All-year seasonal readings, please

Subject: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: Stower
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 06:28 AM

Early music duo The Night Watch are soon to play a programme called Singing the Seasons – a year in early music. We'd like to start each of the 5 sections - spring, summer, autumn (fall), winter and Christmas / new year - with a short reading. Since the music will all be from the 13th to early 18th centuries, we'd like the readings to be, too.

Of course, the prologue from Canterbury Tales is a strong contender for spring, but there may be others, and we don't yet have firm favourtites for any of the other sections, so I'd value any ideas you may have for any readings.

Thanks.

Stower.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: Jack Campin
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 06:43 AM

Robert Chambers's Book of Days was designed to answer requests like that.

There are quite a few old songs and poems about anomalous weather - soggy springs, icy summers, autumn floods and warm wet winters - some of which would be appropriate for an age of climate change. I can see what I can dig out.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 09:06 AM

Here are a few of my favourites; "Weathers" by Thomas Hardy. "The Garden" By Andrew Marvel." To Autumn" by Keats. All three are just sublime. Hope this helps.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,#
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 09:13 AM

'Somer is y-comen in'

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: Stower
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 09:51 AM

Thanks all so far.

GUEST,HiLo, Hardy and Keats are rather late for our time period. "The Garden" by Andrew Marvel is lovely - for summer?

GUEST,#, we'll be singing 'Sumer is icumen in' and we have a full programme of songs, so it's short readings we're looking for.

Jack, thank you, I look forward to seeing what you can find.

Stower.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 10:04 AM

How neat to use Mudcat for planning together like this!!!

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 10:28 AM

Yes, I always think of the Marvel as summer.".anilhating all that's made into a green thought in a green shade"...lovely.
Sorry about the other two.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,#
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 11:37 AM

Gotcha. Sorry 'bout that. I expect you're familiar with the following but in the event . . . .

http://www.luminarium.org/lumina.htm

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: Stower
Date: 28 Sep 15 - 06:15 PM

GUEST,HiLo and GUEST,# - absolutely no need for apologies! You were making a contribution and I appreciate that.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Sep 15 - 12:32 PM

How about Shakespeare's 'When icicles hang by the wall' for winter?

Also, there's a poem that includes

...and what will poor robin do then?
He'll sit in the barn to keep himself warm
and tuck his head under his wing, poor thing,
and tuck his head under his wing.

But it may be Victorian...

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,#
Date: 29 Sep 15 - 12:54 PM

Link to poem leeneia notes.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 30 Sep 15 - 11:57 AM

William Langland (Late 14th Cent.) Piers Plowman

INCIPIT LIBER - DE PETRO PLOWMAN - PROLOGUS

In a summer season · when soft was the sun,
I clothed myself in a cloak as I shepherd were,
Habit like a hermit's · unholy in works,
And went wide in the world · wonders to hear.
But on a May morning · on Malvern hills,
A marvel befell me · of fairy, methought.
I was weary with wandering · and went me to rest
Under a broad bank · by a brook's side,
And as I lay and leaned over · and looked into the waters
I fell into a sleep · for it sounded so merry.

Subject: RE: All-year seasonal readings, please
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Sep 15 - 10:25 PM

Interesting, henry. I'll have to reread that work.