We hope you enjoy this video of Hugh Brewster, author & historian and Noel Edison, artistic director & conductor chattiing about a few choral pieces selected for your summer musings.
Special thanks to: Hugh Brewster, Jared Davison, Esther Farrell, Ian Brewster, Shawn Davison
Acknowledgements, links and texts: Sumer Is Icumen In
Composer : Anonymous (possibly W. de Wycombe), ~1260
Arr. Peter Skoggard
Language : Middle English / Wessex dialect
Middle English:
Sumer 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 nauer nu.
Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.
Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!
Modern English:
Summer has arrived,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the goat farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Don’t ever you stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!
To be sung of a Summer Night on the Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIRrd…
Composer: Frederick Delius
Arr. John Rutter
Choir: The Cambridge Singers
Conductor: John Rutter
From CD – There is Sweet Music
Purchase CD at www.johnrutter.com
Available at all major digital stores
Song for the Mira
Composer: Allister MacGillivray
Arr. Stuart Calvert
1. Out on the Mira on warm afternoons,
Old men go fishin’ with black line and spoons.
And, if they catch nothin’, they never complain;
I wish I was with them again—
2. As boys in their boats call to girls on the shore,
Teasin’ the ones that they dearly adore.
And, into the ev’ning, the courting begins;
I wish I was with them again.
Chorus:
Can you imagine a piece of the universe
More fit for princes and kings?
I’ll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge
And the pleasure it brings.
3. Out on the Mira on soft summer nights,
Bon fires blaze to the children’s delight.
They dance ’round the flames, singin’ songs with their friends;
I wish I was with them again.
4. And over the ashes the stories are told
Of witches and werewolves and Oak Island gold.
Stars on the river-face sparkle and spin;
I wish I was with them again. (Chorus)
5. Out on the Mira the people are kind;
They treat you to homebrew and help you unwind.
And, if you come broken, they’ll see that you mend;
I wish I was with them again.
6. Now I’ll conclude with a wish you go well:
Sweet be your dreams—and your happiness swell.
I’ll leave you here, for my journey begins;
I’m going to be with them again,
I’m going to be with them again.