Sumer Is Icumin In, Sing Cu-Cu!
Yes, "Sumer Is Icumin In," means exactly what it sounds like; "summer is coming in." So whence came this seasonal tiding? This popular Medieval tune is actually the earliest known piece of 6-part polyphony and a fabulous example of the Wessex dialect of Medieval England.
The British Library is home to some of the world's most fascinating collections of illuminated manuscripts and early musical works. This piece is part of the Harley Collection, currated by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), the 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and his son Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and avid patron of the arts.
Who Wrote This Famous Piece and Why?
The parchment codex which contains Sumer Is Icumin In was possibly commissioned from Oxford booksellers by the author of the note on page 160v: "Ord.li. W. de. Wint," who is often identified as William of Wycombe (c.1275), a music copyist and Benedictine monk, or potentially by William of Winchester, a monk of Reading Abbey, England.
Musicologists and historians argue whether the piece was written closer to 1250 due to its rhythmic simplicity or as late as 1325 since it was written for so many voices.
Aside from the music itself, one of the more interesting details of this manuscript is the uniquely well-cataloged history of ownership. As of it's last purchase date, 1753, the British Museum purchased the volume from Countess Henrietta Cavendish and her daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, duchess of Portland, for a sum of £10,000.
Luckily for us today, the British Library has uploaded images of various folios such as this one to their website as part of their Digitized Library.
Singing Medieval Music
The music of Sumer Is Icumin In is a Rota which is often mistaken today for "singing in the round." Truly, a rota is a canon in unison, whereas the popular Medieval Rondellus is actually what we know today as singing in the round, a la "Row row row your boat." The Rondellus is the older of the two forms. A canon, such as "Sumer," is a contrapuntal song in which the main melody is sung and then slightly varied by other voices in succession. Thus, Sumer Is Icumin In is often referred to simply as the Summer Canon.
The music and poetry for this piece are more complex than what first meets the eye, or ear, in this case. Music for seasonal celebrations was important in Medieval Europe and England, and it often corresponded with both feast days and older pagan days of celebration such as Midsummer's Day.
- "Sumer is Icumen in,
- Loudly sing, cuckoo!
- Grows the seed and blows the mead,
- And springs the wood anew;
- Sing, cuckoo!
- Ewe bleats harshly after lamb,
- Cows after calves make moo;
- Bullock stamps and deer champs,
- Now shrilly sing, cuckoo!
- Cuckoo, cuckoo
- Wild bird are you;
- Be never still, cuckoo!"
The imagery of spring and summer was a well-known allegorical symbology of the processes of birth and regeneration which resonated with earlier pagan rights of spring for Medieval Christians and converts. In fact, the first notes of the two lower voices are actually the same notes as the beginning of the early Medieval chant, Regina caeli, which would have been sung from Easter to Pentecost.
Medieval songs of Summer
1.) "Sumer Is Icumin In" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVdA9t-AOfU
2.) "Miri It Is While Summer Ilast" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UvesKl8_W8
3.) "Cantaben els osells" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKJlLbGMJNE