Creud an modh ar a ndéna mé
cantaireacht? ar Des. Inneósad-sa sin
duit, ar eision.
An céad-channtaire dá ngoirthear
Beannughadh, Discaint nó T[r]iple
ghabhas, .i. guth árd, & do ní
canntaireacht ag beannughadh an
Tighearna ar son a árdchumhacht.
Canoidh an dara canntaire (dá
ngoirthear Onóir) Contraténor. .i. guth
árd as ísle iná an céadghuth, do bheir
onóir do Dhia ar son a eagna gan
fhoircheann.
An treas canntaire (dá ngoirthear
Moladh) Ténor chanas, .i. guth
inmheadhónach, mholas Dia ar son a
mhaitheasa doimheasta, & ar son a
uile shubháilceadh, a uaisle, & a
dhearrsgnaidheachta ann féin.
An ceathramhadh canntaire (dá
ngoirthear Altughadh Buidhe), Bassus
chanas, .i. guth trom saothrach as ísle
ináid na gotha eile, do bheir
buidheachas do Dhia ar son an uile ní
do chruthoigh, & ar son a ttug do
thiodhlacoibh don uile chrétúir.
In what manner shall I sing? says
Desire. I'll tell you, he [Desire of God]
says.
The first cantor called Benediction
sings Discant or Treble, ie, high voice,
and he sings blessing the Lord for his
high power.
The second cantor (called Honour)
sings Countertenor, ie, high voice
lower than the first voice; he gives
honour to God for his infinite wisdom.
The third cantor (called Praise) sings
Tenor, ie, intermediate voice, who
praises God for his immeasurable
goodness and for all his virtues, his
nobility, and his excellency within
himself.
The fourth cantor (called Salute of
Thanks) [a translation of the
Thanksgiving concept], sings Bass, ie,
heavy labouring voice lower of place
than other voices; he gives thanks to
God for all he has created and for the
gifts he has given to all creatures.
Sgáthán an Chrábhaidh, pp218-219
Spill
Mirror images of two of the four terms ending in 'chanas' from Bunting are observable in
Emanuel/Sgáthán an Chrábhaidh (Immanuel/mirror of piety) by the notable Roscommon
cleric Flaithrí Ó Maolchonaire (Florence Conry), part 3, chapter 11. This is a translation,
made for the poorly educated Irish in 1616, of the popular Catalan treatise Spill de la Vida
Religiosa (1515) by Fra Miqeul Comalada. This book was a major precursor of the
Pilgrim's Progress. Ó Maolchonaire's text contains glosses, commentaries and
interpolations and Seán Ó Suilleabháin has shown that it was based on the castellano of
the 1536 Toledo edition with reference to a catalan edition.
The following passage from chapter 11 of Sgáthán an Chrábhaidh suggest that Bunting's
terms derive from this source and that the purveyor of his terms had very poor Irish, as the
word 'chanas' appears below as the primary verb of the sentence. The context is a
dialogue between the two characters Desire and Desire of God.
The latin terms are all translated into Irish. These meanings of 'discantus', 'triplum' and
'tenor' date from the early 13th century; 'contratenor' and 'bassus' date from the early 14th.