Description
Sumer Is Icumen In (Chants Médiévaux Anglais) - The Hilliard Ensemble / Harmonia Mundi France Audio CD 1985 / 901154
UPC 3149021311546
"Sumer is icumen in" is the incipit of a medieval English round or rota of the mid-13th century; it is also known variously as the Summer Canon and the Cuckoo Song.
The line translates approximately to "Summer has come in" or "Summer has arrived". The song is written in the Wessex dialect of Middle English. Although the composer's identity is unknown today, it may have been W. de Wycombe. The manuscript in which it is preserved was copied between 1261 and 1264.
This rota is the oldest known musical composition featuring six-part polyphony.
It is sometimes called the Reading Rota because the earliest known copy of the composition, a manuscript written in mensural notation, was found at Reading Abbey; it was probably not drafted there, however. The British Library now retains this manuscript. A copy of the manuscript in stone relief is displayed on the wall of the ruined chapter house of Reading Abbey.
| Label: | Harmonia Mundi France – 901154 |
|---|---|
| Format: |
CD, Album
|
| Country: | France |
| Released: |
1985 |
| Genre: | Classical |
| Style: | Medieval, Choral |
Tracklist:
| Anonymes Du 13e Siècle Et Antérieurs | |||
| 1 | Sumer Is Icumen In | 1:48 | |
|
Three Songs (St. Godric) |
|||
| 2 | Sainte Marie Viergene | 1:33 | |
| 3 | Crist And Sainte Marie | 2:12 | |
| 4 | Sainte Nicolas | 0:37 | |
| 5 | Fuweles In The Frith | 0:37 | |
| 6 | Sancte Dei Preciose. V. Ut Tuo Propitiatus | 3:22 | |
| 7 | Alleluya. V. Nativitas | 5:13 | |
| 8 | Kyrie. Rex Virginum Amator | 4:23 | |
| 9 | Sanctus. Maria Mater Egregia | 2:37 | |
| 10 | Agnus Dei. Factus Homo | 3:08 | |
| 11 | Perspice Christicola | 1:23 | |
|
Anonymes De La Fin Du 13e Siècle Au Début Du 14e Siècle |
|||
| 12 | Campanis Cum Cymbalis. Honoremus Dominam | 0:51 | |
| 13 | Mater Ora Filium | 1:16 | |
| 14 | Edi Be Thu | 3:33 | |
| 15 | Worldes Blisse Have Good Day (Benedicamus Domino) | 2:18 | |
| 16 | Valde Mane Diluculo | 1:49 | |
| 17 | Gabriel Fram Heven-King | 4:27 | |
| 18 | Stond Wel Moder Under Roode | 6:52 | |
| 19 | Ovet Mundus Letabundus | 3:38 | |
| 20 | Gaude Virgo Mater Christi | 1:22 | |
| 21 | Campanis Cum Cymbalis | 0:51 |
- Artwork [Front Cover] – Simon Berninck
- Bass Vocals – Michael George (3), Paul Hillier
- Choir – The Hilliard Ensemble
- Composed By – Anonymous
- Conductor, Liner Notes – Paul Hillier
- Countertenor Vocals – David James (13)
- Recorded By [Pris De Son] – Jean-François Pontefract
- Technician [Direction De L'enregistrement] – Nicholas Anderson
- Tenor Vocals – John Potter (2), Paul Elliott, Roger Covey-Crump
