This edition was prepared by Geoff Allan — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Alisoun
Staff Notation • Secular, Consort songs
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Alisoun by Geoff Allan — Lyrics
Bytuene Mershe ant Averil
When spray biginneth to spring,
The lutel foul hath hire wyl
On hyre lud to syng.
Iche libbe in lovelonginge
For semlokest of alle thynge,
Heo may me blisse bringe,
Icham in hire bandoun.
An hendy hap ichabbe yhent
Ichot from hevene it is me sent,
From alle wymmen my love is lent
Ant lyht on Alisoun.
On heu hire her is fayr ynoh,
Hire browe broune, hire eye blake;
With lossom chere he on me loh;
With middel smal ant wel ymake;
Bote he me wolle to hire take
For to buen hire owen make,
Long to lyven ichulle forsake
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About Alisoun
Geoff Allan’s setting of Alisoun opens with a gentle, imitative texture, the SATB voices weaving together to evoke the dawn of spring. The Old English and Middle English text describes the singer’s longing for his beloved, Alisoun, comparing her to the returning song of the little bird and her beauty to the blossoming spray. The music captures the simple joy and heartfelt devotion of the lyrics, with flowing melodic lines and clear harmonic progression. Allan’s consort song, drawing on the secular tradition, offers a charming and accessible setting that paints a vivid picture of early medieval courtly love.
