Page "Cantigas de Santa Maria" Paragraph 10

The musical forms within the Cantigas, and there are many, are still being studied.

There have been many false leads, and there is little beyond pitch value that is very reliable.

Mensuration is a particular problem in the Cantigas, and most attempts at determining meaningful rhythmic schemes have tended, with some exceptions, to be unsatisfactory.

This remains a lively topic of debate and study.

Progress, while on-going, has nevertheless been significant over the course of the last 20 years.

According to Manuel Pedro Ferreira, a scholar on the Cantigas, the music found in the Cantigas cannot be classified as Arabic, but instead must be classified as " Moorish-Andalusian ".

This musical influence is unusual in European music of the Middle Ages, and lends special qualities to the collection, although it does not predominate.

The more obvious and demonstrable influences that come directly from the Latin and Byzantine ecclesiastical traditions must be taken into account.