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.

SONG, DANCE AND CHIMES.

Healthy numbers this morning as well as confidence in our parts, meant that our ALLELUYA was one of the best I've heard from the group. The glad sound was a good and fond welcome back for a member who's recovering from illness.

JULIAN OF NORWICH literally moved forward today when our circle dancing member led us in a delightful dance while we sang.
Later, raising the pitch a minor third, we practised a chiming ostinato on glockenspiels and xylophones which accompanied the tune on the flute and next week the aim is to put the song, dance and instrumental together in a single piece.
Now that's something to look forward to!

A SONG FOR THE DAFFODILS

Loud are the bells of Norwich
And the people come and go
Here by the tower of Julian
I tell them what I know.


Ring out bells of Norwich and let the winter come and go.
All shall be well again, I know.


Love like a yellow daffodil
Is coming through the snow,
Love like a yellow daffodil
Is Lord of all I know.

On this beautiful sunny morning we revived Sydney Carter's song from 1981, JULIAN OF NORWICH, learning the alto and bass parts.
It's remarkable how that phrase, All shall be well again, I know, the words of the medieval mystic, a woman, though called Julian of Norwich after the cathedral beneath which she lived in a cell, has kept resonating through the ages, in good times and bad and it is a wonderful, feel good sing as we look towards the spring after a gloomy winter.
Coming back from the coffee, and in response to our Welsh member who had bemoaned our failure to mark Saint David's day last week, we relaxed for a few minutes to listen to the beautiful lullaby Suo Gan played by harpist Catrin Finch and sung by soprano Caryl Ebenezer.