The Lily and the Rose

Note on the Text

The meaning of this enchanting medieval poem remains elusive.  The oldest known source is a sixteenth-century British Library manuscript (Harley 7578), and the text was first printed in a modern edition in 1907.  It also appears in The Oxford Book of English Verse, edited by Helen Gardner, with the title “The Bridal Morn.”

    The Lily and the Rose can be read as a symbol of the Virgin Mary, and perhaps the most convincing interpretation of the poem is that of Mary mourning the death of her son.  References to ‘bearing the bell away’ and to the ‘bailey’ could be seen to support this; in the Middle Ages, bells were rung over a body to confirm death, and bailey is a synonym for ‘keep’, the place where a body might be buried.

    However, the most compelling modern interpretation is that the text is concerned with the fear and excitement of a young girl on her wedding day, hence the title in The Oxford Book of English Verse.  Certainly, reference to mother, windows and sunshine can be read as images of protection and freedom.  

About the Composer

    Bob Chilcott has been involved with choral music all his life, first as a Chorister and then a Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge.  Later he sang and composed music for 12 years with The King’s Singers.  His experiences with that group, his passionate commitment to young and amateur choirs, and his profound belief that music can unite people, have inspired him both to compose full time and, through pro-active workshoppping, promote choral music world-wide.