Time capsule for this episode: 1719
Mother's Day is a special day set aside to honor our mothers. In the United States, the second Sunday of May is traditionally when it's celebrated. Around the world it can be observed at varying times of the year.
On such an occasion, one popular way to show mom how much we appreciate her is with a gift of flowers. So, in honor of Mother's Day we're exploring flowers in music, starting with songs about flowers and Flora, goddess of flowers, and the season of spring.
I am the rose of the field
If there is one kind of flower found in early music more than any other, it's the rose-an ancient symbol of love and beauty. The rose is also a flower used as a representation of the feminine in the Song of Songs.
In one famous setting, composer Jacobus Clemens non Papa took four lines and wrote a lavish seven-part Latin motet, Ego flos campi. It translates,
I am the rose of the field and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
The fountain of gardens: a well of living waters,
Which run with a strong stream from Lebanon.
Love, fidelity, and beauty
Earlier, we began to look at roses and their symbolism. Let's continue with three perspectives, one Italian and two Spanish. They all use the rose as a symbol of love, fidelity, and feminine beauty.
Featured release: Christopher Simpson
There are three months out of the year in which Mother's Day is most commonly celebrated around the world. They are March, April, and May.
With that in mind, let's turn to the music of 17th-century English composer Christopher Simpson who wrote a collection of twelve fantasias entitled "The Monthes." He scored it for treble instrument (often played by a violin), two bass violas da gamba, and basso continuo. The viols were a prominent feature of the collection since he, himself, was a promient player of the instrument and one the most important writers on music of the time.
Simpson's friend John Jenkins even wrote brief verses in reaction to "The Monthes."
"And those thy well composed Months o' th' Yeere;
Which Months thy pregnant Muse hath richly drest,
And to each Month hath made a Musick-Feast…"
Christopher Simpson's months of March, April, and May are performed by Sophie Watillon, Friederike Heumann, Brian Franklin, Matthias Spaeter, and Luca Guglielmi.
