Searching for lambs - John Rutter, Cambridge Singers

‘Searching for Lambs' - English Traditional Song
From the album 'The Sprig of Thyme'

Arranger John Rutter
Conductor John Rutter
Choir The Cambridge Singers

Buy, download or stream: lnk.to/TheSprigOfThyme

Find more of the catalogue and curated playlists by subscribing to the channel:
http://bit.ly/2uQMe9P

Social Media Links:
Facebook:   / johnruttermusic  
Instagram:   / johnrutter.composer  
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johnrutter.b...
Website: https://www.johnrutter.com

LYRICS:
As I went out one May morning,
One May morning betime,
I met a maid, from home had strayed,
Just as the sun did shine.

‘What makes you rise so soon, my dear,
Your journey to pursue?
Your pretty little feet they tread so sweet,
Strike off the morning dew.’

‘I’m going to feed my father’s flock,
His young and tender lambs,
That over hills and over dales
Lie waiting for their dams.’

‘O stay, O stay, you handsome maid,
And rest a moment here,
For there is none but you alone
That I do love so dear.

How gloriously the sun doth shine,
How pleasant is the air;
I’d rather rest on a true love’s breast
Than any other where.’

For I am thine, and thou art mine,
No man shall uncomfort thee;
We’ll join our hands in wedded bliss
And a-married we will be.

The Sprig of Thyme
The Sprig of Thyme offers a selection of traditional songs of the British Isles, drawing together long-standing favourites as Willow Song and The Miller of Dee with lesser known gems as O Can Ye Sew Cushions and The Sprig of Thyme. Many new settings for choir and small instrumental group have been created by John Rutter especially for this album. Rutter’s suite of eleven traditional songs, The Sprig of Thyme (all of which can be heard on this album) is published by Oxford University Press.

‘This is a lovely disc; one to head my list of Christmas presents for musical friends…’ Gramophone

“This superb collection of traditional English songs, arranged by R. Vaughan Williams and John Rutter, is drawn from nursery rhymes, scout camps, and hymns from High Church assemblies. Sung in the peerless tones of The Cambridge Singers, these humble songs echo the gentility and cultural nationalism of postwar England. Included are bold drinking songs, tender lullabies, and love songs of fragile beauty. They bring delight and pleasure from a vanished age.” AllMusic

John Rutter, English composer and conductor, is associated with choral music throughout the world. His recordings with the Cambridge Singers (the professional chamber choir he set up in 1983) have reached a wide global audience, many of them featuring his own music in definitive versions. Among John’s best-known choral works are Gloria, Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, and Visions, together with many church anthems, choral songs and Christmas carols.


Contact
[email protected]