| Sumer Is Icumen In |
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| middle english poems | |
| medieval music | |
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MUSIC The original manuscript, written in the mid- 13th Century , is written in a Musical Notation somewhat confusing to modern eyes, yet still clearly a precursor of modern notation: To sing as a round, one singer would begin at the beginning, and a second would start at the beginning as the first got to the point marked with the red cross. The length between the start and the cross corresponds to the modern notion of a Bar , and the main verse is comprised of six phrases spread over twelve such bars. In addition, there are two lines marked "Pes", two bars each, that are meant to be sung together repeatedly underneath the main verse. These instructions are included (in Latin) in the manuscript itself. The music is somewhat more readable in modern notation: ENGLISH LYRICS (PROFANE) The better-known lyrics for this piece are in Middle English, and comprise a song of spring ( Reverdie ): :Svmer is icumen in, :Lhude sing cuccu! :Groweþ sed and bloweþ med :And springþ þe wde nu, :Sing cuccu! :Awe bleteþ after lomb, :Lhouþ after calue cu. :Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ, :Murie sing cuccu! :Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu, cuccu; :Ne swik þu naver nu, :Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu. :Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu! Modern English translation :Summer has come in, :Loudly sing, Cuckoo! :Seeds grow and meadows bloom :And the forest springs anew, :Sing, Cuckoo! :The ewe bleats after the lamb, :The Cow lows after the calf.
:Merrily sing, Cuckoo! :Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo; :Nor cease you ever now, :Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo. :Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!
LATIN LYRICS (SACRED) This work is also one of the earliest examples of music with both sacred and profane lyrics, though the profane ones are perhaps better known. It is not clear which came first, but the sacred lyrics, in Latin , are a reflection on the sacrifice of the Crucifixion . A vertical bar indicates the end of a musical phrase: |
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