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Medieval Song Sumer Is Icumen PDF
Medieval Song Sumer Is Icumen PDF
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Sinner
is
icumen
in.
Sumer
ie
teamen
in
Sumer
is
icumen
in
BY
JAMIESON B?VHURRY,
M.A.,
"
M.D.
SECOND EDITION
LONDON
PlL
Contents.
PAGE.
The
I.
Preface
The Prologue
" Sumer
is
7
"
II.
icumen
in
9
.... .... ....
i.
The Canon
ii.
The Compofer
....
....
14
17
iii.
The
Tranfcriber
....
....
iv.
....
...
20
21
v.
....
....
vi.
....
....
25
28
vii.
....
....
viii.
The Modern
Score
....
....
30
36
ix.
"An Amazing
Production
"
....
III.
The Epilogue
The Index
47
51
preface,
of " Sumer is icumen [HIS defcription in" was originally publiftied at the
time
of the
unveiling
at
Reading
a
Abbey of
facfimile
Memorial
Canon.
Tablet,
bearing
of the
is
An
in
enlarged and
refponfe to a the hope of
revifed Edition
now
iffued in
widefpread
demand and
to this
mafterpiece
J. B.
H.
Weftfield,
Reading.
i.
prologue.
" Noble and Royal Monaftery of Reading," which was dedicated by its Founder, King Henry Beauclerc, to the glory of God and the fervice of man, has
HE
left
it.
Ereded on a fcale of great magnificence, endowed with worldly poffeffions and privileges
fuch
as
few
religious
houfes
could
rival,
governed by mitred Abbots famed for their piety and learning, Reading Abbey for over four centuries filled an important place both
in
Church and
State.
Sumer
10
icumen
in.
The
honour
to the
In the words of
were "a
noble
and delightful
hofpitality."
But the moft enduring Memorial of this ancient home of religion and learning, more
enduring even than its impofing ivy-mantled Ruins, is that exquifite mufical composition " Sumer is icumen which has been
in,"
preferved
delight.
for
our
perpetual
inftruclion
and
it
"Sumer
the
is
teamen
in."
N
a
Britifh
Mufeum
is
treafured
a
MS.
which
contains
famous
Canon, written by a
monk
at
Reading
exiftence."
The
juftify
that eulogy.
i.
ftbe Canon.
is
the earlieft
Canon
is
earlieft
Its
examples of
far
harmony
Sumer
in
is
icuinen
in.
advance
of that
of
any
in
and
of
reflects
mufic
The Canon forms a part-fong for fix voices. The four upper voices have a melody confiding
of two independent ftanzas, which is begun by the leader and taken up by the three others in
turn, each entering at his appointed interval, The i.e. four bars later, and on the fame note.
mufic for the two lower voices conftitutes a true rondel, there being two melodies which begin together and are interchanged after
eight bars.
There
are
two
fets
of words
one in Englifh,
Englifh words have been pronounced " thirteenth century by Dr. J. Wright to be and are WefTex, Berkfhire or Wiltfhire,"
'
The
admirably adapted to the fimple paftoral melody, with its merry graceful fwing. Indeed of the fweeteft lyrics in early they form one Englifh poetry, when fongs of fpring and
The Oxford
i.,
p.
332.
10
Canon.
fummer, of
birds
note of " the merry cuckowe, meffenger of fpring," was frequently imitated in our
fo popular.
The
national folk-fongs, and this Canon has been well termed the " cuckoo-fong."
The
earlieft
is
probably that
preferved in a Bodleian
MS.
"
[Mjirie
firft
it
is
while sumer
thirteenth
and
dating
Cf.
from
the
half of the
century.
Catalogue
vol.
of
iii.,
Weftern Manufcripts
P-
in the Bodleian, by F.
Madan,
344-
Another
(MS. Douce
flod,"
139), begins
"Foweles
century
Madan,
I.e.,
photographic
"
Harmony
(Plainfong
Society), Plate
vii., its
modern notation
ii.,
p. 101.
This fong is far more elementary than the Canon. Its notation has the fame character, but the ligatures are more numerous
and elaborate.
"
The
cuckoo,
who
often
fings
true
is
third
and
the neareft
mufic
6.
in
nature."
Cf.
Morals,"
II
Sumcr
is
icumen
in.
The
Englifh fong
is
as follows ::
Original Words
Svmer Lhude
is
icumen
in,
ling cuccu,
med
nu.
And
fpringj?
J?e
wde
Sing cuccu.
Awe
Bulluc
bucke
uertej?,
Wei
Ne
fwik
nauer nu.
:
Modernijed Words
Sumer is come in, Loud fing, Cuckoo Groweth feed, and bloweth mead, And fpring'th the wood now, Sing Cuckoo.
!
Ewe
Loweth
cow
Merry fing, Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo Well {ing'ft thou, Cuckoo, Nor ceafe thou never now.
!
1
The Weflex
s.
noife
Dictionary,
" fart."
12
Gbe Canon.
alternative Latin words, a hymn to the Saviour, form a motet, and fit the mufic badly. It feems as if a folk-fong had been adapted for
The
the religious fervice of the Abbey, or as if the Latin hymn had been added to lend an odour
of fandtity to the introduction of a popular melody into the cloifter. Such mal-adjuftment is deftrudtlve of all pleaiing effedt.
The
Latin
hymn
Que
is
as follows
Perfpice
Chrifticola,
!
Pro
vitis
vicio,
Filio
Non
parcens, expofuit
: *
\
Mortis exicio
A
et
fupplicio
Vite donat,
fecum coronat
cell
folio.
1
in
The
is
!
tranflation
"
:
Obferve,
Chriftian,
heavenly Hufbandman, of the vine, fpared not His Son, but offered Him to the
death.
to
life,
The
of
He reftores the half-perimed prifoners from punifhment and crowns them with Him on the throne of heaven.''
13
Sumer
10
icumen
in.
The melody of
of a ninth and
that
is,
the
Canon
firft
is
in the
mode of rhythm:
long and breve notes alternate with each other. The rhythm of the pes is in the fifth mode, the notes being all longs with the In each exception of the binary ligatures. cafe the long paufe, the paufa debita, of both
modes
is
ufed.
The Canon
ecclefiaftical
does not follow any of the old modes, but is written in the
diatonic interval
It alfo fupplies the of that fcale being ufed. firft example of a baffo ostinato or ground-bafs.
The conformity
modern mufic,
in
with
many of
the rules of
which the
clofes are
compofed
of a leading-note rifing to its proper refolution, is very remarkable, and indicates an advanced knowledge of mufical compofition in early
Britain.
ii.
be Composer.
" the Hiftory does not tell us who compofed moft ancient fpecimen of fecular polyphonic mufic now known to exift," nor when or
1 1
Grove,
J
Dictionary
of Mufic
and Muficians,
vol.
iii.,
P-
3-
Composer.
where the compofer lived. The Weffex dialed: of the words feems to fuggeft a familiarity with
Berkshire
or
Wiltfhire,
1
poffibly
even
Reading
1
itfelf;
but
many
years
may
with have
There
compofer of the fong lived in decifive is the fyncopated 3rd perfon fing. fpringfr, which north of the Thames would have appeared as fpringe/? orjpringej ; if this latter form were inferted the line would not fcan. Other Southern forms are icumen, with retention of the prefix (O.E. ge) which was generally loft in the Midland and Northern dialects; uertef) (O.E. feortan), with a voiced
that the
The moft
/'
i>-found for the voicelefs/of the Midlands and North ; finally, the fpelling Ih for / in Ibude (O.E. hlude) and Ihoup (O.E. hlow(e)(?, indicating an unvoiced /-found, is only found in manuscripts written in the South of England, more
initial
efpecially in Kent.
It is
even
of the poem to
the weftern or central parts of the South, fince the form murie (O.E. myrig), with retention of the O.E. j-found, written by the
French une, only obtains in thofe parts of the South (the old Weflex the territory) Kentim and more eafterly dialects would have had merle.
fcribe
in
;
Norman
with a u as
Cf. L.
Morfbach, Mittelenglische Grammatik," p. 19 ff. " Morris, Specimens of Early Englifh," Part I., p. xxxvii.
Oufeley therefore appears to have been
defcribed the
"
Canon
in error when he "the old Northumbrian round" on the words are obvioufly Northumbrian, and
as
probable that the mufic was alfo compofed by a northcountryman, for we know from Giraldus Cambrenfis that in
is
his
days vocal harmony was practifed chiefly in the parts of " England north of the Humber." Cf. Naumann, Hiftory of 221. Mufic," p.
15
Sumer
is
fcumen
in.
separated the compofer from the wrote down the Canon in the
monk who
cloifter
at
Reading Abbey.
Both words and melody bear the characters of a folk-fong which was poffibly handed on from
minftrel to minftrel.
no individual compofer, or that authorfhip was collective. On the contrary, as Combarieu well fays
that there was
:
mean
" Les chanfons populaires ne font que des oeuvres devenues anonymes."
'
probable that there exifted in England from early times a national fecular fong with a
It is
and a melody differing Moreover such mufic. entirely from Church mufic was fung in parts, as we are told by
perfect diatonic fcale,
Giraldus Cambrensis,
"
of
St.
David's.
Britons do not fing their tunes in unifon, like the inhabitants of other countries, but in different parts.
The
fing, as is
flat."
"
La Mufique,
W.
Cf. alfo
Evolution," p. 114. " Old Englim Mufic," 1893, vol. i., p. Chappell, "The Oxford Hiftory of Mufic," vol. i., p. 162.
16
6.
{Transcriber.
There were doubtlefs other fongs in existence shewing an equally cultivated mufical tafte. But no contemporary polyphonic compofition can for a moment compare with the Canon, whofe compofer muft have been one of the greateft muficians the world has ever known.
iii.
be transcriber.
"
The
monk
at
Reading
'
deferves
an
In thefe words imperifhable crown of glory." does Riemann, the learned hiftorian of mufic,
recognife the fplendid fervice rendered by the monk to whom we owe the Canon.
that the Englifh Benedictines were paflionately devoted to mufic, and appreciated its power "to charm their
It
is
well
known
cares
this
away."
to
amongft the other arts that flourifhed in the religious communities hence the great proficiency in mufic, both theoretical and practical, that was attained in the fong-fchools which the Abbeys maintained for the fervices of the minfter. But fuch church mufic, fo
1
p.
151.
Sumer
is
icumen
ftill
in.
afliduoufly cultivated,
retained barbarous
combinations of found and grofs violations of mufical grammar, and could not compare with the contemporary fecular mufic either as
regards
melody or harmony.
For many years the Church difcouraged fecular mufic on the ground that it was written " modo lafcivo) and in the " wanton key (il was therefore an obftacle to devotion and a
temptation to unholy thoughts.
as
And
fo late
1322 Pope John xxii. actually denounced the encroachments of counterpoint, alleging that the voluptuous harmony of thirds and fixths This prohibition was only fit for profane ufe.
doubtlefs
explains why fo few fpecimens have furvived. early fecular mufic
of
We
know, however,
that
minftrels
with
their folk-fongs not infrequently gained accefs to religious houfes in order to relieve the
monotony of
conceivable
the
the monaftic
that
at
life,
and
it
feems
there
Reading
Abbey
and
was a courageous
of
ftruck
by
in
Canon
who,
to prohibition, dared it to ftudy it, to write it down, and to adapt the fervices of the choir by the addition of a
Latin
hymn.
It
transcriber.
This
much
at leaft
is
early thirteenth century there was amongft the brethren at Reading a fcholarly difcantor, who
wrote
down
in the
the
calendar of the Abbey, a beautiful melody with a well-ordered fucceffion of tones and femitones,
far
in
"The wit compofition that has furvived. " of mufike wel he knew," and that " wit has enriched the world with this mufical
treafure.
have ftated that the tranfcriber was John of Fornfete, keeper of But this the cartulary of Reading Abbey. ftatement is merely bafed on the fact that a prayer for John of Fornfete occurs in the margin of the Reading calendar, which the tranfcriber has written later in the volume.
authorities
1
Various
The
entry is written in the calendar, againft " St. Wulftan's Ora, Wulftane, day, 1239: pro nostro fratre, Johanne de Fornfete." This is infufficient evidence for fpeaking of
John of Fornfete
Canon.
as
the
tranfcriber
of the
Sumer
is
icumen
in.
iv>.
Ebe performers.
the
1
performers where to make the neceffary paufes in finging are given in the eleven Latin lines placed in the lower for the right-hand corner of the MS. ; thofe thofe for upper four voices being in black, The original inftrudions are the pes in red.
Inftru&ions
to
as follows
:
Upper
Voices.
" Hanc rotam cantare A poflunt quatuor focii. autem quam tribus aut faltem duobus non paucioribus
debet
dici,
fie.
preter eos
autem
Tacentibus
Canitur pedem. unus inchoat cum hiis ceteris, Et cum venerit ad primam notam
qui
dicunt
fie
de
ceteris.
Singuli
alibi,
vero
fcriptas,
et
non
Pes.
"
Hoc
quotiens
opus
et
eft,
faciens
non
in fine, fet
Johannes of Garlandia, born in England about 1190, one of the earlieft writers on menfural mufic, alludes to " rondels " and common fongs (i.e. fecular fongs) in a manner which mows that they were familiar to his readers (Riemann,
" Mufikalifches Lexikon ").
20
flDanuscript
The
following
is
Upper
" Four performers can fing this Rota. But it fhould not be fung by lefs than three or at leaft two perfons, apart from thofe who fing the bafs." "
The Rota
;
is
fung thus
reaches the
filent,
bafs
ifc,
when he
another
Each begins, and fo do the others. performer flops at the indicated paufe, and nowhere elfe, for the period of a longa."
Pes.
"
One
finger
at the
repeats
this
as
often
as
neceflary,
paufing
end."
at
" Another finger paufes in the middle inftead of the end, and at once repeats the beginning."
v.
be Manuscript.
The vellum MS. (B. M. Hart. Qj8), in which the Canon or "Rota" occurs, has 162 leaves and meafures 7^ by 5 inches. The Canon is
1
1
of MS. Mufic
vol.
ii.,
p.
25
in the
"
" Samfon monologue dux fortiflime in equally advanced rhythm and tonality as the Canon. But the fong has no harmony, and therefore does not mew nearly fo advanced a ftage of development moreover it
a long
it
the key of
21
Sumer
10
tcumen
is
in.
in
an excellent
ftate
difcuflion as
to the
MS.
it
'
Sir
1770,
refers
to
fifteenth century." Burney believed the date to be not much later than the thirteenth or
fourteenth century, and various other writers have followed either the firft or fecond of
thefe authorities.
There
is
view
and notation.
is
The hand-writing
that
which prevailed
during the firft part of the thirteenth century, a view which has been fupported by Sir Frederick Madden and by Sir E. Maunde
Thompfon.
major.
fMufica
ficta
finging but not mown in writing, the reafon being that thefe accidentals did not occur on the In " Sumer is monochord, the inftrument ufed for teaching.
icumen in" mufica ficta is not required, one of the notes of the monochord.
1
fince the
flat
was
"Hiftory of Mufic
"
"
i.,
p. 202.
p.
406.
22
flTmnuscript.
The
is
fong
'
MS.
alfo
monaftic calendar written in Reading Abbey, a more complete copy of which, by the same writer, is found in the Cotton MS. Vefpafian In the latter copy the lateft obit entered E,.V. by the firft hand is that of Abbot Adam de
Latebury or de Latebar, the eleventh Abbot of The date of the Reading, who died in 1238. MS. is therefore about 1240.
The
a
notation
is
compofer of the thirteenth century, who ufed the pfeudonym " Ariftotle," and wrote " mufica quadrata feu menfurata." Thus Wolf,
:
time of Ariftotle
We meet with it in the B.M. Harl. MS , This is the MS. containing the Canon, ' Sumer 978. is icumen in,' which, according to the moft recent refearch, muft have been written about 1240, and whofe
notation
ftill
words of the Canon, as well as the inftrudions for the upper four voices are in black ink, while the Latin words and the
Englifli
The
inftru&ions for the fingers of the pes are in red ink. Initial letters are either red or blue.
1
The
Palasographical
PI. 125.
Society, vol.
iii.,
ed.
by Bond and
pp. 8, 12.
Thompfon,
2
i.,
23
Sumcr
is
icumen
in.
Various contemporary alterations have been made in the MS. by the fame hand and in the
fame ink, fome being alterations after erafure, and fome without erafure. Except for the pes, the Canon feems to have been written in the firft inftance in breves, fome of which were
afterwards altered into longs.
have been carefully defcribed by H. E. Wooldridge, who fuggefts the form the Canon probably had before the alterations, and to whom the reader may be referred
alterations
The
for
fuller
details.
:
The
following
are
his
conclufions
"
The
alterations of the
melody
which,
it
will
be
one exception confined to paflages near though naturally of confiderable intereft, are all are in fome fenfe of very great importance not improvements, but none can be faid to affect the eflential form of the work, which was as diftinct before they were
the clofe
;
made
this
as
it
is
at prefent.
a record
of the writer's
efforts
towards the tranfformation either of an original fubject or of fome previously exifting melody into a canon, fince the mufic already apparently difplayed an almoft perfect
fpecimen of this form of compofition when
written down."
1
it
was
firft
'
vol.
i.,
p.
24
1barmon\>.
Moft of the MSS. preferved in the library at Reading Abbey perifhed at the diffolution of
the monafteries.
and
in
the Britifh
elfewhere, are treafured fome fine illuminated MSS., embellished with fanciful paintings and
1
miniatures in gold, blue, green, red and other colours. At thefe artiftic productions various
{killed
craftsmen,
illuminators,
jointly, each contributing the fpecial work in which he excelled. Although from a decorative
icumen
in
"
takes a
it is
importance
facile princeps.
vi.
be 1barmon\>.
Harleian MS. is of the greateft 2 intereft in the Thus hiftory of harmony." does Couflemaker refer to the importance of the Canon for students of the evolution of mufic.
octaves, fifths and fourths were perfiftently ufed to the exclufion of thirds and fixths which appear to us fuch
" This
For
many
centuries
defcriptive
lift
will
be found in
"Reading Abbey,"
pp.
*
25
Sumer
natural confonances.
is
icumen
in.
Even the
the time-honoured intervals, and it was not until the middle of the fourteenth century that the old progreffions of fourths and fifths
were abandoned, and that thirds and fixths were generally admitted amongft mufical
concords.
however, references by various writers to the earlier ufe of thefc intervals by the beft difcantors, efpecially in England and " Weft in the diftrict known as the Country," " Sumer is icumen in " and poffeffes great intereft as one of the earlieft compofitions to exhibit the free ufe of thirds and fixths.
There
are,
Combarieu indeed
"
Its
fays
admirable harmony
fixths,
*
is
in
fact precifely
due
to
thirds
and
fifths."
It
difficult
to
complicated a compofition without the ufe of thirds, and, as CoufTemaker fuggefts, it may be that the compofitions of this kind and led degrees to the admiffion of thirds
conftrucl: fo
by
fixths as confonances.
1
account of the introduction of thirds and fixths will be found in the " Oxford Hiftory of Mufic," vol. i., pp. 1 56 ff. 2 " La Mufique, ses Lois, son Evolution," p. 121. " LJ Art 3
An
Harmonique,"
p. 73.
26
tmrmon\>.
is
major feventh as a leading note, and the various harmonic progreffions have as intimate a connection with the key-note as in modern mufic. In the words of Hope
:
" The
earlieft ufe
Englim Rota
Sumer
i-cumen
"
in.'
'
following analyfis of the part-writing of the Canon has been given by W. S. Rockftro
:
The
" Side
exhibits
with paflages of rudeft Difcant, it progreffions which might well have parted
by
fide
The the far later days of Paleftrina. and 24th bars are in ftrict Two4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Part Counterpoint of the Firft and Second Order, of
uncenfured
in
But, in parting from the gth irreproachable purity. to the loth, and from the I3th to the I4th bars, a in the flagrant violation of the firft cardinal rule refults
firft
and
II.
and Bartus
in parting
from bar 17
bar 18
Confecutive Fifths between Cantus I. and Baflus II. Between bars 29 and 30, Cantus I. and II. fing Confecutive Unifons; and the error is repeated, between bars 33, 34, by Cantus II. and Cantus III., fimultaneoufly with Confecutive Fifths between both thefe Parts and Cantus I. Similar faults are repeated, as the Rota proceeds, with perfiftent regularity.
1
122.
Sinner
"
is
icumen
in.
Now,
fhown
in the 4th,
in the
8th, and 24th bars are as ftringently forbidden Diaphonia of the eleventh and twelfth centuries
as the
Confecutive Fifths in bars 37, 38, and 39 are in the Counterpoint of the fifteenth and fixteenth, or even. in
of the fourteenth century. To which of thefe The peculiarity epochs, then, are we to refer the Rota ? of the Part-Writing clearly affords us no means whatthat
ever of anfwering the queftion, but is calculated rather to miflead than to throw new light upon the point at
ifTue.'"
\>ii.
Ebe Dotation.
mufical notes are the longa ^ a fquare with a ftem, and the breDis, a diamond-fhaped i.e. the In one place note without a ftem. laft note but one in the fourth line (above
the fcribe has apparently Each longa forgotten to give a longa its ftem.
The
the
word " ne
")
perfed:
There
ufed in
line
are alfo illuftrations of the ligatures Thus in the firft medieval mufic.
conjunct lozenge-fhaped notes defcending obliquely towards the right, firft one having a defcending tail, the
1
we have
three
vol. iv.,
P-
753-
28
She
thus /*'.'
IRotation.
Again
line,
in
the pes
two notes
are
bonded,
firft.
i.e.
joined by a
The
a ftave
notes
are
black
lines.
2
of
fix
red
marks
notes
for time, red notes, nor the white which were in ufe in the
open
following
century.
is
marked by
fhort upright lines, which indicate the ends of the muiical phrafes, and (how that a frefli breath is to be taken. They have nothing in
with the bar line, which did not enter into mufic notation until fome centuries
later.
common
The Canon is in the modern key of F major, having B flat marked on each ftave, juft as in
a
modern compofition
1
in
one
flat,
the letter
pretation
Chappell,
;
" Old
Englim
Wolf, "Gefchichte der Popular Mufic, 1893," vol. i., p. 13 " Hiftoire vol. i., p. 8 Menfural-Notation," Couflemaker, de 1'Harmonie au Moyen Age," p. 199.
;
If the higheft line of the fcore be ignored, the mufic will with the modern tenor clef, and can correfpond eafily be read.
29
Sumcr
being alfo written
is
icumen
in.
as a clef.
Only one
at
ftave
is
which
employed
in the
That author, moreover, always of Franco. ufed the exact number of lines and fpaces in his ftave that are needed to include the entire
range of his vocal parts.
is
1
The fame
principle
adopted
in the
Canon.
\>iii.
The
Canon
is
reproduced
its
in
2
modern
notation to facilitate
general ufe.
clef of the original is replaced by clef for the upper four voices, and the the F clef for the pes.
The C
where perfect fquare black-tailed notes, fhorter by pofition (i.e. equivalent to three
The
vol.
ii.,
p. 102.
Novello and Co., Ltd., publifh feveral verfions There fix voices (i^d. each). adapted for three, four or
2
30
Score.
notes),
are
replaced
where imperfect
without dots.
The
In
bar four
the
three
conjunct lozenge-
fhaped notes having an oblique tail or tractus are replaced In bar four by three minims.
and the
laft
two notes
in
by minims.
?-
The accompanying fcore is that edited by The Canon may be fung W. S. Rockftro.
and two tenors (or bafles), or by four tenors and two baffes, in either cafe without inftrumental accompaniment. It will be obferved that fome liberties have been taken both with the words and the mufic. A modern fcore with the original words will be found in
either
by four
trebles
iv., p.
750.
Sumer
1st (or
is
icuincn
in.
TKRBLE
TENOB).
^g"*g
3rd
(or
TREBLE
TENOR).
4th
(or
TREBLE
TENOR).
1st
(called-
BASS PES in
the original
MS.)
2nd
]>ASS.
ACCOMP.
Sumer
spring the woods a
is
icumen
in
new.
Sing
cue
koo,
Ewe now
fcp S-J
J m-= =M-S'
I
grow-eth
seed,
Sing
koo,
Grow -eth
seed,
Sum mer
-
is
com ing
-
in,
koo,
Grow -eth
Sing
cue
koo,
sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
Sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
sing
i
bleat
-
eth
af
ter
calf
the
cow,
Bui
lock start-eth,
cue
koo,
m
af
-
ter
calf
the
woods a
new,
Sing
cue
koo,
Ewe now
bleat-eth
KEz^=
seed,
new,
Sing
cue
cue
koo,
sing
cue
koo,
now
I
sing
cue
"I
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
sing
cue
&----
r^
.
|
Sumer
is
icumen
in.
33
Sumer
buck now vert
-
is
icumen
in.
m
eth,
mer
ry
sing
cue
koo,
cue
koo,
cow.
Bui
lock start
eth,
buck
now
vert
eth,
mer
ry
sing
cue
m.
at
ter
lamb, loweth af
ter
calf
the
cow.
Bui
lock start
eth,
koo,
Ewe now
bleat
eth
af
ter
lamb, and
af
ter
calf
the
~ _^
koo,
m
sin?
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
CUC
I
KOO,
I 1
sing
i
cue
~j
&-
^H
SP
~t
1st time.
cue
koo,
cue
koo,
nor
er
koo,
cue
koo,
cue
o,
well sing'st
thou
cue-
eth,
mer
ry
sing
cue
koo,
cue
koo,
eow,
'ff
bul
1
lock start
1
eth,
1
eth,
ii
mer
~
ry
T
sing
f*5
'
cue
*-m
^n
koo,
r>_j^-(&
koo,
sing
cue
now
sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
sing
cue
34
Sumer
is
icumen
in.
Sumcr
Sum- mer
a
-
is
icumen
in.
now,
is
com -ing
in,
koo,
koo,
nor
er now.
Sum
mr
is
com ing
cue
koo,
nor
cr
i
now.
i
h-
koo,
cue
koo,
cue
koo,
koo,
koo,
sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo,
!
sing
cue
koo,
J
1
gT=J*S
^3
Last time.
I-'
Grow
eth
seed,
and blow
eth mead,
and
cease thou
nev
er
now.
in,
cue
koo,
cue
koo.
Sum
mer
is
com
ing
in,
loud
now
3:
sing
cue
koo.
nor
cease
thou nev
er
now,
mer
ry
sing
cue
koo.
^m
sing
cue
koo,
now
sing
cue
koo.
now
sing
cue
koo,
sing
cue
koo.
&t^ J
r-t-PF=P=g
-g
is
[<
l=s=
^m
Sumer
ts
tcumen
tn.
35
Sumer
ir.
10
icumen
in.
"Hn
attuning prediction.'
'
is H. E. production Wooldridge's defcription of this Canon, which has been "fo often mentioned by hiftorians and
"
An
amazing
with ever-increafing furprife and admiration."' It may be of intereft to append fome further
appreciations arranged mainly in chronological The bibliographical references will fequence.
be ufeful to readers
who
defire
to ftudy the
Canon
in greater detail.
" This precept (i.e. the prohibition of fifths and eighths in fucceffion) feems to have been fo much unknown or difregarded by the compofer of the Canon,
'
Sumer
is
cumen
in,'
of a rule fo earneftly
theorifts
recommended by
obferved by religioufly practicians ever fince the laws of harmony were eftablrfhed, excites a fufpicion that
this
and
Canon
is
much more
been imagined."
1
"
vol.
ii.,
i.,
pp. 326-7.
p.
425.
36
Hn Hmasing
}.
production.
Stafford Smith :-
"
'
Sumer
is
icomen
'
is
written in the
Monks,
This very ancient Englifh is an poetry, united with a Paftoral Air, infantine attempt at compofition."
Hemiola.
'
Thomas Bufby
" This fpecimen of harmonical ftructure of counterpoint in fix (the firft example
parts) with to anything extant
all its
defeats
is
W.
fecular
compofition,
3
in
parts,
known
J.
to exift in
any country."
Alexander
Ellis :is
fo great
mufical
is
alfo
valuable
early
knowledge of
4
Englifh pronunciation."
1
p. 8.
i.,
p.
402.
ed.), vol.i., p. 21.
"
Part
p.
422
ff.,
37
Sumer
H. E. Wooldridge
" The
earlieft
'
10
icumen
in.
example of
earlieft
Englifli fecular
mufic."
earlieft
perfiftently repeated
yet
documents of fecular mufic in contrapuntal form, and a proof that at this early epoch harmonic art muft
oldeft
"
One of the
Henry Davey
" So by
'
far as
we know,
ears
modern
is
Sumer
icumen
in.'
"
Englifti
mufical composition." 4
Sir
:Englifti
is is
icumen
in,'
which
its
thirteenth century,
on account of
1
rhythmical character,
vol.
ii.,
"Chappell,
vol.
3
"Old
(ed.
1893),
i.,
p. 9.
"
38
Hn Bmasino
production.
its
obvious attempt
fupplying a ment."
1
harmonious accompani-
W. H. Cummings
"
If
regard this muiic from the points of perfect tonality, accent, rhythm and harmony, we fhall in vain fearch the
archives (of the thirteenth or fucceeding or century) of any country for its parallel, for mufic approaching it in excellence and "2 completenefs.'
we
E. Walker :-
"
It
way
that
that has
"
we
fay
3
nothing
it."
E.
Matthew
" The
:-
anything
1
known
4 at that time."
" Oxford Hiftory of Mufic," vol. iii., p. 1 1. Northumbrian Small Pipes Society, Report of Annual
Meeting, 1897, p. 2O. 3 " Hiftory of Mufic in England," p. 9. 4 " Manual of Mufical Hiftory," p. 88.
39
Sumer
F.
T.
*.'
is
icumen
in.
Croweft
"
'
Sumer
is
icumen
'
in
is
probably the
It is the greateft mufical curiofity extant. oldeft piece of polyphonic and canonical
compofition known to be in exiftence, and is reputed to be alfo the oldeft fong with mufical notes attached to it."
1
Britifh
Mufeum
'
there
is
a round,
well-known Sumer is icumen in,' probably the moft ancient example of its
"
Thirds, fixths, and pafling notes
ufe of."
a folk-fong pure are
kind in exiftence."
made
"
It
is
the
firft
mufic forthcoming." 2
F.
A. G. Ouseley :-
"
Unqueftionably the oldeft piece of polyphonic and canonical compofition known to be in exiftence." 3
1
"The
et
pajftm.
Naumann,
"
Hiftory of Mufic,"
p.
220.
40
Hn
C. F.
Hma3iti6 production.
'
Sumer
is
cannot be a fingle effort ; have been preceded by hundreds of fimilar compofitions, or it could not have reached
fo high a ftandard of
'
icumen it muft
development."
W.
Barclay Squire
" The exiftence of an Englifh School of Mufic extraordinarily advanced for its
time
is
or round,
'
Sumer
is
y-cumen
in.'
" The earlieft extant example of a round is the well-known Sumer is icumen in.'" 3
l
D. Francis Tovey " No work within two centuries of the date of Sumer is icumen in attains a
:
'
'
ftyle
Its
fo
to
modern
ears.
harmony
are
fuch that the frequent ufe of confecutive fifths and octaves, in ftricl: accordance with thirteenth century principles, has to our ears all the effect of a feries of
1
s.
Dunftable.
iv.,
p. 165.
41
Sumcr
is
icumen
in.
the reft."
'
W.
S.
Pratt :-
famous inftance of a true four-part canon which refts on a brief two-part canonic burden that is repeated over and over, while the chief canon proceeds."
"
" The burden fings monotonoufly back and forth between tonic and dominant
harmony."
M. H. Glyn
" But
fhould
for
'
not
'
in in
we
the
thirteenth century any monk would have dared to ftudy the folk-mufic and bring
it
W.
A. "
Ford
age
'
An
cumin
in
it
"
"
li
xix., p. 75.
Form,"
p. 121.
"
42
Hn Hmasino
production.
Continental.
J.
E. de CoufTemaker
u This Harleian
MS.
is
of the greatest
2
harmony."
E.
Naumann
"
'
Sumer
is
icumen
is
'
in
is
in the
key of
Church
conformity with the rules of modern mufic in its clofes, which are uniformly compofed of a
leading-note
lution."
F.-J.
:
modes, and
rifing
to
its
proper refo-
Fens " No wonder the compofer of the Canon was unable to avoid the confecutive fifths and octaves which all earlier difcantors had conftantly ufed. In fact we may
fafely
confider
him
as
the
greateft
3
4
" Gefchichte der Mufik," vol. ii., p. 490. " L'Art Harmonique," p. 150. " Hiftory of Mufic," ed. by Oufeley," vol. " Hiftoire de la Mufique," vol. v., p. 320.
i., p.
555.
43
Sinner
10
fcumen
in.
Guido Adler
"
The
from
"
The competition
'
obvioufly
not
A.
W. Ambros
" The whole competition proves a wellcontidered ftudy of the combination of tones, and is a notable memorial of
Englifli art in the earlieft times."
2
S.
Vantyn
"
The Rota
We may
"
Vierteljahrfchriftf. Mujikwijjenfchaft"
ii.,
p.
515.
16, 18.
"
L'Evolution de
la
Hn Hmasing
Jules
Ipvofcuction.
Combarieu
"
The
charming
'
'
madrigal
Sumer
is
icumen
in
is
Englifh polyphonic compofition ; it owes its admirable harmony, in fpite of fome confecutive fifths, to the ufe of
mainly
thirds
and
fixths."
'
is
in
the
highest
2
degree
its
tonality."
Otto Klauwell
it
The
art,
which
difplays, proves clearly that it did not originate alone. There inuft have been preceding mufical development,
Canon
although at prefent
1
we
" La Mufique, fes Lois, fon Evolution," p. 120. " Gefchichte der Mufik in England," vol. i.,
p. 77.
in
seiner Gefchichtlichen
"
Entwickelung
Heimat und
p.
Urfprung
der
Mehrftimmigen
Tonkunft,"
12.
45
iit.
Epilogue.
1
IN June
Reading
Abbey
unveiled by Dr. H. P. Allen, of New College, The Oxford, Choragus in the Univerfity.
Tablet
that
placed in the famous Chapter Houfe has been the fcene of fo many great
is
national
functions, and not far from the Memorials erected in honour of Hugh de Boves
firft
and
laft
The
central
flab
is
of yellow magnefian
feet,
and
The
black
Sumer
filled in
(0
tcumen
in.
with black maftic cement, the red and blue initials, the red ftave, and the red Latin words being reproduced in maftic of appropriate
colour.
forms a panel let into the larger flab of blue Foreft of Dean ftone, meafuring of 7 feet by 4 feet, and adorned with the arms
flab
This
efcallops or).
:
It
"Sumer
THIS CANON,
is
icumen
in."
DESCRIBED
defigned
by
Mr.
W.
W.
S.
Frith, fculptor.
48
(The Epilogue.
Reading Abbey during the Middle Ages played an important role on the ftage of our Few of our religious and political hiftory. monaftic foundations were fo often chofen
for
the
holding
of
and
eccleiiaftical councils.
As
home
greatly the facred gates fat diftinguifhed. Mercy pouring out relief from a never-failing ftore to the poor and the fuffering ; ever
benevolence
" Ever
Abbey
at
was
alfo
aifles
the
voices
for
of holy
the
fins
men were
pealing heavenwards
of mankind."
The hour of its dirTolution struck in 1539, when fo many great monaftic foundations came to a dramatic clofe. The mitred
Abbot of Reading
quartering-block.
paffed along a Dia dolor osa to die a traitor's death on the gibbet and the
The
brethren
were
ex-
pelled from their well-loved cloifters into a The Abbey was cold, unfympathetic world.
common
quarry.
To-day
little
is
The
fire
Sinner
is
icumen
in.
voice of prayer and thankfgiving is filent, the mufic is hufhed in the choir. Abbot, prior,
cantor, facrift,
for
monk
have
made
their
exit
ever.
But the part played by the Abbey in the of mufic will be held in perpetual hiftory This glory muft abide even remembrance. " Time's when effacing finger" has removed
the
laft
veftige
of
that
chef cTaeuvre
of
architecture
which Henry Beauclerc dedicated to the honour of God and the fervice of man, and in which he found his final reftingplace.
^>
if
c
Abbey, Reading
7, 9,
PAGE
16,
...
15, 16
earlieft
....
9.38
9,
harmony of
27, 39,
....
25,
21,
23 47
M, 43, 45
23, 24, 25
manufcript of
melody of
,,
.... ....
14,
memorial of
39 46
Baflb oftinato
Beauclerc,
....
....
14
46, 50 17
,,
,,
modern
Henry
7,
palaeography of
part-writing
Bodleian,
Britifh
....
36 11,25
,, ,,
of....
rhythm of
tranfcriber of
at the
17, 19
9, 21, 23,
.... Burden, the Burney, Charles ....
....
25 42 22, 36
words of
....
.... ....
....
12
30
16, 17
Church mufic
Sumei'
is
PA<;K
icumen
in.
(B
Q
Clef, the
.... ....
PACK
...
....
30
14, 17
Compofer, the
Confecutive
of
....
....
20
15,
1
fifths
Ground-bafs
....
14
43, 45
Cotton
MS.
....
23
Ifo
28,37,42
Harleian
MS.
978.
,,
21,23,
'
'
Cuckoo-fong, the
3D
11,12,37
4', 43. 45
....
Hawkins,
Sir
John
....
22
37
f,
Date of Canon....
Dialefts,
'
Hemiola
9.22,23
15 3
o, 12, 15
....
Englim 5
W wellex
,r
7r^
,
Difcantor, a fcholarly
de fio
Abbot
3
19
'"
Earlieit
,j.
Englifh fong 11,38,40 ,, polyphonic music 40,44 17 Englifh Benediclines .... diale&s .... 15
,,
o 9, J 38
,'
Illuminated
T I
MSS.
_
at
Reading 2 c
.... ....
19 18
,,
~>
r,~
*j
Key of F ma
or
....
14, -29
Epilogue, the
....
....
46
X
23 Latebury, Abbot Adam de Latin words of Canon 13, 23 14, 27 Leading note, the
..
at
major, key of
....
14,
29
12
"harteth,"
meaning of
Fifths, confecutive
Ligatures, the
/to
14,28,29,31
43, 45
Folk-fong, a
....
13, 16,
40
19
Madden,
Sir F.
....
....
22
Frith,
W.
30 47
Madrigal, a
charming
....
45 27
3n&ey.
/H5
PACK
....
Manufcript of Canon
Manufcripts
,,
21,
Reading, Abbots of
,,
23, 46, 48
....
2 3> 24,
at
25
monks
at
8,
17
the Bodleian
ii, 25
at the Britifh
Mufeum
,,
....
9, 21, 23,
25
Rondels
20
Reading 25 .... Melody of Canon 14,39 Memorial tablet, the .... 46 Menfural mufic .... 20
at
Modern
"Samfon dux
Sixths, ufe
fortiffime"
dialect
21
verfion, the
at
..
Monks
30
8,
of
Reading
....
17
Motet, 13 Mufic, Englifh fchool of 10, 44 menfural .... 20 ,, .... .... ZMuJica ficta 21, 22 Mufical notes of Canon 28,
29. 3
of
19
....
1 '
"
29, 30
Sumer
cf.
icumen Canon
is
in,
....
32
ft
Northumbrian round,
Notation, the
15
30
Thompfon,
Palaeography, the Part-writing, the .... Paufa debita Performers, the
Perfpice, Chrifticola
Pes, the
....
Sir
Maunde
....
22
31 31 17, 19
.... ....
...
22 28 27, 14 20, 21
13
.... ....
....
Verfion, the
''
modern
....
30
12
Verteth,"
meaning of
37
TKH
"
....
Wanton
Ravenfcroft,
W.
key," the
....
18
47
WefTex
dialed:
Reading Abbey
7, 9, 16, 18,
10, 12, 15
10
19
53
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