Sumer Is Icumen In

The movie I sent for a while ago finally came ... The Wicker Man, starring Nick Cage. I'm sad to say it was disappointing as a movie (a matiarchal society gone bad, and the main character meeting a grisly death), though kind of interesting, given my recent posts on sacrifice, scapegoating, and atonement. And while reading up on it, I found ...

The movie was a remake of a 1973 British film of the same name, starring Edward Woodward, of the great Australian movie Breaker Morant, and Christopher Lee (the wizard Saruman in LOTR).

This version, which won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, had a somewhat different plot, though once again the main character ends up extra crispy. Here's what Wikipedia says ...

Sergeant Neil Howie (Woodward), of the fictitious West Highlands Constabulary, is sent an anonymous letter recommending that he investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, on the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle. He flies out to the island and during his investigations discovers that the entire population follows a neo-pagan cult under the island's owner Lord Summerisle (Lee), believing in re-incarnation, worshipping the sun and engaging in fertility rituals and sexual magic in order to appease immanent natural forces.

Howie, an extremely devout and conservative Christian, is increasingly shocked by the islanders' behaviour; yet, he is attracted and repelled by the alluring and sexual Willow (Britt Ekland), the landlord's daughter. He receives no assistance in his search from the islanders, who initially deny Morrison exists and then say that she recently died. Howie persists and uncovers evidence suggesting the girl was a victim, or perhaps is soon to be a victim, of human sacrifice. Delving deeper into the island's culture, he disguises himself as Punch, a principal character of the May Day festival, to uncover the details of the ceremony. The islanders are not fooled and at the end of the festival it is revealed that the girl is alive and unhurt; the letter was part of a ploy to bring Howie to the island for him to be the sacrifice, which they believe will restore the fertility of their orchards ...

But more interesting than the storyline, is the inclusion in the movie of a song at the end ... Sumer Is Icumen In. Here's more from Wikipedia on it ...



Sumer Is Icumen In is a traditional English round, and possibly the oldest such example of counterpoint in existence. The title might be translated as "Spring Has Come In", "Summer has arrived", or even "Warm weather has arrived", since the word in Middle English extends over a longer period than the modern one. It 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. ...

Here below are the lyrics, the secualr Middle English version, and the sacred Latin version, with translations (Wikipedia) ...

English lyrics (secular)

The better-known lyrics for this piece are in Middle English, and comprise a song of spring (reverdie):

Svmer 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 translation

Spring has come in (or Summer has arrived),
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
Seeds grow and meadows bloom
And the forest springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!

The ewe bleats after the lamb,
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock jumps, the billy-goat farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!

Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Nor cease you ever now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!

Latin lyrics (sacred)

This work is also one of the earliest examples of music with both religious and secular lyrics, though the secular ones are perhaps better known. It is not clear which came first, but the religious lyrics, in Latin, are a reflection on the sacrifice of the Crucifixion.

Perspice Christicola†
que dignacio
Celicus agricola
pro uitis vicio
Filio
non parcens exposuit mortis exicio
Qui captiuos semiuiuos a supplicio
Vite donat et secum coronat
in celi solio

†written "χρ̅icola" in the manuscript

English translation

Observe, Christian, such honour!
The heavenly farmer,
due to a defect in the vine,
not sparing the Son,
exposed him to the destruction of death.
To the captives half-dead from torment,
He gives them life and crowns them with himself
on the throne of heaven.

***

Next week I must rent something less heavy ... maybe Galaxy Quest :-)