Old English Nursery Rhymes were a way to teach language skills to the very young in an age when the vast majority of people were illiterate. These little rhyming songs toyed with alliteration, modulation and rhythm, and educated by putting daily life situations into easy to remember verse. Most of the rhymes were light-hearted and comical and some even made some serious or even gruesome situations comical. (Think of "Ring-a-ring a Rosie" that was actually about the realities of dealing with the Black Death.)
As an Opener for "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I wanted to include the entire cast in singing authentic English Nursery Rhymes of the Elizabethan period (circa 1605). The children are drawn out onto the stage by the Narrators who introduce them. They come on in four small groups each singing a separate Nursery rhyme. Group 1 dances on singing "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush." They sing and do the actions twice through. Group 2 enters a few bars later singing and dancing to "Do You Know the Muffin Man." Then a few bars later, Group 3 enters singing and dancing to "London Bridge is Falling Down." Finally, the last group of boys comes on singing "Adam Had Seven Sons." Each group sings their song through twice, and then sits down, leaving Group 4 singing alone to finish.
As an Opener for "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I wanted to include the entire cast in singing authentic English Nursery Rhymes of the Elizabethan period (circa 1605). The children are drawn out onto the stage by the Narrators who introduce them. They come on in four small groups each singing a separate Nursery rhyme. Group 1 dances on singing "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush." They sing and do the actions twice through. Group 2 enters a few bars later singing and dancing to "Do You Know the Muffin Man." Then a few bars later, Group 3 enters singing and dancing to "London Bridge is Falling Down." Finally, the last group of boys comes on singing "Adam Had Seven Sons." Each group sings their song through twice, and then sits down, leaving Group 4 singing alone to finish.
Singing four unrelated songs at the same time is called a Quodlibet. This is an ancient form of what we would label Partner Songs today.
The songs work together because they are sung in the same key, have similar length and follow a similar chordal structure. They may or may not have the same meter however. For example, "Mulberry Bush" is 6/8 where the other rhymes are 2/4, but because the heavy beats in each rhyme are duple, the patterns work well together.
The songs work together because they are sung in the same key, have similar length and follow a similar chordal structure. They may or may not have the same meter however. For example, "Mulberry Bush" is 6/8 where the other rhymes are 2/4, but because the heavy beats in each rhyme are duple, the patterns work well together.
Each time I have done this show, "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," the "Nursery Rhyme Quodlibet" was everybody's favorite number. I have also heard of Elementary school choir directors using it as a fun warm-up song. I think knowing some of the backstory of singing nursery rhymes makes singing this number historically relevant even today. As an exercise for chorus rehearsals, these songs sung at the same time are a helpful way to encourage learning part singing in a fun way!
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