Canterbury Prologue (Jeremy Rawson)

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• (Posted 2017-05-23)  CPDL #44667: 

Editor: Jeremy Rawson (submitted 2017-05-23).   Score information: A4, 6 pages, 105 kB   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes:

General Information

Title: Canterbury Prologue
Composer: Jeremy Rawson
Lyricist: Geoffrey Chaucer

Number of voices: 4vv   Voicing: SATB
Genre: Secular, Unknown

Language: English
Instruments: A cappella

First published: 2017
Description: A setting of the start of Geoffrey Chaucer's prologue to the Canterbury Tales, in Middle English. The text is printed phonetically for performance purposes, but the original and modern translations are also provided.

Original text and translations

Middle English text

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.

Modern English text

When April with its showers sweet
The drought of March has pierced to the root
And bathed every vein in such liquor,
Of whose virtue engendered is the flower;
When Zephyrus too with his sweet breath
Has inspired in every grove and heath,
The tender crops; and the young sun
Has in the Ram his half-course run,
And small fowls make melody,
That sleep all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them in their hearts);
Then folks long to go on pilgrimages