It was a Lover and his Lass Thomas Morley (1557 - 1602) Thomas Morley (1557 or 1558 – October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. He was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England and an organist at St Paul's Cathedral. He and Robert Johnson are the composers of the only surviving contemporary settings of verse by Shakespeare. ... Morley lived for a time in the same parish as Shakespeare, and a connection between the two has been long speculated, though never proven. His famous setting of "It was a lover and his lass" from As You Like It has never been established as having been used in a performance of Shakespeare's play, though the possibility that it was is obvious. Morley was highly placed by the mid-1590s and would have had easy access to the theatrical community; certainly there was then, as there is now, a close connection between prominent actors and musicians.... While Morley attempted to imitate the spirit of Byrd in some of his early sacred works, it was in the form of the madrigal that he made his principal contribution to music history. His work in the genre has remained in the repertory to the present day, and shows a wider variety of emotional color, form and technique than anything by other composers of the period.   Wikipedia Three Madrigals John Dowland (1562 - 1626) John Dowland's creative output on the lute made him England's greatest lute composer from the Elizabethan era. There is some debate over John Dowland's date of birth. In 1612, Dowland wrote that he had "now entered into the fiftieth yeare of mine age," but whether that means that he was born in 1562 or 1563 remains unclear. Nor is much known about Dowland's younger years except for Dowland's claim that his music education began at an early age. He spent some time in France engaged in the service of Sir Henry Cobham and in 1588, obtained a BMus at Christ Church, Oxford. Though unable to obtain a position within the English court, Dowland was nevertheless one of the highest paid court servants while he remained in the service of Christian IV, King of Denmark. Under Christian IV, Dowland received the equivalent of two hundred pounds a year. Dowland also enjoyed several leaves to visit England, a rather generous allowance from a court employer at the time. As the madrigal faded out of popularity in England, the lute song was imported from Continental Europe to replace it. Whereas a madrigal required multiple voices, the lute song was often for solo voice accompanied by lute. Along with Thomas Campion (1567-1620), Dowland was one of the most influential lute composers. Dowland synthesized the broadside ballad, dance music, the consort song, and the madrigal into a distinct genre, the English lute song.   Sarah Canice Funke Early Morning Mists Yehezkel Braun (1922 - ) From the age of two, Braun, was brought up in Mandate Palestine in close contact with Jewish and East-Mediterranean traditional music. The influence of this background is clearly felt in his compositions. He is a graduate of the Israel Academy of Music and holds a Master's degree in Classical Studies from Tel Aviv University. In 1975, he studied Gregorian chant with Dom Jean Claire at the Benedictine monastery of Solesmes in France. His main academic interests are traditional Jewish melodies and Gregorian chant. He lectured on these and other subjects, at universities and congresses in England, France, the United States and Germany. Yehezkel Braun is Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University. In 2001, Braun was awarded the Israel Prize, for music.   Wikipedia Yehezkel Braun, Early Morning Mists High hills past the hills And beyond all of the hills Early morning mists Spring Nothing yet is seen But you hear in the heavens The bee-eater’s cry The shade of the pines Fragrance of resin exults A chorus in green The kingfisher sits On the branch – down below him Three goldfish in the pool O unhappy cat Rivals bigger than you by far Have pulled out your hair Summer Long summer afternoon On the beach they disappear Our idle footprints Swiftly sliding snakes Their glances burning coldly Remain on boulders The wildflowers like candles Erect on the steep rocky slope The blooms of the soul Brief night of July A streetlight as dawn arrives Continues to burn Autumn Remains of a kite The memories of summer On electric wires A hatchet is heard Within the darkness of the forest It is felling trees A grey-colored cow Its lowing bellowing forth Through curtains of mist A twilight raven Is calling from the treetops Call call for the rain Winter A squadron of cranes Across metallic heavens Distant thunder rolls A rainy sidewalk Halo of lamp in the mist Not day not nighttime A clear frosty night Tinkling of the crystal bells A twinkling of stars Formations of geese Outside my room this morning Fade like humid breath Do You Remember Us? Don Jamison (1956 - ) Poetry by Kathleen Raine In a presentation of Social Band on March 8, 2010 in Burlington,VT., Vermont composer Don Jamison's song "Mother Root" asks "Who would have thought my shrivelled heart could have recovered greennesse?". The women will sing "Veris Ad Imperia," describing how "At Spring’s command, all things are renewed; The first rustlings of love weigh upon wounded hearts,.” while the men of Social Band will regale us with the story of how "John Barleycorn" overcomes all manner of abuse to return in triumph as "home-brewed ale." Don Jamison, Do You Remember Us? The World It burns in the void, Nothing upholds it. Still it travels. Travelling the void Upheld by burning Nothing is still. Burning it travels. The void upholds it. Still it is nothing. Nothing it travels A burning void Upheld by stillness. To the Sun Ancestral sun, do you remember us, Children of light, who behold you with living eyes? Are we as you, are you as we? It seems As if you look down on us with living face: Who am I who see your light but the light I see, Held for a moment in the form I wear your beams. I have stood on shores of many seas, Of lakes and rivers, and always over the waters, Across those drowning gulfs of fear Your golden path has come to me Who am I but one among all who depart and return. Blinding sun, with your corona of flames, Your chasms of fire, Presence, terrible theophany, Am I in you, are you in me, Infinite center of your unbounded realm Whose multitudes sing Holy, Holy, Holy? Do you go into the dark, or I? Kathleen Raine Choral Dances from Gloriana Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) Britten was born in Lowestoft in Suffolk, the son of a dentist and a talented amateur musician. He began composing prolifically as a child, and in 1927 began private lessons with Frank Bridge. He also studied, less happily, at the Royal College of Music under John Ireland and with some input from Ralph Vaughan Williams. Although ultimately held back by his parents (at the suggestion of College staff), Britten had also intended to study with Alban Berg in Vienna. His first compositions to attract wide attention were the Sinfonietta (Op.1) and a set of choral variations A Boy was Born, written in 1934 for the BBC Singers. The following year he met W. H. Auden with whom he collaborated on the song-cycle Our Hunting Fathers, radical both in politics and musical treatment, and other works. Of more lasting importance was his meeting in 1936 with the tenor Peter Pears, who was to become his life-partner and musical collaborator. In early 1939 the two of them followed Auden to America. There Britten composed Paul Bunyan, his first opera (to a libretto by Auden), as well as the first of many song-cycles for Pears; the period was otherwise remarkable for a number of orchestral works, including Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (for string orchestra) and Sinfonia da Requiem (for full orchestra). Britten and Pears returned to England in 1942, Britten completing the choral works Hymn to Saint Cecilia (his last collaboration with Auden) and A Ceremony of Carols during the long sea voyage. He had already begun work on his opera Peter Grimes, and its premiere at Sadler's Wells in 1945 was his greatest success so far. Britten was however encountering opposition from sectors of the English musical establishment and gradually withdrew from the London scene, founding the English Opera Group in 1947 and the Aldeburgh Festival the following year, partly (though not solely) to showcase his own works. At the opening of Act 2 of Gloriana, Queen Elizabeth 1 is on a state visit to Norwich. After a formal address of welcome she is entertained by a Masque. To these unaccompanied Choral Dances, dancers representing Time and Concord, country girls and young rustics and fishermen all pay homage and tribute to the Queen. Benjamin Britten, Choral Dances from Gloriana Time Yes he is time, lusty and blithe. Time is at his apogee! Although you thought to see A bearded ancient with a scythe. No reaper he that cries “Take heed!” Young and strong and in his prime! Behold the sower of the seed! Concord Concord is here, our days to bless And this our land to endue With plenty, peace and happiness. Concord and Time, each needeth each: The ripest fruit hangs where not one, But only two can reach. Time and Concord From springs of bounty, through this county, Streams abundant of thanks shall flow. Where life was scanty, fruits of plenty Swell resplendent from earth below! No Greek nor Roman queenly woman Knew such favour from Heaven above, As she whose presence is our pleasance, Gloriana hath all our love! Country Girls Sweet flag and cuckoo-flower, Cowslip and columbine, King-cups and sops-in-wine, Flower-deluce and calaminth, Harebell and hyacinth, Myrtle and bay, With rosemary between, Norfolk’s own garlands for her Queen. Rustics and Fishermen From fen and meadow in rushy baskets They bring ensamples of all they grow. In earthen dishes their deep-sea fishes, Yearly fleeces, woven blankets, New cream and junkets, and rustic trinkets On wicker flaskets, their country largess, The best they know. Final Dance of Homage These tokens of our love receiving, O take them, Princess great and dear, From Norwich city you are leaving, That you afar may feel us near. William Plomer It was a Lover and his Lass John Rutter (1945 - ) John Rutter is one of England's best-known composers of the late twentieth century, as well as a widely respected choral conductor and music scholar and editor. While his choral works (including the Te Deum, Magnificat, and Requiem) are the most familiar, he has also written instrumental works, including a piano concerto, the Suite Antique for flute, harpsichord, and strings, and two children's operas. Musically he could be characterized as a reactionary, as his works show very distinct influences from the past and show almost no signs of progressivism or even contemporary influences. He has a strong sense of the English musical traditions, and some of the more significant English musical influences on his work include Ralph Vaughn Williams, William Walton, and Benjamin Britten. Non-English influences include Fauré, Gregorian chant, and Bach, and his Suite Antique is a direct tribute to the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, written for the same instruments and in the same style. However, his music's immediate accessibility, being both tuneful and expressive, and its wide general appeal have still earned him a place in the English musical tradition, though not the place of an innovator, and while he is most popular in England and the United States, his music is performed worldwide.    © Ann Feeney, All Music Guide It was a Lover and his Lass Songs from Shakespeare Harry Freedman (1922 - 2005) Raised from the age of three in Medicine Hat, Alta, where his father was engaged in the fur trade, Freedman moved with his parents to Winnipeg in 1931. He enrolled at the Winnipeg School of Art at 13 to train as a painter. Attracted also to big band jazz, he began clarinet lessons at 18. His teacher - Arthur Hart, the leading local orchestral clarinetist, later principal of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra - introduced him to symphonic music. Painting and jazz remained influences in Freedman's composition. After serving in the RCAF in World War II Freedman settled in Toronto, where he studied composition 1945-51 with John Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory of Music and oboe with Perry Bauman. He also took summer classes with Messiaen and Copland at Tanglewood. He joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1946 as english horn and remained with the orchestra for 25 years, serving during his last year as the orchestra's first composer-in-residence.   The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2010 Historica-Dominion Harry Freedman’s contribution to choral repertoire was as substantial as it was extraordinary. His choral compositions exhibit a remarkable diversity of stylistic influences that range from rock, jazz and scat singing, to serial techniques, yet he spoke always with his own voice. It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, That o’er the green corn-field did pass In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. Sweet lovers love the spring. Between the acres of the rye, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, These pretty country folks would lie, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. Sweet lovers love the spring. This carol they began that hour, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, How that a life was but a flower, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. Sweet lovers love the spring. And therefore take the present time, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, For love is crowned with the prime, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding. Sweet lovers love the spring. William Shakespeare (As You Like It) Harry Freedman, Songs from Shakespeare Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! Unto the green holly. Most friendship is feigning, Most loving mere folly. Then, heigh-ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, That dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot; Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend rememb’red not. Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! Unto the green holly. Most friendship is feigning, Most loving mere folly. Then, heigh-ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. As You Like It O mistress mine, where are you roaming? O, stay and hear; your true love’s coming, That can sing both high and low: Trip no further, pretty sweeting; Journeys end in lovers meeting, Every wise man’s son doth know. What is love? ’tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What’s to come is still unsure: In delay there lies no plenty; Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty, Youth’s a stuff will not endure. Twelfth Night When that I was and a little tiny boy, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came to man’s estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, ’Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came, alas! to wive, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came unto my beds, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, With toss-pots still had drunken heads, For the rain it raineth every day. A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But that’s all one, our play is done, And we’ll strive to please you every day. Twelfth Night Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) The Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orléans (Three Songs of Charles d'Orléans}) falls into a sparsely populated category of Debussy's output—that of unaccompanied choral music. In fact, discounting unpublished and unfinished works, it is the only such piece he composed. For that reason alone, these songs are valuable in the study and understanding of the composer's works; apart from such academic and personal considerations, this music has broad appeal as well. The three songs are settings of poems by Charles Duc d'Orléans (1394-1465). The first is entitled "Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder!" (God! but she is fair!). The music is ethereal and subdued, and features at times a religiosity of mood, the whole offering a mixture of Renaissance and modern sounds and putting an interesting and rare retrospective spin on the composer's harmonic thinking. The next song, "Quand j'ai ouy le tambourin" (When I heard the tambourine), is also somewhat ethereal, but the music is livelier and a bit more colorful, too. The contrapuntal writing here—and in fact throughout the set—is quite effective. The last song, "Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain" (Winter, You're Naught but a Rogue), is also colorful and quite spirited. In the end, the three pieces in this collection are all worthwhile and must be ranked as important efforts in Debussy's output. The first and last songs date from 1898, and the middlenfrom 1908, the year the collection was published.   © All Music Guide Three Shakespeare Songs Ralph Vaughn Williams (1874 - 1958) Ralph Vaughan Williams was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song which influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, containing many folk song arrangements set as hymn tunes, in addition to several original compositions. Three Shakespeare Songs is a piece of classical choral music written for an a cappella SATB choir. It was written in 1951 by the British classical composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The work comprises three short pieces which are settings of text from two plays by the English playwright William Shakespeare. ... In 1951 the British Federation of Music Festivals (of which Vaughan Williams was president) held its annual National Competitive Festival during the Festival of Britain. The festival included a choral competition in which choirs from around the United Kingdom would demonstrate their technical abilities by performing test pieces. Vaughan Williams's associate composer, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, tried to persuade him to compose a new test piece. Vaughan Williams was reluctant at first, and was of the opinion that the choirs should perform established test pieces rather than introducing a new composition.[1] Disappointed that Vaughan Williams had apparently failed to answer his letter, Armstrong Gibbs appeared to have given up on the idea: Soon afterwards I was stricken down with some illness and was in bed when a fat envelope, registered and bearing the Dorking postmark, was brought up. Inside was the MS. (manuscript) of the Three Shakespeare Songs dedicated to me and the briefest of notes which ran: "Dear Armstrong. Here are three Shakespeare settings. Do what you like with them... Yours ever R.V.W." —Cecil Armtrong Gibbs The songs were premiered in the Royal Festival Hall on 23 June 1951, conducted by Armstrong Gibbs. Full Fathom Five - The Tempest, Act 1 scene 2: Full fathom five thy father lies, Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Ding-dong. Hark! now I hear them, - ding-dong bell. The Cloud-Capp'd Towers - The Tempest, Act IV scene 1 The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind: We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. Over Hill, Over Dale, Over hill, over dale A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II scene 1 Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough briar, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire I do wander everywhere. Swifter than the moonè's sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be; In their gold coats spots you see; Those be rubies, fairy favours, In those freckles live their savours: I must go seek some dew-drops here, And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.    Wikipedia It was a Lover and his Lass Ward Swingle (1927 - ) Ward Swingle was the product of an unusually liberal musical education. In his hometown, Mobile, Alabama, he grew up with the sound of jazz and played in one of the great big Bands before finishing high school. He graduated from Cincinnati Conservatory and studied piano with Walter Gieseking in postwar France. In Paris in the sixties he was a founding member of the fabled Double Six of Paris, then took the scat singing idea and applied it to the works of Bach, hence the Swingle Singers, whose early recordings won five Grammies. When the Paris group disbanded in 1973, Swingle moved to London and formed an English group--still touring with classical and avant-garde works as well as vocal jazz arrangements. It Was a Lover and His Lass is an original work which captures the laid-back feel of a spring roll in the hay...   Harmonium, A Classical Choral Society