Connecticut College Chamber Choir - Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers

John Willbye's "Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers," a madrigal. Performed on November 8, 2008, by the Connecticut College Chamber Choir in Harkness Chapel. Professor Paul Althouse, conducting.

Many thanks to Carol Skalski for staunchly recording the video of this concert, even without a tripod!

The lyrics are kind of hard to understand, so they are listed below.

Flora gave me fairest flowers,
None so fair in Flora's treasure.
These I plac'd in Phillis' bowers,
She was pleas'd, and she's my pleasure
Smiling meadows seem to say,
Come ye wantons, here to play.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• john willbye
• willbye
• madrigal
• satb
• a cappella
• unaccompanied
• connecticut college
• conn college
• choir
• chorus
• chamber choir
• concert choir
• harkness chapel

[candidnt]

In the time it took Flora to give you those flowers, entire civilizations have come and gone. But dirge-like tempo aside, this is fabulous. Pitch and intonation is outstanding. Honestly, I'd rather sacrifice speed above sound quality.

I have never been able to shake the impression that the narrator is kind of a dick. Yeah, the song is about cheating, but still. The next verse should be "Flora Shoved Fairest Flowers Up My Ass."