Songs of Nature - Summer Concert 2025

For our summer concert on Saturday 12 July 2025 the theme is Songs of Nature.

We will be joined by The Semiquavers (Seaford Primary School) and are proud that donations from the concert will go to East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS).
6pm on Saturday 12 July 2025 at Seaford Baptist Church.

Opening

The Heavens are Telling - From The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

We open and close with some magnificent pieces from The Creation - the Genesis story telling of how God created the world. Regrettably, evolution has not inspired quite the same creativity.

Circle of Life - Elton John - sung by The Semiquavers

“Circle of Life” was composed and performed by Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song features in the iconic opening sequence of Walt Disney's The Lion King. It was nominated for Best Song at the 1994 Academy Awards.

Songs of Fauna (animals)

Fair Phyllis - John Farmer (1570 - 1605)

Farmer was well known for writing madrigals during the Renaissance period. This one is a bit of silly fun - reflected by the music - a technique known as “word painting”.

All creatures now are merry minded - John Bennet (1578)

Another renaissance madrigal, written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was part of The Triumphs of Oriana, a collection of 25 madrigals written by 23 different composers in honour of the queen. Every one of them ends with “Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana: long live fair Oriana”.

Le Baylère - Canteloube - Traditional, Arr. Geoff Richards

A traditional song from the Auvergne that tells of the shepherds looking after their sheep in the communal pasture with a stream running by. The name comes from the sound of the shepherds calling across the valley (“Baylèro”).

Cockles and Mussels (Molly Malone) - Please join in

It is not known if Molly Malone actually existed, but a theory claims a birth certificate was found for a Mary Malone who died on June 13, 1699. This song has become Dublin's anthem.

The Animals Went In Two by Two - Please join in

You're never too old for a good nursery rhyme.

The Animal Fair - Sung by The Semiquavers

A traditional folk and children's song sung by minstrels and sailors as early as 1898.

Avian Songs (birds)

The Silver Swan - Orlando Gibbons (1583 - 1625)

A madrigal composed in the early Baroque period. Gibbons' best-known song and among the most admired English madrigals, it reflects the artistic trope of the swan singing once, beautifully, before death.

The Bluebird - Charles Villiers Stanford (1910)

Set to the words of L'Oiseau Bleu, a poem by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, describing a bluebird in flight over a lake.

The Penguin Song - Sung by The Semiquavers

Land of the Silver Birch

A traditional Canadian folk song dating from the 1920s. Please join in.

Celestial Songs

The River Story - A poem written and recited by local poet Peter Martin.

To Be Sung of a Summer Night on the Water - Frederick Delius (1917)

One of two wordless works for choir, published in 1920 and first performed in 1921.

Calme des Nuits - Camille Saint-Saëns (1882)

This beautifully evocative piece contrasts night's calm with garish distractions, gradually fading to leave us in true calm.

Here Comes the Sun - George Harrison (1969)

From the Abbey Road album. In 2024 it was the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify.

Interval

Songs of Flora (plants)

The Ash Grove - Thomas Oliphant (1799 - 1873) - Please join in

A traditional Welsh folk tune, best-known in its English version by Scottish composer Oliphant.

The Hills - John Ireland (1879 - 1962)

Set to a poem by James Kirkup, The Hills was Ireland's contribution to A Garland for the Queen, commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. It reflects spiritual connection to the English landscape.

To Daffodils - Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953)

Set to Robert Herrick's poem reflecting on life's transience. Quilter was known for his sensitive English art songs, often setting texts by Shakespeare.

Dirait-on - Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)

Part of the choral cycle Les Chansons des Roses, set to Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry. “Dirait-on” means “So they say” or “It seems.” Lauridsen evokes the style of French folk chansons.

On Ilkla Moor Baht'at - Please join in (best Yorkshire)

Sung in a dialect specific to Halifax. A lesson on basic food chains - and what happens if you forget your hat on Ilkley Moor!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud - Flanders and Swann - Sung by The Semiquavers

An amorous male hippopotamus invites a lady hippo to join him in the cooling mud.

Edelweiss - Rodgers and Hammerstein - Please join in

From The Sound of Music. A tender homage to Austria's national flower and a subtle protest against Nazi occupation.

Les fleurs et les arbres - Camille Saint-Saëns (1882)

A gem of French choral repertoire. The anonymously written poem suggests that nature and art shine brightest when we experience them amidst sorrow.

The Rose - Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

Gjeilo's setting of Christina Rossetti's poem contrasts the soft lily with the thorny rose, exploring how beauty is often accompanied by hardship.

When Daisies Pied - John Rutter (b. 1945)

Part of Rutter's Three Birthday Madrigals. Set to Shakespeare's words from Love's Labour's Lost, it's a jazz-influenced waltz celebrating the colours of nature.

Ending

Achieved is the Glorious Work - Franz Joseph Haydn (from The Creation)

On the sixth day, God reflects on His creation. Preceded by the angel Gabriel's recitative “And God saw everything.” Sung by Steve Machan.

Circle of Life - Reprise - Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice