Tuesday 5 March 2013

WE WELCOME SPRING IN ICELANDIC.

On this stunning spring morning, clear sky and bright sunshine, we opened our session listening and moving to Canadian Brass playing Mozart's aria, ALLELUIA

Since the brass arrangement is in a key suitable for all our voices, after mentally warming up while listening, we were able to  join in singing the closing downward scales and triumphant ALLELUIAS. This got us off to a good start.

Next we learned the Icelandic Spring canon -- SÁ EG SPÓ

Sá ég spóa -----------     I saw a Curlew  
Suður í flóa      ------------   To the south, on the wetland
Syngur lóa út um móa --------- The golden plover is singing out on the moor
“Bí, bí, bí, bí,”  ---------------        “Bí, bí, bí, bí,”
Vorið er komið víst á ný. --------- Spring has come again, for sure.


The bird calls, bi, bi, bi, bi, are very effective in the canon and after mastering the Icelandic text, (nae bother of course, in this group)
We were soon giving it full voice in four parts.


Curlew
We do have one member, a very keen bird watcher who told us about the plovers she'd seen on the Solway coast and another who remarked on the wonderful feeling on seeing and hearing the first curlew in spring at his home north of the Campsies.




We ended the morning with our favourite spring song from last year, JULIAN OF NORWICH.