lamenting tones.

You’re listening to a musical journey of 13^th Century Spain’s King Alfonso the X and his devotion to the Virgin Mary, on this public radio station. I’m your host, Debra Bolton, and I appreciate that you’re here with me today. You can see this transcript and photos of the instruments if you go to my blog: https://wordpress.com/post/peopleandcultures.blog/1728

The language of the time, Galician-Portuguese, finds scholars today who argue that Galician and Portuguese are dialects of the same language. It tends to remind one more of Portuguese than of Castilian, the root language of modern-day Spanish. Portugal situated directly south of Galicia, the home of the (K)Celts and the Sephardim of the Iberian Peninsula. Stay with us…

Quarta Espanpie by Ferdinando de Martino Ensemble Comtessa Carmina Gemina: 2:43

End of Hour 2, Segment 1

2:00 minute break.

We continue with Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the musical biography of Medieval King of Castile-Leon, Alfonso X, the wise and learned. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

For more perspective of the time, King Henry III ruled England about the same time Alfonso X ruled Castile-Leon, the greater part of what is now known as Spain. While El Sabio ruled his lands with Christians, Muslims, and Jewish peoples living and studying side-by-side with some appreciation and great tolerance, it would not be until 208 years later that Isabella and Ferdinand would expel all non-Christians and the time Christopher Columbus would set sail for Asia but landed in the Americas, which changed extensively the lives that he touched. Before that, well-civilized Indigenous tribes had not yet had contact with European colonialists. The surnames that most people connect with Latin American countries were the surnames of their Spanish conquerors. During and after the inquisition, many non-Christians, Jewish and Muslim people, added the suffixes of –ez, -es, or -os to their surnames. For example, the Muslim man, Alvar, became Alvarez. The Jewish man, Martin became Martinez. Consistent with most surnames, there remained a connection to the family trade or place of origins. The Herrera were Jewish iron-smiths. Those hailing from Galicia, or Galego, were the Galegos. In the present day, an extra “L” was added to make it “Gallegos.”

Santa Maria by Irfan 4:45

CSM #156 by Rocio de Trutos 2:37

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria on this public radio station. I’m your host, Debra Bolton, and I appreciate that you’re here with me today.

We just heard two pieces, Santa Maria by Irfan, a Bulgarian group focused on electro-acoustic music from a variety of genres and musical centuries. Also, we heard Soprano Rocio de Trutos known best for her Bach Cantatas. You’ve been listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and the musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X of Spain in music, poetry, and art. I’m the producer and your host, Debra Bolton.

El Sabio, King Alfonso the X ascended the throne of Castile-Leon, now Spain, in 1252 and immediately devoted himself to the creation of new laws, the Siete Partidas (seven parts) and the Fuero Real (Royal Municipal Code), both of which continue to be in effect here in the 21^st Century.

Scholars posit that the CSM continue to be a testament by which the king wished to be remembered after his death. That means that we, also, are part of the intended audience. Knauss continues that the learned king, likely, did not fathom this kind of dissemination, now in this digital age. She says, “With these technologies, it grants scholars who study the CSM a place in his highly exclusive circle of apprentices.”

I began exploring the history of the CSM, because I found the tunes, songs, poems, and art pieces so wonderfully extraordinary with their passion and multimedia approaches. I hope you’ve found this music and its stories interesting. For more information, please visit my blog: https://wordpress.com/post/peopleandcultures.blog/1728

And, if you’d like to hear the show, encourage your local public radio station to run it, and it can be found at the Public Radio Exchange, PRX.

Rosas das Rosas – The New York Consort for Poetry and Music 3:24

CSM #383 Jordi Savall and Hesperion XX 8:14

Rose of Rose CSM Waverly Consort 3:27

Thank you for listening to Cantigas de Santa Maria, I’m Debra Bolton.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Well-Being Concepts

Now that we’re shedding out winter blankets, in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to think about warmer weather. Often times, we tend toward a more sedentary life in winter weather. That means we may gain a few pounds, lose a little muscle mass, and our motivation decreases. How do we keep this all in line so that we experience optimal health year around? My answer? Holistic Self-Care.

About a month ago, I reached my 66th birthday. The day before my 66th year, I taught a self-care class for my co-workers. It was fun. I called it, “Finding Hygge and Other Emotional Well-Being Concepts.” I’ve written about hygge and other forms of coziness in previous blog articles. I had a co-worker take the picture you see in the “featured image.” That was for my “Meet Your Presenter” slide in the power point for my workshop.

Let’s get started.

I offer this lovely image that I call, “Sunset on the Flinthills” as a gentle reminder for you to bring the natural world into your time reading this and for engaging in self-care practices. Here are some learning objectives:

Self-advocacy promotes equity and belonging
Health and well-being practices promote physical, emotional, social, and occupational well-being
Long-term outcomes include increased confidence and overall well-being

“When we cultivate environments of well-being, we see each other as holistic beings who seek fulfillment through work, leisure time, and personal or professional development. We strive to engage in self-care when necessary and without judgment.” -Bolton

Let’s Breathe

I borrowed this image from social media promoting a Mastery of Self, a book by don Miguel Ruiz Jr.:

Sit quietly with all distractions muted as best as possible.
Circle arms above head while inhaling – then exhale. Do this 8 times.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth: 8x
Inhale to the count of 5 – Exhale to count of 5: 8x
Place your hands on your diaphragm and breath out with a loud “ho!”: 8x

What is Holistic Health and Well-Being?

When we think of when we humans are at our best, there are many needs that must be met. I could bring in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, here, but you likely know what those are, and this reflects that, too. I think most humans work toward self-actualization. Here is what we need:

Physical needs – Food, clean water, oxygen, elimination, clothing/shelter, sleep, and movement/activity for sensory and motor stimulation
Mental/psychological needs – attachment, orientation/control, self-esteem, pleasure, and avoiding pain
Spiritual needs – Meaning, purpose, to love, and to be loved
Social needs – Relationships, belonging, respect, affirmation

What under-girds each of these human needs, of course, is SAFETY?

Safety means, security of body, employment, resources, our moral codes, any type of family, optimal health, and a place of one’s own. Can you image what happens to humans who do not have the privilege of holistic health and well-being? Can you imagine what happens to the human psyche when one is displaced due to war, poverty, colonization, or no job opportunities?

We must feel safe and affirmed in any space in which we navigate. All of these needs move forward once safety has been met.

On another note of importance, we must understand others’ identities and how those identities may contribute to feelings of non-safety when others view them as lesser than, who don’t belong, or somehow don’t fit in. Remember, there are those who do not feel safe in certain environments. That happens when basic human needs are not met. Abraham Maslow was absolutely correct when he talked about basic human needs as critical to thriving.

Our Own Cultural Behaviors Contribute to Our Senses of Work, Rest, and Play

A dominant cultural behavior of the United States is work, work, work. Brené Brown tells us that “crazy busy is a great armor. It’s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do it that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth ow how we’re feeling and what we really need can’t catch up with us.” I see this in my work place when my colleagues boast that, “I’m losing vacation days, because I don’t use them!” Unfortunately, that is an ethos that is honored in my work place. That is the opposite of praising for self-care.

Think About You:

What are some things you do to wind down after a hard day at work?
What are ways in which you balance work and rest?
Is “winding down” a practice you do?

Most of us are not in survival mode nor are we in subsistence mode. We tend to forget about “self-care” mode. Let’s change that practice!

Let’s Stretch

Stand tall and reach for the sky with a full inhalation. Drop your arms as you exhale. 8x
Stand tall and reach from side to side over your head. You will cross your right arm over to your left side and vice versa. 8 x
Stand tall and reach for the sky. Take deep breaths. Reach up, and then bend to touch the floor. 8x
Now, squat low and stretch your inner thighs to a ten count on each side. 8x

Take This Moment to Reflect

•What gifts or talents do you possess?

•What new characteristic did you discover about yourself recently?

•What are you grateful for?

–Looking to the future

•Which value or action would bring you closer to a vibrant way of living?

•If you have or would design a personal ritual, what would it be?

•Have you found a way to focus on your successes?

•What kind of person do you strive to be?

•Have you ever thought of naming what you want your life to be as a chapter in a book?

What is Mental Health?

“…a state of well-being in which the individual realizes [their] own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to [their] community.” (WHO, 2004, p.12)

= positive capacity
= social and emotional wellbeing
= behavior, thoughts and emotions

≠ mental ill-health*
≠ happiness

Open dialogue on Mental Health

In you own words, what does the phrase “Mental Health” mean to you? What definitions/connotations does this phrase evoke?

Mental Health Defined

Its important to recognize that mental health encompasses our recognition of adapting ourselves to our surroundings in a way the promotes our well-being, while still acknowledging the experience. I say this to note that mental health isn’t singularly about being “happy” (especially not all the time). That is an unrealistic or attainable standard for mental health and ignores that we utilize all of our emotions to make sense of our experiences.

Prioritizing mental health ensures we are taking the necessary steps to alleviating those stresses while retaining our functionality in life. We see this in

-Driving personal development

-Seeking out and maintaining relationships with others

-Positive & Affirming

-Speaking Up when in need / communicating our concerns/problems to others who can help

-Expressing our Emotions

-There is no such thing as a “bad” emotion, its how we understand them and express them

-We all feel sadness, anger, joy, etc. We need to see all emotion as natural, but learn how to cope with them as they come

-Last example is a continuation of development

-When we stop problem solving, or setting goals we can slip into states of ill-health that can perpetuate the stresses we are experiencing

So now, what is ill-health?

How Do We Maintain Our Balanced Mental Health?

Personal Development

Positive/Respectful Relationships

Open Communication

Identify/Understand/Expressing Emotions

Setting Goal / Problem Solving / Taking Responsibility

So, Then Ill Mental Health May Be…

“… a spectrum of problems that interfere with an individual’s cognitive, social, and emotional abilities including both ‘mental health problems’ & ‘mental illnesses’”

Reflect

Stress is a normal response to situations

It includes both eustress (“good” stress) and distress (“bad” stress)

Stress responses vary based on the person

What does stress look like during an infectious disease outbreak?

Fear or worry about your own health

Fear or worry about the health of a loved one

Changes in sleep or eating patterns

Difficulty sleeping or concentrating

Worsening chronic health problems

Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

Stress can impact your body, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors- it can effect so much!

Body- headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, tiredness, upset stomach, etc.

Mood (including thoughts and feelings)- anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation, feeling overwhelmed, irriability or anger, sadness or depression

Behavior- changes in appetite, angry outbursts, drug or alcohol misuse, tobacco misuse, social withdrawal, exercising less often

Self-Care is More Than a Hot Bath or Taking a Day from Work

Here are two quotes from researchers who study human behaviors in societies that push for power and material wealth.

Thank you for reading me. I hope this can be a nice road map for returning to a healthy way of life.

Namaste!

Reflecting and Looking Forward

When we think of a year that’s passed, it can be a good time to reflect on the past and to look forward in a new year. We can think about the good things that happened and contemplate any of the negative happenings. Of course, it does not serve us well to focus on our misfortunes, mistakes, losses, and other events that made a negative impact. However, it could serve well to give each of those challenges their due. I want to spend this space for reflecting on the year past and looking forward to year unfolding before us. Every year, I learn something new, and I give myself grace when I come up short. I will share some things I’ve learned and ask you to reflect on your life as well.

Reflecting on events of the past takes a Mindfulness approach. In the process, be a neutral observer. Think about what gave such an event a positive or negative impact. Notice how the event or interaction elicited emotions. How was that emotion navigated, or what was the response? The point in this reflection is to remind ourselves to be 1) a neutral observer to each experience, 2) Be patient with yourself: allow each experience to emerge at its own pace, 3) Have a “beginner’s mind” by experiencing the memory as if for the first time, 4) Trust and believe in your intuition and your ability to see things in a new way, 5) Take it as it comes without the need to win or avoid losing. At this points, just be; 6) Accept and see things as they are in the present moment; 7) Let go and detach from your usuall feelings and thoughts. Perhaps this is a way for us to slow down for a moment to recharge our senses.

Enjoying a hot cup of tea on a crispy morning in front of the outdoor fire place

I’ve written about the “art of hygge.” Hygge is that danish word (Hoo-gah) that denotes comfort at the point of being cozy. Think of a hug! We get to decide on the characteristics of that hug. When the danish speak of hygge, they outline all the situations in which one can practice that coziness: our living spaces, our work spaces, and in outdoor spaces. I have designed my “living room” as a hygge corner.

Another way of practicing that sense of being hugged, is looking to the outdoors for rest and relaxation. Viewing nature as if for the first time can be exhilirating! Perhaps asking oneself, “Which season do I like best? Why?” I like to notice what birds are active in which season? For example, I’m seeing more juncos during the winter than in the summer. We see snow geese in the winter but not summer! Those are changes that are only noticed when one looks up or notices changes in nature. It such a thing is new to you, try it sometime. As another example, in the photo, one could ask, “Why is the sunset so red?” The answer: Dust and smoke in the atmosphere from fires and wind (in many cases).

In a busy world where we are measured by how much we do, how much money we earn, and how we stand out as individuals (an individualistic society). I wonder if we would have less illness if we emulated that of a collective society (group oriented) and took the time to sit and talk, build relationships, and take more collective actions when it comes to governance. The concept of hygge supports that very thing, as does the Mediterranean way of conviviality. So what if we took three hours to consume our meals conversing around the table? Our lives would slow down, and we would take more time for ourselves and our loved one. I love the concept of “hygge with others,” which focuses on our relationships. While we have fewer opportunities to gether during this pandemic, and we’ve had to find new and different ways to connect with people, such as with on line platforms. When I think of “hygge” with others, I tend to think of gathering around meals. Sometimes it may be connecting through interest groups. Sometimes we attend a movie group, which meets online after participants watch the movie on their own. That is one way of connecting during a pandemic time. The meet up consists of questions by the facilitator. We found common themes through which we connected. A few years back, in a town where we spend nearly thirty years, we used to attend what we called, “Second Friday Cinema” at our local library. We picked nine movies for each of the months we met from September through May. We watched the movie together enjoying snack that each of us offered on a table. Unfortunately, that has gone away per safety measures. I miss those time, so I will share some photos of former gatherings and ways of enjoying our environments.

Setting a goal of practicing holistic well-being does take some discipline. For example, I made a pledge to myself to keep my house organized and free of clutter. That takes a lot of work! It seems that we get so involved in making a living, being a good employee, and meeting institutional goals that we forget to take care of ourselves. Now, all this sounds like I’m an expert at such things, I do teach about holistic well-being, but that means that I practice such things, and “practice makes perfect” as the saying goes. That’s the best we can do, and our best needs to be enough for us. That does not mean that we’ve reached a pinnacle. It’s just means that we keep trying. I saw a quote on practice the other day. The gist of it was that someone had asked the great cellist, Pablo Casals about his daily practicing at the age of 90 years. “After a stellar career and now at the age of 90, why do you practice the cello for the minimum of six hours per day?” Casals answered, “Because I think I am seeing progress.” Humans are not perfect. We work toward perfects, but perhaps too much, I wonder? I want to be the best for the world not the best in the world!

Thank you for reading.

The Musical Biography of King Alfonso X, 13th Century Spain

The Following is a transcript of an annual program that I produce for public radio stations who will “purchase” it. At this writing, I do know that High Plains Public Radio, of the Central High Plains will run it on Christmas Day, usually at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. I will update this site as I learn of any station running it.

Hello. I’m Debra Bolton. Welcome to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Holy Canticles of St. Mary), Songs and poems in praise of Holy Mary – and the poetic/musical biography of Alfonso, “the wise”, The King of Castile-Leon, now Spain, and who lived from 1221 to 1284, and for whom we celebrate his 800^th birthday this year. I appreciate your joining me today. We begin this musical journey with The Learned King declaring himself Mary’s Troubadour who will take her teaching to his Kingdom and beyond. Let’s hear…Counter Tenor, Russell Oberlin performing the prologue. Please note, that at the time, the use of counter tenors aka “castrados” would have been the norm, since females were not allowed to perform in a king’s court. :

Prologue: Russell Oberlin, CSM #60 2:37

Camerata Mediterranea CSM52 and instrumental Prelude – 4:05

That was Counter tenor, Russell Oberlin, taking the part of the Learned King as he declares himself the Virgin Mary’s Troubadour and asks the “noble lady” to bestow the inheritance of eternal life and grant Alfonso’s kingdom a place in eternity.

Also, you heard Camarata Mediterranea with an instrumental to highlight El Sabio’s wise welcome to Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians in his court, which blended European and Arabic performance and music techniques.

Interesting to note, of the 420 Marian poems written by King Alfonso X and his assistant scribes, about every 10^th poem is a song of love for the Virgin, and since this is not an “official” prologue, since the prologue has the even number #60, it would also be considered a “cantiga de loor” song of love for Mary.

King Alfonso ruled his Kingdom of Castile-Leon, now Spain, from 1252 until his death. Scholars and Alfonsine devotees celebrate the Learned King’s 800^th birthday this past November 23. Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J.K. Knauss, who has written widely on the Learned King, spoke to me about the celebrations across Spain in honor of the King’s birth. Knauss recently released her fourth book about the King. In Our Lady’s Troubadour, Knauss took the poems and corresponding works of art, and put them into narrative stories. Here, Knauss introduces CSM#42 before we hear the piece performed by an early music ensemble called, Sonus.

Insert Knauss’ introduction:

CSM#42 – A Virgen mut groriosa, Sonus 2:38

That was Sonus with CSM#42, the story of Mary as a jealous queen that rebukes those she loves if they refuse her.

Now we turn to the interpretation of CSM#116: A merchant went to Salamanca to trade at the fair. It was his custom to serve the Virgin faithfully and to fast rigorously. On the eve of her feasts, he would not even eat vegetables or fish.

He always used to offer candles at churches dedicated to the Virgin. In Salamanca, he had his servant fetch two large candles that he had brought from Toledo. He had them lit and guarded so that they would not go out. The Virgin let them go out, but then caused them to burn once again.

We hear this performed by Eduardo Paniagua and his Musica Antigua. Paniagua, a musicologist and an early music instrumentalist, devotes much of his time to researching, performing, and recording the vast catalogue of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, poems and songs in praise of Holy Mary.

That was CSM#116, “The Candles that Miraculously Came Alight” from Musica Antigua on their album, Cantigas de Toledo, where King Alfonso was born these 800 years ago. 6:20

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of Spain’s King Alfonso X and his praise to the Virgin Mary. I’m your host, Debra Bolton

END OF SEGMENT ONE

(Excerpt of The Prologue from Joseph O’Callaghan’s)

Throughout the life of King Alfonso X, he devoted himself to learning and being surrounded by the learned. He believed a learned King and court with great knowledge of the natural world, mathematics, architecture, human behavior, and great discernment could only benefit the people of his kingdom. Being a pluralist, he employed Christian, Jewish, and Muslim in his court to advance learning.

In a recent interview with Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss, she noted that the great legacy of El Sabio is that he lived up to his name, “the wise” because he was obsessed with writing everything down. Whether is was about mathematics, astronomy, the virtue of playing board games and other leisurely activities to balance hard works, laws to govern his subjects, and teaching morality, he not only wrote continually, but he chose not to write in Latin, the language of Kingdoms of the day. What made his legacy so strong is that he wrote in Castilian, the present-day Spanish. King Alfonso X is considered the “Father of Castilian.” Was he that much of a visionary? It would seem so since Spanish only trails Chinese as the most common language worldwide, flanked by English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda, aka, “Western Punjabi” according to The World Economic Forum.

Let’s turn to the marvelous miracles of Mary found in CSM#11, the Drowned Sacristan. Every night a sinful monk left his monastery to take his pleasure with his mistress. Before he left he would say the Ave Maria.

One night he fell into a river and drowned. Devils and angels argued over his soul. The devils’ case was more convincing, and the angels were about to give in when the Virgin made them recover the monk’s soul. They returned the soul to his body and revived him. The other monks found him alive in the cold water.

We hear CSM#11 interpreted by Ensemble Alcatraz, a San Francisco, CA group dedicated to the research and performance, throughout the world, of the music of Spain, Portugal, and France. This is from their CD Cantigas de Amigo, CSM#11 8:35

That was Ensemble Alcatraz performing Cantigas de Santa Maria #11,

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary in music, poetry, and art. My name is Debra Bolton. I am your host for this special music. If you go out to my website https://peopleandcultures.blog/2020/10/11/cantigas-de-santa-maria-a-musical-exploration-of-medieval-king-alfonso-x-of-spain/, you will find examples of some of the art that corresponds with the songs and poetry.

King Alfonso employed artists to create two and three-dimensional works of art to correspond to the poems and songs, which would have made the Learned King an early pioneer in multi-media. Now, here we are putting it all in digital form! Some scholars point of the works of art, the songs and the poems as Alfonso’s way to teach morality to the subjects of his kingdom on many levels. While those in his court were, themselves, learned and well-educated people, there were many in his kingdom who, perhaps, could not read or write. Hence the need for the lessons on morality in more than written forms.

Alfonso X ruled from 1252 to 1284. To put the world into perspective at the time, the English language continued to change from its Germanic-rooted Olde English of the Beowulf poet (circa 9^th or 10^th century) after the Norman invasion of 1066. In the next century, we hear the English of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Gawain Poet. Europeans now use Arabic numerals in favor of Roman Numerals. In the Mongol Empire, Mongke, officially, marks the worship of his grandfather, Genghis Khan while Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity flourish. The Inca Empire of Peru is thriving. England begins the process of segregation of Jewish peoples, and other countries begin to follow suit. The Mexica people, also known as Aztecs, are building their great city on a lake in what is now Mexico City. King Alfonso X’s bid to be King of the Holy Roman Empire fails in favor of Count Rudolf, bringing prominence to the Habsburg family, Rudolf was considered mediocre as Alfonso was too ambitious and certainly too bright for the Pope of the time.

When we think about world events of King Alfonso’s time, between the 12 and 14^th centuries, there was a sect of Christians called the Cathar, a

fundamentalists sect who believed there were two gods: A good one who presided over the spiritual world, and an evil one who ruled the physical world. Cathars viewed even sex within marriage and reproduction as evil, and so lived strict lives of abstention. Here I present the spoken text of the Papal Bull legislating torture of those practicing Catharism, called “Ad Exstirpanda.” As a side note, that papal bull also supported colonizing so called, “Non-Christian” countries and enslaving Indigenous peoples, which carried over to the Doctrine of Discovery launching Columbus to the Americas 200 years later.

At odds with the Catholic church, The Cathar believed in female deities and believed that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married. The text is presented in Latin, as the Cathar of the time were in France and Italy.

Ad exstirpanda” performed by Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI followed by what sounds like a lament, Veri dulcis in tempore” translated “A true Sweet season” of the time from the CD “The Forgotten Kingdom.

Recitation: 3:14

Veri dulcis in tempore: 3:57

That was Jordi Savall and his Hesperion XXI performing music of the forgotten Kingdom of the Cathar in France and Italy.

After 1492, in addition to colonizing the lands and its people, Spain, also, colonized the languages of the Americas and the Caribbean. Since the so called, “first contact,” we saw Castilian overwhelming, and often erasing, many Native languages of the islands and the continents, thanks to the Doctrine of Discovery establishing a so called, “spiritual, political, and legal” justification for colonization and seizure of land NOT inhabited by Christians. Again, the Spanish we hear today differs widely from that of the CSM and Alfonso X’s time. However, you don’t need to understand Galician-Portuguese to enjoy this music, known for its complex musical structures and its use of what we now call, ancient instruments.

Go to an instrumental played by the Waverly Consort, Cut #15, to play to the end. 6:43

Hour Two

Hello, I’m Debra Bolton. Welcome to the second hour of Las Cantigas de Santa Maria (The Holy Canticles of St. Mary), Songs and poems in praise of Holy Mary – and the poetic/musical biography of Alfonso, “the wise”, The Kind of Castile-Leon, now Spain, and who lived from 1221 to 1284, and for whom we celebrate his 800^th birthday this year. I appreciate your joining me today.

Let’s begin this hour with two miracles performed by the Virgin, as written by King Alfonso X.

“The Girl Who Ate Spiders, CSM #201:

A beautiful noble woman promised to guard her virginity.

The devil tempted her to take a lover, and she lived with her godfather and became pregnant by him. When the baby was born she killed it. She became pregnant a second time and killed her newborn baby yet again. Then she did this a third time. Overcome with despair, and hating herself, she tried to commit suicide. She stabbed herself in the breast, but the knife missed its mark.

Then she swallowed a spider, but it was not big or poisonous enough to kill her. She ate another bigger spider and her body swelled so much she was near death. As she lay dying, she repented and asked the Virgin to forgive her sins.

The Virgin appeared to her and stroked her body, making her more beautiful and fit than she had ever been. The woman entered an order and lived virtuously from that time forth.

Performed by the Martin Best Ensemble (Cut#7) 2:58

You’re listening to this holiday special, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of 13^th Century King of Spain, Alfonso, the wise. I am Debra Bolton, your host.

As we continue in this exploration of this very small part of King Alfonso X’s tribute to the Virgin Mary, my references come from the writings of Dr. J.K. Knauss, whose books continue to inspire me. On November 18, 2021, Dr. Knauss released a book which put the Cantigas de Santa Maria in narrative form. We did hear Dr. Knauss introduce CSM#42 in the previous hour, from her book, Our Lady’s Troubadour. I now will explore Dr. Knauss’ book, Violence in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. In addition, I refer to the writing of Professor Joseph F. O’Callahan, Mr. Andrew Casson, Maestro Jordi Savall, Maestro Eduardo Paniagua, John Esten Keller, Robert I. Burn, Editor of “The Emperor of Culture” and from Oxford Univesity’s CSM database.

From the book, Violence in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, Dr. Knauss establishes an important beginning that does not have violence to set a calm tone. That would be CSM#97 about a slandered man who was exonerated. However, we move into the violence rather quickly in CSM#233. Knauss mentions this cantiga in her book about violence and in her recent book, Our Lady’s Troubadour, where she writes a wonderfully accessible narrative called, “No-Man’s-Land, ” which regales the story of the good knight, Jacinto (Ha-theen-toe), who while traveling with his men, encounter with Moors, who were so impressed with Jacinto’s faith to the Virgin Mary. The Moors spoke, “We see that you are not of this world, but we don’t think your intensions are evil.” “We honor you because you have been sent by Mary, mother of Jesus. Jacinto held his hand out to the Moorish leader, and they embraced as they forgave one another for their conflicts with one another.

Here we have CSM#233 performed by Elizabeth Pinard. I had a difficult time finding this piece, so I turned to YouTube, and found this incredible interpretation by Ms. Pinard, a Brazilian singer with the most incredible vocal range. Listen for her low notes, and when the choir comes in, Ms. Pinard vocalizes in ethereal high ranges. Go to Youtube and enter “Elizabeth Pinard – Cantiga de Santa Maria 233”

9:11

Let’s take a moment to talk about some of the instruments that you’re hearing on this musical journey of 13^th Century Spain, then called, Castile-Leon.

Recorder – Yes. That woodwind instrument that many of us learned in grade school. We hear this in the CSM, usually, on a wider variety of wood recorders.

Organetto – a small portable organ, which you heard performed by Esther Lamandier

Hurdy Gurdy, a.k.a. Viola de Rueda, and the Zanfona. Here we hear this instrument in Musica Antigua and by a group called, BIDAIA, featuring Caroline Phillips.

Vielle – the Medieval fiddle with five strings and six tied frets.

Rebec – A three-string “fiddle” often held between the legs as it’s played.

Viola de Gamba – (a.k.a., Viol or gamba), a six-stringed instrument, said to be a precursor of the four-stringed cello. The Gamba, usually, is much larger and has frets, like a guitar.

Gaita – Galician bag pipe, also common in Portugal. We’ll hear the Gaita in the next hour of this musical journey.

Duduk – Double reed Armenian flute, featuring those mournful, lamenting tones.

The language of the time, Galician-Portuguese, finds scholars today who argue that Galician and Portuguese are dialects of the same language. It tends to remind one more of Portuguese than of Castilian, the root language of modern-day Spanish. Portugal situated directly south of Galicia, was home to the Celts and the Sephardim of the Iberian Peninsula. Stay with us…

Segment Two Hour Two

Begin with Prologue by Waverly Consort, Cuts 1 and 2: (3:45)

We continue with Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the musical biography of Medieval King of Castile-Leon, Alfonso X, the wise and learned. I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

We just heard an English interpretation of the prologue, where the wise King announces himself in the role as the Virgin Mary’s troubadourn. The Waverly Consort, founded by Kay and the late Michael Jaffe performed that piece.

J. K. Knauss describes the importance of the Cantigas de Santa Maria saying, “The most appropriate single adjective for the corpus of cultural work produced under Alfonso X is ‘encyclopedic.’” He wrote books of history, astronomy/astrology, law, poetry, board games, and music. Even his written leisure activities continue to survive the vagaries of time, bearing the King’s name as patron or author.”

The next piece takes us to Italy, of the time, with a song, in Latin, praising the Virgin Mary. This piece, Verbum Caro Factum Est, “Word was made flesh” is performed by the Waverly Consort. I offer this to illustrate that there were other parts of Medieval, Romance Europe also praising the Virgin Mary. Again, not in the tradition of Alfonso X, who wrote about people’s interior and exterior lives, from every social class from Spain to other parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East and their relationships to the Virgin in everyday life, according to Knauss.

Verbum Caro Factum Est Waverly Consort ( 4:40) (Verbum Caro Factum Est)

CSM #41/119 Capella Ministeres (4:22)

That was Capella Ministrers, CSM 41/119. CSM#41, the story of a money changer named, Garin. The devil scared him. Garin went mad, and then the Virgen not only restored his senses, she gave him paradise. The story of CSM#119, tells the story of a judge who lived a life of ease. He ate well and collected generous supports, though he did not fulfill his duties and only arrested those who were destitute. The Virgin came to the judge’s rescue when a band of brigands kidnapped him. In the process of killing the judge, Mary intervened. She made the judge confess every one of his sins. He died the next day and angels carried away his soul.

Performed here by Capella Ministrers, CSM 41/119. 4:22

That was Capella Ministrers performing CSM 41 and 119 here on Cantigas de Santa Maria, the musical biography of Spain’s 13^th Century Monarch.

You’re listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a musical biography of King Alfonso X, I’m your host, Debra Bolton.

Cantigas de Santa Maria: Songs and Images

Alfonsine scholar, Dr. J. K. Knauss describes the importance of the Cantigas de Santa Maria saying, “The most appropriate single adjective for the corpus of cultural work produced under Alfonso X is ‘encyclopedic.’” He wrote books of history, astronomy/astrology, law, poetry and music. Even his written leisure activities continue to survive the vagaries of time, bearing the King’s name as patron or author.”

Now, I’d like to turn to interpretations of the CSM that have a more contemporary feel. Andre Bocelli, a mostly self-taught tenor, provides this wonderful rendition of CSM #57. I think the addition of Spanish guitar and a children’s choir give this interpretation a light and jovial feeling to the subject, “The Robbed Pilgrims to Montserrat.” From Bocelli’s album, “Believe” recorded last year. It features duets with Allison Krauss and opera singer, Cecilia Bartoli, on the Decca label.

Mui Grandes Noit’ e Dia (CSM #57) (4:06)

#CSM 422 Robin Rolfhamre (5:48)

That was Swedish Lutenist, Robin Rolfhamre with CSM 422, The Litany of the Day of Judgement. Mostly, Dr. Rolfhamre focuses on the early music of the 15^th century. His interpretations here features the lute.

You’ve been listening to Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, the holy canticles of the Virgin Mary and the musical biography of Medieval King Alfonso X of Spain in music, poetry, and art. I’m the producer and your host, Debra Bolton. I began exploring the history of the CSM, because I found the tunes, songs, poems, and art pieces so wonderfully extraordinary with their passion and multimedia approaches. I hope you’ve found this music and its stories interesting. For more information, please visit my blog: https://peopleandcultures.blog/?p=1369

And, if you’d like to hear the show, encourage your local public radio station to run it, and it can be found at https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/396349

To take us out, here’s an ensemble called, Calliope with CSM medley. Thank you for listening to Cantigas de Santa Maria, I’m Debra Bolton. (5:51)

Reflections on Native Boarding Schools

My featured image shows fall colors at my house.

As one who identifies as Indigenous, the latest findings of Indigenous children’s marked and unmarked graves on the grounds of Native Boarding Schools across Canada and the United States abhors me, which can feed into generational wounds. Lately, I have been invited to offer lectures on the topic. Here I share with you some of my reflections as presented to church groups. Remember, I only speak with my Indigenous relatives. I do not speak for all Indigenous Peoples.

Residential Boarding Schools: We must acknowledge what happened
to the First People of these Lands
at the hands of Colonial Settlers

To all my Relations…

Following in the ways of loving one another, as any faith journey tells us to do, gives us a framework for our way of life. Our works of truth and reconciliation must mirror that. Like baptism, we must face the truths of our past, even when they give us discomfort. When we learn some painful truths, we must reflect on those truths rather than deny, wallow in guilt or point fingers. The painful actions of history belong to all of us… together. Again, the painful actions of history belong to all of us. I say that as one who is Indigenous to these lands to which I acknowledge: My homeland is the Uncompahgre Valley, Western Colorado, from where colonial settlers displaced my father’s people (Ute). My Mother’s people experienced the same atrocities in their homeland of what is now, New Mexico. In Kansas, I live and work on the ancestral territory of many Indigenous Nations, including the Kaw, the Osage, and the Pawnee. Kansas is currently home to the Prairie Band Potawatomi, the Kickapoo, the Iowa of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox Nations.

I am grateful to these Nations. I ask you to Please remember these truths

Today, we take this opportunity, no matter who we are, and no matter from whom we descend, to face the pain of the past, to confess it, and above all, to learn from it and not repeat it. To tell the truth in love, as our Creator teaches, gives us pause to learn love’s excellent way of life and way of being.

What are the ways in which we can behave in actionable ways to follow the path of love rather than hate, rather than ignoring inhumanities, rather than justifying slavery and other exclusions and turning away from the practice of human hierarchies? We must recognize and acknowledge the wounds of Indigenous Peoples promulgated by governments, churches, and other institutions that join in the cause of separation and erasure. Then we must remove the barriers to access for all historically excluded identities. Only love, honor, and respect can dwell in the Creator’s presence, and we must join our hearts and hands to rebuild our communities of faith.

Let us move away from mere performance to authentic and measurable actions toward an equitable society where we honor and love one another as the Creator loves us.

In reflection, what makes me hopeful today are the Indigenous youth who are learning the spiritual teachings and the folkways of our ancestors. We promote generational healing through prayer and acknowledgement that we only survive in the light and love of our Creator and through the support of one another. When this society begins to acknowledge the truths that segregation, torture, abuse, and separation of Indigenous children is, by design, meant to erase a people not love them, the healing will begin.

Please note that of the 367 Native boarding schools in the U.S. 73 remain open, and 15 continue to board Indigenous children taken from their parents. Here in Kansas, we must acknowledge the following boarding schools and the atrocities fraught upon Native children: Haskell Indian Training School (now Haskell University), Great Nemaha Indian School, Kaw Manual Labor School, Kickapoo Labor School, Osage Manual Labor School, Potawatomi Labor School, and the Shawnee Mission boarding school. The goals of these schools promised to “take the Indian out of the boy or girl.” Graduation was never a goal, however survival remained a wish for the children. Again, The children who were able to leave these schools did not graduate! They survived!

We cannot heal in the places that make us sick. We can only heal, if the society complicit in Indigenous extermination can move away from greed and the concepts of superiority in order to teach a people that they are, indeed, inferior. I am hopeful because I am here today, with each of you, lamenting the wrongs of the past by governments and other institutions who do not follow the teachings of the Creator to “Love one another.” I ask you, How is genocide of a people, Love? How are exclusionary laws and policies, Love? How is justifying slavery, love?

Rev. Linda Nicholls and Rev. Mark Macdonald note that:

“The wrenching legacy of residential schools is felt not only by those who survived. It lingers in the pain of families whose children died while at school. It lingers in the agony of not knowing why they died or where they are buried. It lingers in the inadequate record-keeping that does not tell the cause of death. It lingers in the neglect to even record the names of almost one-third of those who died. For a parent the death of a child is an unimaginable pain.”

I ask you to empathize with the parents. Can you imagine such a thing to happen to you and your family?

A Learner’s Mindset For Understanding Self and Others

My featured image is one I took from a car as I was about to board an airplane from Los Angeles International Airport. At one time, the Mid-century structure was used as a restaurant and remains a symbol of the airport. I like the “Atomic Age” design, which the light poles further establish.

My topic today explores a framework that we can employ in our learning processes of one another. National Geographic Society uses this framework to help people understand the concepts of geographical inquiry. The Society calls it a, “Learning Framework.” I adapted NGS’s framework for teaching self-awareness, which greatly improves how we interact with those who we see different than ourselves. I call it, “A Learner’s Mindset for Understanding Self and Others.”

Did you know there are people who do not recognize that they have a culture? This continues to be a heavy subject in my teaching. Teaching cultural awareness required that I create/adapt this framework. Usually, I present this in a table for easy usage. Here, I present the framework in narrative form. The framework focuses on three elements: Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge each with three subheadings.

A Learner’s Mindset for Understanding Self and Others

Attitudes

Curiosity: Engage in an on-going process of learning about yourself, about others around you, and about the environments (spaces) you and they inhabit.

Responsibility: Have concern and care for the well-being of other people, their journeys, and their experiences.

Empowerment: Understand your unique lived experience. Developing shared experiences builds self-confidence in social interactions. Empower others by internalizing that “different” is not bad or threatening. State your opinions and listen to others.

Skills

Observation: Create a framework for knowing through the “mental” gathering of data, which informs our daily behavior and interactions. Are you able to observe without judgement?

Communication: Use language and media that speaks to truth, historical uses of words, and implications of wording in spoken language, writing, visual, and audio media. Apply this mindset to advancing learning about self and others.

Relationships: Collaborate across disciplines to advance understanding. Listen to re-state the main points and to find common ground. Above all, build and value your relationships, which dissolve the lines of difference.

Knowledge

Understand the Human Journey: No two humans have the same journey. Share the story of your journey. Listen to the story of another person’s journey. All humans develop their preferences, their ways of knowing, and their observations of others depending on their journeys. Do some humans have an advantage over others based on their journeys?

Understand the Interconnected Human Systems and their Dynamic Forces: Seek and internalize frameworks of information to discern between truth and convenience. Discern the quantities, patterns, rhythms, and symmetry in human systems. How are they unique, and how are they related? How do they change over time?

Acknowledge and Celebrate Human Difference: The social construction of hierarchies, class, and race historically benefit some groups and put others at a disadvantage. We can build relationships across these social barriers to see one another as individually contributing to the social fabric of humanity. Celebrate this.

This may not be the answer to every little thing in human interactions, but I do believe that it can be a start in our interpersonal relationships with those from cultures different than you own. Yes! Every human has a culture! Simply put, our cultures come from our knowledge and beliefs systems. Culture comes from our patterns of behavior learned from childhood, our language, our symbols and institutions. Culture is created, learned, and shared. Thrown together, the definition of “culture” seems to challenge people. To some, “culture” might seem an abstract concept mostly because some do not think about what constitutes “culture”

Sit down and think about your own patterns of behavior. Where did they originate? Human difference is a marvel. Celebrate it.

Thank you for reading me.

What Matters to Me and Why

I work at a university with a leadership studies college. The school invites varying faculty, staff, and administration to talk about personal priorities and interests. As I always say, the more we know about one another, the more that the lines of separation fade. I love this notion of inviting people to talk about themselves. It becomes the living libraries favored by many communities. Here is one of my stories.

My father used to tell me, “Know something about everything and everything about something, and you will always be able to find common ground with another person.” I have a penchant for music, literature, geography, history, art, language, biology, architecture, travel, navigation in air travel, and people. Curiosity was the most important thing to my father. He taught me to be curious, always! Actually, I think my varied interests greatly inform my work in intercultural development, or helping humans find common ground with one another. It’s what I live. It’s what I love. I like to begin my classes, workshops, and presentations with a land acknowledgment:

My homeland is the Uncompahgre Valley in Western Colorado, from where colonial settlers displaced my father’s people (Ute).

In Kansas, I live and work on the ancestral territory of many Indigenous Nations, including the Kaw, the Osage, and the Pawnee. Kansas is currently home to the Prairie Band Potawatomi, the Kickapoo, the Iowa, and the Sac and Fox Nations.

I am grateful to these Nations.

Please remember these truths.

It can be quite enlightening to research and discover what Indigenous Nation occupied the land on which you live, work, and play. We can think about:

Who granted the land?

Who held the land previously?

What was the U.S. Homestead Act of May 1862? Who was given land, and who was removed from said land?

So, I begin all my teaching with this acknowledgment. I am honored and obligated to my ancestors to do it.

Next in my processes of teaching, I acknowledge myself and my identities. Here are a few of the things with which I identify:

•Native (Ohkay Owingeh/Diné/ Uncompahgré) •Human Ecologist/Geographer •National Geographic Society Explorer •Social Researcher •Banjo player •Mother, daughter, friend, spouse, aunt, grandmother, motorcycle rider, writer… •King Alfonso X enthusiast, the original pluralist! •Blogger •Craftsperson •Nature enthusiast.

I could also say, I’m a mother, daughter, friend, spouse, aunt, grandmother, motorcycle rider, and writer.

Embedded in each of these identities that I share with you denotes aspects of my of my culture. However, the most challenging part of working to educate students, especially those from a dominant identity (Anglo-European descent) about culture is that they possess a culture. Many of my students tell me, “I don’t really have a culture. I’m just an American.” That just tells me that they have not thought about their identities.

Each of us, if we think about it, has several identifying factors that contributes to our cultural identity. You have the same sets of identities – each with sets of verbiage, practices, and thought processes that are part of your culture.

Certainly, our environments influence our patterns of behavior, our ways of knowing, our ways of living. I grew up in a mountain environment, as pictured here. We learn certain behaviors to thrive in mountain valleys, which can be different than the tallgrass prairie where I live now. In humans’ cultural practices, we learn, adapt, and adopt, often maintaining our foundational family and community systems.

Prairie or mountains: both are beautiful, and we adapt and adopt the cultural aspects of each geography.

Speaking of geography, I grew up in a household where National Geographic magazine was honored as much as the family bible. My father read them from cover to cover. My brothers saw them as anatomy lessons. I vowed to visit all the places imaginable. My work with National Geographic Society, as an explorer, put me in company with the likes of Maria Mitchell, noted astronomer in the 19^th Century, Munazza Alam, 21^st century astrophysicist searching for Earth’s twin, Harriet Chalmers Adams, journalists in the French trenches of World War 1, and notably, traveled to Africa to see Haile Selassie’s coronation as emperor of Ethiopia. Of course, everyone knows the names of Edmund Hillary, Jacques Couteau, and Alexander Graham Bell as NGS explorers, but I encourage you to seek out the females who made great strides in the name of discovery. Being a NGS explorer is the greatest way I can honor my father’s love of knowledge.

Two of the great products of my NGS funding was developing introductory course in geography for females of color, now in its fifth year, also thanks to our Center for Engagement and Community Development’s incentive grants, I was able to study the women in the African diaspora in rural SW Kansas, which became a chapter in a book recently published. Here’s a picture of the book. My chapter covers the women of the African Diaspora now settled in Southwest Kansas. It tells of the brave women, displaced from their countries by war, worked in the beef packing plants while raising families and navigating health care, educational, and faith systems.

If you have read previous blog entries of mine, you would know that I greatly esteem George Washington Carver, the great genius in botany, invention, music, art, and philosophy.

Carver had a small homestead in Beeler, Kansas. As a child, his slave owners near Diamond, Missouri actually saw his genius in plant pathology. He came to Kansas, finished high school, and applied and was accepted into Highland college until he showed up. Carver was denied a college education in Kansas, because of teh color of his skin.

He found his academic home, first at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Only being allowed to study the fine arts, his art teacher took great interest in his botanical illustration. She connected Carver to her biologist husband who was teaching at what is now Iowa State University. Carver received is Master’s degree there where his brilliance was duly noted by Henry Ford, who had invited him to work since Carver had created rubber out of golden rod. Thomas Edison tried to recruit him as an inventor since Carver was noted as a great inventor, having patents on wood stains made from peanuts and sweet potatoes. Alas, he went to work at Tuskegee “Normal” Institute at the invitation of Booker T. Washington, because it was there that he’d “do the most good.” Carver taught chemistry, botany, and other biology at Tuskegee until his death. I found this picture on the internet with Carver’s rules to live by: “Education is the key to unlock the golden doors of freedom.”

Once a year, I pay homage to King Alfonso X, who ruled Castile-Leon (now Spain) in the 13th Century. Here are a few facts about the “Learned King.”

He ruled from1252 – 1284 13^th C. Medieval – Father of Castilian language, which we now call Spanish. During his time, his language was Galician-Portuguese, also called “Romance”

420 songs, poems, and commissioned 3 dimensional pieces as a way to teach morality to his subjects.

He had just missed being crowned the Holy Roman Emperor because he was “too learned!” according to the Pope of the Catholic Church at the time. I wrote a blog better examining the King last November. No doubt, I will write another about the king in the coming fall.

I like learning about different species in the animal world. I was a volunteer teacher at a zoo in Southwest Kansas. If you want to learn more about a subject, teach it! I was able to handle lots of cool animals. Here I am with a goshawk.

Finally, exploring my Indigenous roots remains an important part of my identity. I still practice the food, the songs, and the rituals of my grandmothers. The fire featured as my main image illustrates one of those practices of cleansing with smoke. I am born for the Ohkay Owingeh and the Dine and born to the Uncompahgre Ute. I have DNA ties to the Athabascan, Alaskan Native. My people, called the San Juan Pueblo by Spanish colonizers of what is now New Mexico. Spaniard plopped right on the Village at the confluence of the Chama and the Rio Grande Rivers. Our villages straddled the rivers, so there was much struggle to keep our culture, our food ways, and our identities as The People of the Strong Land. You can see a stature of our great leader, Popay, in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Despite the push toward erasure, we are still here!

My family remains the most important, my children, grandchildren, spouse, parents, siblings, and extended family, natural and adopted, as I call my dear friends. Find what makes you happy, and develop curiosity about an array of subjects. For me, I can only think knowledge is the best brain food.

Thank you for reading.

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