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English Song: Anonymous- Sumer is icumen in - arr. for Soprano & String Quartet by Gerald Manning
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English Song: Anonymous- Sumer is icumen in - arr. for Soprano & String Quartet by Gerald Manning
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You are purchasing high quality sheet music PDF files suitable for printing or viewing on digital devices.ENGLISH SONG: Summer is a-coming in (c. A.D. 1250) Music & Text: Anonymous
By the time of Henry the VIII the English were recognized throughout Europe as a musical nation. Erasmus writes � they excel the whole world in the beauty of their women, their knowledge of music and the excellence of their table.� The folk music of England evolved over the centuries to produce a quintessentially English quality that bore no resemblance to the folk music of any other land. The use of poetry was a powerful influence on the character of the English song and composers continually strove to fit the music closely to the poetry to add pathos to the words. In Henry Lawes collection of �Ayres and Dialogues� there are many fine examples of the marriage of sound to sense and Lawes desired to �set words with just note and accent.�
Quintessentially and entirely English in its quality �Sumer is icumen in� (to give this song its old English title) dates from about A.D.1250 and is one of the oldest secular songs which can now be read, and bears no resemblance or influence to the folk-music of any other country. Apart from being very popular it is also very well known in school song books and is ideal at school concerts with the voices carrying the melody in unison.