The alba (pronounced as /ˈalba/; "sunrise") is a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry. It describes the longing of lovers who, having passed a night together, must separate for fear of being discovered.
A common figure found in the alba is the guaita ("sentry" or "guard"), a friend who alerts the lovers when the hour has come to separate. The lovers often accuse the guaita of dozing, being inattentive or separating them too early. The lovers fear not just the lady's husband but also the lauzengiers, the jealous rival.
The following example, composed by an anonymous troubadour, describes the longing of a knight for his lady as they part company after a night of forbidden love. Though generally representative of the style, this particular verse uses an atypical strophic pattern.
Under the influence of the Occitan troubadours, the Minnesingers developed a similar genre, the Tagelied, in Germany, and in northern France the trouvères developed an equivalent aube genre. The alba itself was imported into the Galician-Portuguese trovadorismo movement, but only one example of it, by Nuno Fernandes Torneol, survives.
In 1263, as a counterpart to the alba, Guiraut Riquier composed a song he called a serena (evening song), in which a lover complains about waiting for the evening.
Only 18 albas are known.[1]
| Composer | Incipit | Type | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernart de Venzac | Lo Paire el Filh el sant Espirital | religious | ||
| Raimbaut de Vaqueiras | Gaita be gaiteta del castel | profane | ||
| Guiraut de Bornelh | Reis glorios, verais lums e clartatz | profane | ||
| Folquet de Marselha | Vers Dieus el vostre nom e de Sainta Maria | religious | ||
| Cadenet | S'anc fui belha ni prezada | profane | ||
| Raimon de las Salas | Deus aidatz | profane | ||
| Bertran d'Alamanon or Gaucelm Faidit | Us cavalier si jazia | profane | ||
| Guilhem d'Autpol | Esperansa de totz ferms esperans | religious | ||
| Guiraut Riquier | Ab plazer | profane | ||
| Guiraut Riquier | Qui vuelha ses plazer | religious | ||
| Uc de la Bacalaria | Per grazir la bon'estrena | profane | ||
| Peire Espanhol | Ar levatz sus, franca cortesa gen | religious | ||
| Berenguer d'Anoia | Gaita, be gardatz | religious | ||
| Anonymous | En un vergier, sotz folha d'albespi | profane | ||
| Anonymous | Ab la gensor que sia | profane | ||
| Anonymous | Quan lo rossinhol escria | profane | cobla esparsa | |
| Anonymous | Drutz que vol dreitamen amar | profane | cobla esparsa | |
| Anonymous | Eras airay co que·us dey dir | profane | ||
| Cerveri de Girona | Aixi com cel c'anan erra la via | religious |