Sumer is Icumen in (The Hilliard Ensemble)
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Disclaimer: I do not own the music or images.
"Sumer Is Icumen In" is a traditional English medieval round, and possibly the oldest such example of counterpoint in existence. The title might be translated as "Summer has come in" or "Summer has arrived".
The round is sometimes known as the Reading rota because the manuscript comes from Reading Abbey though it may not have been written there. It is the oldest piece of six-part polyphonic music (Albright, 1994). Its composer is anonymous, possibly W. de Wycombe, and it is estimated to date from around 1260. The manuscript is now at the British Library. The language is Middle English, more exactly 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.
Pes:
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 stag 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!
![beautiful medieval music [playlist]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9YiOvwesQFI/mqdefault.jpg)
![beautiful medieval music [playlist]](/img/tr.png)
Only 1240's kids will remember this.
My 2019 students know this; we are learning about medieval music in our theory/music history class. It's a classic.
@@marywendelken9227 I think you missed the joke mate...
@@marywendelken9227 oh LORD
Ham God 🔥🔥😂
@@marywendelken9227 I learned it when I was 7 and it's been in my head for almost 20 years.. finally googling it
Middle English is such an uncanny valley of languages to a modern english speaker.
miri it is while summer ilast is also a good one, imo middle english isnt all that bad ;)
It’s cucuu
no it int. shut up.
Dutch is too.
To be honest I can only make out about a quarter, to a third at best, of the words!
I’ve seen some screenshots of pages from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, written from about 1387 to 1400 (Chaucer’s death.), which makes them about a 130 years after this, but still in the Middle English period.
Some of the words are an easy guess but most of it seems like a different language. And as for pronunciation, the Great Vowel Shift was only just beginning in the year of Chaucer’s death. I wonder if people in Newcastle were able to understand people in Bournemouth at this time (just as an example) which covers a distance of approximately 350 miles (according to Google.)
As gorgeous as the musical performance is, as a student of Middle English I'm exulting in the pronunciation. Such beautiful, pure vowels and attention to detail.
The Hilliard Ensemble does its research. This is a typically well-informed performance.
Wow! You're the first Middle English student I know of!
How would you say in Middle English, "The internet connection is down, and our systems engineer hasn't even been able to boot up the mainframe yet."?
@@lovely7840good question
@@lovely7840Just like in every other archaic language - by borrowing the missing words.
I remember listening to this is a wee lad back in the 13th century
real
If you look at the earliest written songs of a language, usually it’s about love or religion. For some reason the earliest known song written in English is just about dancing in summer and stags farting.
Something to ponder, eh?
I think if you consider how depressing and harsh the weather is/was in most of Europe, specially the Anglo and Germanic areas, it kinda makes sense, lol. Like, finally, some fucking sun! Depression be gone! 😅 But yeah, at their core they're simple alcoholics, but Jesus did his thing already and some got serious with life!
Isn't this just the earliest "secular" song in English?
singing along in the round with the video brings me such silly whimsical joy
My classical music mother sings this to us every year as the weather grows warm. Welcome, sweet summer!
Awesome 😁
Imagine being famous in musical history for singing "sing kookoo" over and over.
Beats singing Gucci Gang over and over.
Beats wap
the cuckoo being synonymous with cuckoldry, this may be the bards calling to all the young wives to cheat on their husbands (with bards)
Better than the Beatles
@@crisprex4281 I'd say it's pretty obviously just about the beginning of spring / summer if you read the rest of the lyrics. Cuckoos migrate to England only in summer so their call has long been associated with it.
My late Dad used to sing a softer version to me as a baby/child. I was born in 1970. I have sung it to my 3 children and each of my Granddaughters.
Share the softer version?
How lovely!
That is beautiful! I intend to have it played at my funeral, which I hope won't be for many years!
I remember when this was originally uploaded 765 years ago. thanks for the reupload
It's time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man
I was thinking about Wicker Man, which led me here.🌞🔥
hello fellow music theory students
nobodychao hi
hi
Too
Hiii ;))
level 8?
Sumer is icumen in, lhude sing cuccu!
Bloweth sed and groweth med and springth the wode new!
Ewe bleteth after lamb, louth after calve cou.
Bullock sterteth, bucke verteth, murie sing cuccu.
Cuccu cuccu , well thou singest cuccu, ne swik thou never nu!
Summer is a-coming in, loudly sing cuckoo!
The seed blows, the meadow grows and the woods spring anew.
The ewe bleats after the lamb, the cow lows after the calf.
The bull starts, the buck farts. Merrily sing cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well thou singest cuckoo. No, cease thou never, now!
Fantastic. Thank u
Over 700 years old. And still wonderful. Amazing!
You actually think this is “amazing”? Clearly never heard Playboi Carti
This was one of the only pieces that I learned about during music history and sought out afterward. I know it's literally just basic polyphony, but this song SLAPS
Haha yeah it’s a favorite of the sophomore class at my high school who took Music Appreciation
I love this melody. Thank you so much for posting (Wow... 11 years ago!). I've been looking for it for years. I sang it in the Cincinnati Boy Choir back in the '73 to '74 season under The Maestro Robert C. MacSpadden! ☺❤
So glad that 900y later people are still listening to my greatest hits🙂
I can finally feel all the voices in my head without having to take any psychedelic substances!
Enjoy!
I'm neither in music theory or a college student, I feel out of place
Neither am I, chum!
I'm with you
i am a mere history nerd who likes music
Lmao same its 2am and it just came up to my mind to search for thiis
Yeh same online music lessons brought me here ✌️
I learned it my first year in high school choir. That was in 1959. 😊
Such a jolly piece of music, just right to welcome sunny days :O).
I just read in my music theory book that this song is the oldest written secular music in existence! How cool is that? I just had to hear it. Thank you for sharing. It is a lovely and fun song.
There is actually a second poem in the original manuscript that's a religious text written in latin.
I know it's the oldest secular polyphonic music we have record of, but I thought we had older secular monophonic songs.
It's also one of the first in "round" form.
It is great to see people finding music history cool!
Incorrect. The oldest English one in existence (that I know if) is 'Miri it is when sumer ilast', a single verse from a song that was written about 1225. There are probably older ones from the continent and farther afield.
I like the disclaimer, if someone copyright trolls you over a song with an unknown author from 1000 years ago, I will pay your legal defense.
English is a beautiful language, no matter what form it takes.
Best middle English pronunciation I've heard on this song. You are some of the only I've heard who sing "murie" (merrily) correctly as /myrje/ reflecting Old English myrge, rather than /murje/.
What is the difference in pronunciation between /myrje/ and /murje/?
I heard this song in my music appreciation class and it put a huge smile on my face because I can imagine dwarves marching in the woods in a line singing this
"it is time to keep your appointment with the wicker man."
Reading Sarah, Plain, and Tall to my children and listing to this because she sang it to the children. ❤
We used to sing this at John Rankin Junior school in the 60s. Dear Mr Roussell, a lovely man.
When you let your grandma put in a request off the DJ at your wedding:
It's like modern German 'Summer ist gekommen' - summer has come.
It's almost like English is a Germanic language, isn't it?
@ItzSkylerUwU. YT /r/whoosh.
its also like modern english "summer is coming in"
Not really. is icumen or ist gekommen indicate a past completed action. Icumen is a past participle but coming is a present participle. Icumen is an irregular past participle like given or taken or spoken not a present participle like coming, giving, or taking.
Beautiful music from another age (or dimension) ! Some lovely picture accompaniment. Plus knowledgeable and stimulating comments.
Bruh kids these days don’t remember when this 1240s banger was released
"Ancient music" by Ezra Pound
Winter is icumen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.
Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damm you; Sing: Goddamm.
Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
So 'gainst the winter's balm.
Sing goddamm, damm, sing goddamm,
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.
Love it!
It's a shame Ezra Pound was such a Fascist jerk because this is witty.
@@JeffMindeit’s a shame that even matters to you
I for one don’t know Jack shit about music theory, I just love music and it makes me happy. This song brings me joy and I don’t understand why it just does, it is comforting and warm. Music is sick!
Thank you dibbler for this banger
When I took music theory as a student the thing that drew me in was the stag farting. A student, me, and a fart lead me to appreciation!
😂
Thank you for uploading this video, along with the excellent, detailed commentary. I just discovered The Hilliard Ensemble via "O Salutaris Hostia" and others with Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble, and a number of others. Their work with Garaberek is just stunningly beautiful; some of the most beautiful, soul searching and peaceful music I've found. I had no idea they also did so much with old English folk songs, Medieval and more. Gracias!
winter is acumen in.
loud sing boo-boo.
raining mass and
freezin ass
loud sing boo-boo.
Middle English text if we're being pedantic... :)
We speak the high lingo here my goodman...
The English poet Ezra Pound got there before you, dude, sorry. :) His version, from (IIRC) the 1940s, goes like this:
.
"Winter is i-cumen in,
lhude sing goddamn.
Sleweth bus
and sloppeth us
and how the wind doth ram!
Freezeth river,
turneth liver,
an ague hath my ham.
Sing damn, goddamn!"
Randolph Guevara 👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
Christmas is a coming in,
Loudly sing boo hoo,
Fir trees, and holly leaves and Ivy branches too,
Sing boo hoo
Roasted goose and apple sauce and potato dumplings too,
Red cabbage cooked, and Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding too,
Sing boo hoo,
Wining, dining, singing whining,
Opening presents too,
Snow outside but warm inside, with Fire all shining through,
Sing boo hoo,
Credit card maxed to its limit,
Christmas Carol's too,
Exciting places, shining faces,
Visiting Garandma too,
Sing boo hoo
All to do again next year,
And the year after too,
I'm looking forward to do it all again,
So how about you?
So stop saying boo hoo, and also you, and you and you,
Now Christmas Time is through again,
We have New Year now to do
So shut up punk and get steaming drunk.
And even Grandma too
Sing Yahoo, sing yahoo.
Sing Yahoo, sing yahoo too.
Stephen Roney
Heard this in my music appreciation class and I've been addicted to it ever since
Everyone else: "hi fellow music theory students hehehe"
Me: "y'all remember when Howie was burned alive to this song?"
Lol what?
Ahahahah the Wicker man
Ayyy Wicker man gang
But it was sung so slowly, like a mf'in funeral durge
Nice
The fact that this man is singing English is amazing
35 years later, I finally hear this song from someone other than my music and history teacher lol.
Sumer is Icumen In
“Sumer is Icumen In” is an unusual and ingenious song dating from 13th-century England. The two lowest voices trade a short repeated phrase throughout, singing the text “sing cuckoo.” Above this repeated pattern, the top four voices enter sequentially on the same note, singing the text “sumer is icumen in.” The example begins with the two lowest voices alone and continues through four separate entries of the upper, canonic voices.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Like if Encarta brought you here :)
This song is so beautiful!
I remember learning this song when I was quite young in school. I heard a reference to it on a TV show I'm watching and so I googled it. I had forgotten all about it. It's so nice to hear it and hear it sung so beautifully.
Heard this on Top of the Pops 2, ah, the memories.
this kinda slaps doe
What?
Thank you! This song is mentioned several times in the book Adam of the Road that I read aloud to my children. Nice to hear it!
"You, Sergeant, are the right kind of adult, as our painstaking researches have revealed"
My attempt at a more literal translation into something that's still comprehensible to a modern speaker of English. No doubt there are many errors!
_Summer is a-coming in,_
_Loudly sing cuckoo!_
_Groweth seed and bloweth mead_
_And springeth the wold anew,_
_Sing cuckoo!_
_Ewe bleateth after lamb,_
_Cow loweth after calf._
_Bullock starteth, buck farteth_
_Merrily sing cuckoo!_
_Cuckoo, cuckoo, well singest thee cuckoo;_
_Nay switch thee never now._
_Sing cuckoo. Sing cuckoo._
_Sing cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!_
people in the 13th century must have gone absolutely nuts when the village consort dropped this banger
So amazing when you listen to this right inside of Reading Abbey
Dunnit, innit!
I fell in love with this when I first heard it 😊❤
Famously sung at the end of 1973's The Wicker Man, a God$%%^ fantastic film.
This song haunts me from college lol
Ditto.
Same here. I was an English major. So glad I had to read so much of the old stuff.
I was a music major, and when we studied this period in Music History, our teacher split the class into parts and we sang it. It was something else.
lol I'm a music major. Reviewing this for an upcoming exam.
What yall talking bout? This is mah jam!!!
It means summer has come in - 'icumen' is a past participle the i at the front being a relic of the Old English 'ge' Note that in modern German and Dutch past participles are still mostly formed with the 'ge' prefix eg kommen - gekommen. Note also the use of 'to be' as an auxiliary for a verb of motion, a feature that has disappeared from modern English but which survives in other West Germanic languages
nice one!
Like the Alfred jewel: "aelfred mec heht gewyrcan".
everyone got that without having to know all that shit dumbass
It's so funny how old English sounds like an old German lady who fails at speaking English
I sometimes wonder if that explains the feature of some dialects of English where people will say things like 'I'm a-coming'. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head right now (morning brain) but I know they're out there.
Just listened on Music Appreciation and I'm now obsessed
This is marvellous. And it's also the tune the mice sing in Bagpuss :)
The sacrifice of the King Like Virgin Fool WILL be accepted!🛐
Thumbs up if you want to time travel back 700s years and try to have a conversation with them
@@xunqianbaidu6917 and then they kill you with their smallpox
Literally obsessed after hearing this in Music Appreciation class! ❤️ It helps me concentrate and relax.
this is nostalgia right here
Thanks for sharing this song! Learnt it in school and had to listen to it
Shoutout to anyone who went to a Steiner School and randomly has this pop in their head 20 years later.
Winter is acumen in
Summer's had its day
Temperatures falling
Leaves are dropping
Birds are flying away
Some are here to stay
Some are here to stay
Some are flying away
I remember listening to this in Music Appreciation class and have spent the last hour searching "spring song cow goes moo kookoo"
I've been looking for this version for ages!! Thanks!!!
+Roy Monoki , i loves this image you have painted.
great recording of this. love the style of old music :D
[The author] knew that bullocks and bucks feel so good in the springtime that they can hardly contain themselves, and he set down what he saw and heard, leaving it to squeamish editors to distort one of his innocent folk-words into a meaning that he would not recognise. One suspects that scholarly ingenuity has been overworked [...] to save the children of England from indecency.
Love listening to this Middle English as a modern English speaker can get the jist of what's being sung. I like learning Anglo-Saxon (Old English) which a bit more challenging. The 3 stages of English are so interesting.
Im also a modern English speaker but I think I'm the only one here that's not able recognize any of the middle English words in this song, for some reason :/
And thanks for your observation! It's neat to think about how completely brand new the English language is.
Dang now this song is nostalgic cause I listened to it over and over again for a music course a few years ago
Happy Summer Solstice!!
Thanks to the genius of 'that movie', this song gets a very downright different feel when its sung.
I'm going to do a heavy metal version of the song.
reminds me of the last sacrifice I attended
Huh? how is sacrifice related to this song?
***** um...original Wicker Man film anyone?
Oh God! Oh Jesus Chrrrrist! Oh my God!
He's quoting the film
OH GOD! NOT THE BEES!!!!!!!
The very best book I know that deals with the evolution of language is "The Loom of Language" written by Frederick Bodmer and edited by Lancelot Hogben.
It is a fascinating read and there are still copies around, though it was published as long ago as 1944.
Own Bodmer and re-read it frequently.
I remember singing this as a kid. I googled it because I had forgotten about it.
In "The Adventures of Robin Hood" Alan Hale whistles this tune.
The Jolliest wicker man burning ever!
ooh. I haven't seen that movie in years! (1973, not 2006 version).
Some of us are just lovers of music history. I have a degree in economics.
Who else is listening in March 1221?
I'm not a music theory student, but back in 2018 in my a level English language course, we learned about this song to see how the English language has evolved and changed. Its roots and such
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.
I was born in the wrong generation
you were born like 30 generations late my guy
fire song
It's rather beautiful how English evolved, isn't it? Granted, this sounds utterly foreign, and yet certain words remain. The tongue we speak now is not just Germanic, but Latin and French and even Norse in parts. We would sound just as alien to those who wrote this!
Middle English is where the Norse and French started coming in. If you think this sounds foreign, go read some Old English.
Wrong... study your linguistic history again
of course, are you speaking about English, or are you speaking about the so-called language of America
Luke Monson
Who are you talking to?
All this and farting bucks too!
I just like the way it sounds XD
Really takes me back
Four-part canon at the unison, plus two free voice-parts -which recur periodically presenting a drone-like, four-measure cyclical ostinato
. This short layer does F - G - F in one Bass voice and is simultaneously mirrored C - Bb - C in the other, producing a 1:1 contrapuntal segment. Charles Burney (A General History of Music, Vol. II) transcribes a version from an MS in the British Museum (P. 412 - ). I'd guess this piece has historical significance for the development of contrapuntal forms later on ...
What is interesting is that in the two hundred year since the Norman conquest how little French had entered into everyday language (which is how songs were). It shows that English may have evolved in this way anyway as different old English dialects and Danish in the north had to achieve mutual understanding and getting rid of the heavy inflected grammar (five cases, three genders) was a sensible step. Sticking th and s onto everything was a sensible way forward
I remember when they sang this at my nan’s 600th birthday party…þæt wæs geara iu, ic þæt gyta geman! þæt ic wæs aheawen, holtes on ende
I mean, it's supposed to be winter right now, but with global warming being what it is, it sure feels like summer is a comin' in early this year.
Bruh this shit slaps ong
People who watching this on 2024
Such a joyful song
I miss the 13th century. Good old times, man. Time passes too fast...
I love this!
Summer 2022 anthem