Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Rawlinson Collection, MS. Rawl. G 22 via earlymusicmuse.com.
A manuscript of what is now considered the earliest English secular song was found some time ago in an unexpected place. The name of this song is Mirie It Is While Sumer Ilast. Here’s the story. Someone wrote out this English song and two other French songs and stuck the sheets of paper in the front of a book of psalms. The paper dates from the first half of the 13th century.
Whoa. That’s over 760 years ago!
The other contender for earliest English secular song had been Sumer is Icumen In. This manuscript predates it.
Ian Pittaway has written a fantastic blog post on Mirie It Is While Sumer Ilast. He provides great detail on the song’s significance and structure.
Here is Pittaway’s performance from the original manuscript.
Here is a multi-instrument performance of Mirie It is While Sumer Ilast.
References
http://earlymusicmuse.com/mirie-it-is-while-sumer-ilast/
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Image attribution: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Rawlinson Collection, MS. Rawl. G. 22 via earlymusicmuse.com.
Catapulting into Classical 
February 22, 2016 at 11:07 am
Really enjoying your blog, which I discovered recently. And this piece about the earliest English song. A lovely kind of time travel. Thanks too for the link to Ian’s site. Also loved listening to the Mozart/Salieri piece too. This is a perfect site for me as someone who is slowly learning more about classical music. Thank you!
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February 22, 2016 at 11:45 am
Welcome! I’m so happy you have enjoyed the posts. Your comment has certainly brightened my day, thanks!
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February 22, 2016 at 11:56 am
I’ll be back 🙂
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February 22, 2016 at 7:51 pm
Hello, Chris, and thank you for linking to my blog. It’s not a newly found manuscript, though: my article was taking a fresh look at the original ms., which has been known for some years, to show how the ‘standardised’ version of the song sung by today’s early music groups is, as my article argues, not a true representation of the song as written. I’m glad you enjoyed. An article giving the same atgument for ‘Sumer is icumen in’ has just gone online at http://www.earlymusicmuse.com
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February 23, 2016 at 11:51 am
Thank you for keeping me honest! I have edited the post to indicate it is not a new finding, which I had missed. Fascinating research–thanks!
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February 27, 2016 at 10:23 am
How neat- thanks! I had not been aware of it. The harp music, while not totally off-base, is a bit fanciful and stylistically advanced for the time- very pretty but probably not relevant (especially that added third in the cadences). The dating of the Summer Canon was for years in dispute- some put it as early as the 13th century, but that’s not at all likely- much too advanced in harmony for that early. Manfred Bukofzer, in a famous paper and on the basis of musical and forensic evidence, put it in the 15th century, as I recall.
Tom
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