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Sumer
is icumen in
London, British Library, MS Harley
978, f. 11v
Translations
Middle
English text (with Latin instructions for singing, in italics) | Latin
text
Translation
of Middle English text
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Summer
has arrived,
+ Sing
loudly, cuckoo!
The seed is growing
And the meadow is blooming, |
| 5 |
And
the wood is coming into leaf now,
Sing, cuckoo!
The ewe is bleating after her lamb,
The cow is lowing after her calf;
The bullock is prancing, |
| 10 |
The
billy-goat farting,
Sing merrily, cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo,
You sing well, cuckoo,
Never stop now. |
| 15 |
Pes:
Sing, cuckoo, now; sing, cuckoo; |
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One
person repeats this as often as necessary, making a rest at the
end. |
| 16 |
Sing,
cuckoo; sing, cuckoo, now! |
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The
other one sings this, making a rest in the middle and not at the
end, but immediately repeating the beginning.
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round can be sung by four people together; however, it should not
be sung by fewer than three, or at least two, not counting those
who sing the 'pes'. And it is sung in this way: while the others
remain silent, one person starts, together with those who are
carrying the 'pes'; and when he comes to the first note after
the cross, the next one begins, and so on with the others. And
the individual singers should stop at the rests where they are
written and not elsewhere, for the space of one long note. |
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Translation
of Latin
text
Look, O lover
of Christ, what condescension! The heavenly husbandman, because of a fault
in the vine, not sparing his son, exposed him to the ordeal of death; and
he brings back the half-dead prisoners from torment to life, and
crowns them with himself on the throne of heaven.
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Set up by Bella
Millett, enm@soton.ac.uk. Last
updated 29 May 2003
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