355 Peire Raimon de Tolosa

Miniature depiction of Peire Raimon de Tolosa

Peire Raimon de Tolosa or Toloza (fl. 1180–1220)[ was a troubadour from the merchant class of Toulouse. He is variously referred to as lo Viellz ("the Old") and lo Gros ("the Fat"), though these are thought by some to refer to two different persons.On the other hand, lo Viellz could refer to his being of an early generation of troubadours. Eighteen of Peire Ramon's poems survive, one canso with a melody.
Peire Ramon's name (as Petrus Raimundus) appears in two documents of Toulouse, dated to 1182 and 1214. According to his vida, he became a jongleur and travelled to the court of Alfonso II of Aragon, who bestowed great honour on him. The earliest datable work by Peire Ramon is a planh written on the death of Henry the Young King in 1183. According to his vida Peire passed "a long time" at the courts of Alfonso,William VIII of Montpellier, and a certain "Count Raymond", which could refer to either Raymond V of Toulouse or, more probably, Raymond VI.He also spent time in Italy (Lombardy and Piedmont), at the courts of Thomas I of Savoy, Guglielmo Malaspina, and Azzo VI of Este. Azzo's daughter Beatriz was the addressee of one of Peire's poems. Eventually Peire settled down with a wife in Pamiers and there he died.
Peire was reputed as a singer and composer of cansos. His work is characterised by themes of nature. His style was hermetic. He imitated the troubadours Cadenet and Arnaut Daniel and was in turn imitated by Bertran de Born, especially as regards his use of natural imagery. Bertran went so far as to copy almost a whole stanza from Peire's "No.m puesc sofrir d'una leu chanso faire." In "Us noels pessamens", Peire even anticipates the Tuscan poet Dante Alighieri. Peire is complaining about a mistress who first beckoned him and then broke her promise to him when he says:

Que qui non a vezat aver

gran be, plus leu pot sostener

afan que tal es rics e bos;

que.l maltrag l'es plus angoyssos,

quan li soven benanansa.

Translated "For he who is not accustomed to have much luck, is more capable of suffering misery than one who is noble and high in rank; for misfortune grieves the latter more if he remembers (former) good fortune." 

Peire's sole surviving melody is florid like Cadenet's. His style employs an uncommonly high number of large intervals, including tritones. The poem with the melody is built on an innovative metaphor:

Atressi cum la candela

que si meteissa destrui

per far clartat ad autrui,

chant, on plus trac gren martire,

per plazer de l'autra gen.

Translated "Like the candle which destroys itself in order to give light to others, I sing, at the worst of my torture, for the pleasure of others." 

355, 5  Atressi com la candela

Troubadours Art Ensemble; La Troba Vol 3; disc 3 track 1

Atressi com la candela

355, 10 Pessamen ai e cossir

Gerard Zuchetto; Les Troubadour XII et XIII siecle volume 2; track 5  *****

Troubadours Art Ensemble; La Troba Vol 3; disc 3 track 2 ****

Pessamen ai e cossir D'una chanso faire  Qu'a lieys denhes abelhir  Cuy suy fis amaire; E s'ieu pogues avenir En bos digz retraire,  Far pogra saber  Que ieu plus fin joy esper, Que nuls natz de mayre.  Lo cors e·l sen e l'albir  Ai mes e·l vejaire  En lieys honrar e servir,  Quar es la belhaire  Qu'om pogues el mon chauzir,  Don no·m puesc estraire  Ni mon cor mover ;  Qu'Amors me fai tan temer   Lieys qu'als non am guaire.  La fina vera valors  Plus d'autra valensa,  E·l pretz, e·l fresca colors  Me platz e m'agensa :  Que si me valgues Amors  Tan que m'entendensa  Mi dons abelhis,  Plus ric joy que Paradis  Agr' a ma parvensa. Nulh' autra no·m pot secors  Far ni dar guirensa ;  Et on plus en sen dolors  Plus n'ai sovinensa ;  Mas ges dire mas clamors No l'aus per temensa ;  Tan li sui aclis  Qu'on plus vas me s'afortis,  Mai l'am ses falhensa. E fora li benestan  Si·m des alegransa,  Tan qu' aleuges mon afan  Ab douss' acoindansa :  Qu'ieu li suy senes enguan,  E non ai membransa  D'als, mas quom fezes  Tot so qu'a mi dons plagues ;  Pero pauc m'enansa.  Qu'ades m'en vauc meluyran  On plus n'ai pezansa  Vas lieys, e suefri mon dan  Ab bon' esperansa ;  E doblera mon talan  Sil belha semblansa, Gentils cors cortes,  Si·t prezes de me merces  O qualsque pitansa.

I have in mind,  and I feel the need to write a song that could please her, whose courtly lover I am; and if I could succeed in putting  this into refined words, I should be able to tell the world that I can expect finer joy  than ever a mortal man has I have put my person, my mind,  my judgement  and my good sense to honouring, and serving her,  for she is the fairest  one can choose to serve in this world, and I cannot escape from her nor turn my heart away; Love makes me fear her so, that I do not consider loving any other one. Her true,untainted value, that makes her excel over all other ladies, her virtue,her lovely shape please and delight me. And if Love bestowed on me as much as to make my Lady agree to my amorous  pleads, I should, I am certain, enjoy greater joy than in Paradise. No other lady can be of any help  me nor ease my pain,  and the more she makes me suffer,  the more my thoughts return to her. But I dare not voice my complaint  for fear of her: I am so much under her spell  that while she is hardening  her attitude  towards me I only love her all the more of it. Still, it would most certainly be  the proper thing for her to do to ease  my mind by relieving my pain  with a more gentle conduct. For I am hers without deceit and my mind is set on nothing else but how to behave  in order to please my Lady- but this does not get me anywhere. Now I am improving my own conditions  through worrying about her, and I support my grief  with good hope; and your gentle appearance  would double my eagerness, beautiful courtly lady, if you only had mercy on me or at least some commiseration.