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Reading Abbey (Sumer Is Icumen In); Fantastic Reading old history!
Topic Started: 13 Mar 2012, 07:46 PM (5,101 Views)
daib0
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I’ve re-edited this article from Wiki and other links, because many of you don’t probably realize it but this is surely the OLDEST piece of ‘sheet music’ that exists in the British Isles – and it comes from Reading Abbey! You guys know that although music is my profession it can't be said I ram it down your throats!

I’d like to dedicate the whole thread to OWLISH52 as a sign of appreciation for his contribution, and hoping it will spur him on to a visit to the town (maybe soon city?!) …


"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. 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.

The original manuscript, written in 1225 AD, is written in mensural notation, a precursor to modern musical notation: To sing as a round, one singer would begin at the beginning, and a second would start at the beginning as the first got to the point marked with the red cross. The length between the start and the cross corresponds to the modern notion of a bar, and the main verse comprises six phrases spread over twelve such bars. In addition, there are two lines marked "Pes", two bars each, that are meant to be sung together repeatedly underneath the main verse. These instructions are included (in Latin) in the manuscript itself.

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The same music in a somewhat more readable in modern notation:

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Words in modern English

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!


Before you get a moderator onto me:
"the stag farts", a gesture of virility indicating the stag's potential for creating new life, echoing the rebirth of Nature from the barren period of winter …



Present Day fame

The song was used to great and memorable effect at the climax of the 1973 film The Wicker Man.

It was sung in the 1982 animated film The Flight of Dragons by the knight Sir Orin Neville-Smythe to drown out the sound of the sand merks.

It was also recited in Woody Allen's 1982 film A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy by the character Leopold.

The song was used in the 1993 film Shadowlands, the story of the romance between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. In that film, a choir of men and boys greets the sun at dawn on May Day with the song. In the soundtrack recording released on Angel, the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, was featured.

The song was also used in the 1991 television movie Sarah, Plain and Tall, based on the children's book of the same name by Patricia MacLachlan. Sarah, played by Glenn Close, sings the song.

The round sung by the mice in the 1974 British Children's TV Show Bagpuss, starting with the words "We will fix it...", is to the tune of "Sumer is icumin in".

The song also featured in several episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood, the 1950s television series starring Richard Greene.
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daib0
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And for our friends from far away, here is information on Reading Abbey itself:


Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother, and Queen Maud, my wife, and all my ancestors and successors". The abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121. As part of his endowments, he gave the abbey his lands within Reading, along with land at Cholsey.

Following its royal foundation, the abbey was established by a party of monks from the French abbey of Cluny, together with monks from the Cluniac priory of St Pancras at Lewes in Sussex. The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist. The first abbot, in 1123, was Hugh of Amiens who became archbishop of Rouen and was buried in Rouen Cathedral.

According to the twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury, the abbey was built on a gravel spur "between the rivers Kennet and Thames, on a spot calculated for the reception of almost all who might have occasion to travel to the more populous cities of England". The adjacent rivers provided convenient transport, and the abbey established wharves on the River Kennet. The Kennet also provided power for the abbey water mills, most of which were established on the Holy Brook, a channel of the Kennet of uncertain origin.


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Reading Abbey was frequently visited by kings and others, most especially by Henry III who often visited three or four times a year staying several weeks on each visit. It also hosted important state events, including the meeting between Henry II and the Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1185, the weddings of John of Gaunt in 1359 and Edward IV in 1464, and a meeting of Parliament in 1453.

The abbey was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last abbot, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was subsequently tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey Church. After this, the buildings of the abbey were extensively robbed, with lead, glass and facing stones removed for reuse elsewhere.


This was how it was in 1721, much more intact than today …


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And today …

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Some twenty years after the dissolution, Reading town council created a new town hall by inserting an upper floor into the former refectory of the hospitium of the abbey. The lower floor of this building continued to be used by Reading School, as it had been since 1486. For the next 200 years, the old monastic building continued to serve as Reading's town hall, but by the 18th century it was suffering from structural weakness. Between 1785 and 1786, the old hall was dismantled and replaced on the same site by the first of several phases of building that were to make up today's Reading Town Hall.

St James's Church and School was built on a portion of the site of the abbey between 1837 and 1840. Its founder was James Wheble, who owned land in the area at that time. Reading Gaol was built in 1844 on the eastern portion of the abbey site, replacing a small county Gaol on the same site. James Wheble sold the rest of his portion of the abbey site to Reading Corporation to create the Forbury Gardens, which were opened in 1861.

The Abbey's Inner Gateway also known as the Abbey Gateway adjoins Reading's crown court and Forbury Gardens. The Inner Gateway is one of only two buildings that survived the dissolution, the other being the Hospitium. Hugh Cook Faringdon, the last abbot of Reading was hanged outside the Abbey Gateway in 1539, this brought the site's monastic connection to an end. In the late 18th century, it housed the Abbey School now The Abbey School which was attended by novelist Jane Austen.


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Walking amongst the ruins today –


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Hope you’re enjoying this – now to bring it up-to-date!!


Present Day Ruins and Restoration Work

The inner rubble cores of the walls of the many of the major buildings of the abbey still stand. The only parts of the Abbey Church that still exist are fragments of the piers of the central tower, together with parts of transepts, especially the south transept. The ruins have been repaired and maintained in a piecemeal fashion leading to their deterioration.

In April 2008, the cloister arch, chapter house and treasury were closed to the public. Repair work began in March 2009 and was expected to take only a few weeks but the entire site was instead closed in May 2009 due to the risk of falling masonry.

In late 2010, Reading Borough Council were reported as estimating that the ruins could cost £3m to repair, but it was also stated that the extent of the damage is yet to be determined. A survey was carried out in October 2010, using three dimensional scans to build up a detailed view of each elevation, thus helping to identify the extent of the conservation required.

In April 2011 plans for an £8m revamp were unveiled, with the aim to create an Abbey Quarter cultural area in Reading. Reading Borough Council will spend £850,000 and will make a lottery funding bid for the rest. Work on site could start in mid 2013


Usage today

The ruins of Reading Abbey have a history of live performance. From early impromptu artist-led events, the site has established a history of open air theatre.

In the late 1980s, the food art and performance collective 'La Grande Bouche' organised a cabaret under marquee in the ruins.

In 1994, a large scale performance event 'From the Ruins' was held in the abbey ruins, the finale event for the 'Art in Reading' (AIR) festival, funded in part by Reading Borough Council. This was organised by and featured a large number of artists and performers living or working in Reading.

In 1995, the ruined South Transept was used as the setting for the first Abbey Ruins Open Air Shakespeare production by MDM Productions and Progress Theatre in partnership with Reading Borough Council.

In 1996, the outdoor production moved to the ruined chapter house and since 1999 has been staged by Progress Theatre in partnership with Reading Borough Council. This annual event expanded to the Reading Abbey Ruins Open Air Festival in 2007.

Because of the current access limitations, the 2009 and 2010 Open Air Festivals could not be held.



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Owlish52
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RR Foreign Legion - Across the Pond - View from Texas
Aww, shucks... :$ :$ ;) :)

This is awesome - keep in mind an 'old building' here in West Texas dates from, oh, the 1880s or so...
"It could have been worse with Hillary..." - Owlish52
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daib0
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New info just out:


Medieval Reading Abbey manuscript goes on public display

An ancient manuscript documenting part of Reading Abbey's history dating back to the 14th Century is being displayed publicly for the first time. Assaults on two priests and the abduction of a woman before her wedding day are just two of the tales contained in the medieval parchment folios. The manuscript was bought for £36,000 from a private collection from funds raised through donations and grants. It will now be displayed publicly at Berkshire Records Office in Reading.

Peter Durrant, county archivist, said:
"There was a case towards the end of the book where two priests at the abbey alleged they were beaten up in Reading and a document relating to the punishment should they be found.There is a document related to an abduction before marriage. William de Bourton and Matilda, the daughter of William Tylli, were all set to get married and had a verbal agreement. Then Ralph Byvulac of Reading apparently abducted the woman and prevented the marriage from taking place."

The records office bought the manuscript with help from the Friends of the National Libraries, the Victoria and Albert Museum and a donation from the Friends of Reading Abbey. Mr Durrant added:
"The document was created in Reading Abbey, probably in the 1340s. It's in parchment folios bound into a book. What this does is indicate new evidence for the history of the abbey. This is really the first time that this has ever been seen publicly. It's been in private hands since the 1530s. One or two people may have looked at it but in terms of public access scholars and the general public have never seen it before. Discovering it and being able to acquire it is very exciting."

Reading Abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121 and the king was buried there. The abbey was mostly destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries and is now a ruin.


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BBC News - Berkshire



Reading Abbey revamp misses out on lottery funding again

Plans to transform Reading's historic Abbey Quarter have been turned down for lottery funding for a second time. The borough council submitted scaled-back plans after a previous £6.7m application from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was refused.

New plans prioritised work to conserve the 12th Century Reading Abbey ruins, but the council was unsuccessful again. A council spokesman said it was "disappointed" and called Abbey Quarter a "nationally important heritage site". The area also includes the site of Jane Austen's school and Reading Gaol.

The abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121, and the king was buried there. Reading East MP Rob Wilson said last year an attempt should be made to find and unearth the king's remains after Richard III's skeleton was discovered in Leicester.
"It's very disappointing as the Abbey quarter should be a jewel in Reading's crown," he said of the funding refusal. "I think we would have had more chance if we'd taken a leaf from Leicester's book and searched for Henry I as I suggested back in September."

A council spokesman said it would "be asking for feedback on the HLF decision and continuing discussions on a way forward to realise the project". Stuart McLeod, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said:
"We recognise the significant historic role Reading Abbey has played from medieval times onwards as well as the need for it to be conserved. We know this must be very disappointing news but our recent board meeting was over-subscribed and highly competitive meaning we sadly did not have enough money to support all the applications we looked at on the day."
He said there would be further meetings with the council to find the best way forward.
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SuffolkRoyal
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Reading prison underwent massive renovation in the 1970's. When the old gate lodge was knocked down they found about twelve skeletons laying side by side. Apparently the area on which the prison was built was part of the abbey and used as a leper colony. As the work progressed, many more skeletons were uncovered.
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Hayes
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SuffolkRoyal
28 Feb 2013, 03:04 PM
Reading prison underwent massive renovation in the 1970's. When the old gate lodge was knocked down they found about twelve skeletons laying side by side. Apparently the area on which the prison was built was part of the abbey and used as a leper colony. As the work progressed, many more skeletons were uncovered.
Have they looked in your cupboard :D :D :D

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daib0
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What did they actually do with the skeletons then, Suffolk?
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SuffolkRoyal
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daib0
28 Feb 2013, 08:21 PM
What did they actually do with the skeletons then, Suffolk?
Don't know what they did with them. The local historians and archaeologists got involved so I suppose they took them away for research or burial.
Edited by SuffolkRoyal, 28 Feb 2013, 08:39 PM.
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