Artist: Unknown
Year: Unknown
Location: Reading Abbey
Type: Plaque
Material: Limestone
Accessibility: Step free access on gravel ground
Description: This plaque hangs on the Chapter House of Reading Abbey that shows an ancient page of music. It reminds u that one of the earliest recorded pieces of music from England was written down in Reading Abbey. This probably took place in the Cloister. “Sumer is icumen in” translates to Summer is a-coming in. It is a four-part rotational harmony dating from around 1225. It is well known across the World and often remembered because of its repetitive ‘Cuckoo’ chorus with the original manuscript now in the British Library.
The plaque underneath the song reads;
“This canon which has been described as “the most remarkable ancient mystical composition in existence” was written down at Reading Abbey circa AD 1240
Berkshire Sculpture Park 