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Fair Phyllis

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Fair Phyllis
by John Farmer
Cantus part of Fair Phyllis published in 1599[1]
KeyF major
PeriodRenaissance
GenreMadrigal
Published1599
PublisherWilliam Barley
Duration1:18 (The King's Singers recording)
ScoringSATB ensemble

Fair Phyllis (also Faire Phyllis, Fair Phyllis I saw, Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone) is a jocular four-part English madrigal by John Farmer that was published in 1599 by William Barley in a collection entitled The First Set of English Madrigals to Four Voices.[1][2] Farmer dedicated the collection to his patron, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.[3]

The piece is known for its lighthearted pastoral text, lively rhythms, and use of word painting.[3][4] It remains a popular madrigal and is often sung by college or high school choruses.[4][5] The short work typically takes between one and two minutes to perform.[6]

Background and narrative

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Phyllis and Amyntas, the central figures in the madrigal, would have been familiar to Farmer's Elizabethan audience, having become synonymous with shepherds and shepherdesses in a pastoral setting.[2][3] Characters with their names could be found in ancient literature, such as the Eclogues of Virgil, where they appear in an Arcadian landscape.[7] English writers of the day had, in turn, adapted Phyllis and Amyntas as stock pastoral characters. They appeared in numerous works including Edmund Spenser's The Shepheardes Calender (1579) and Thomas Watson’s Amyntas (1582).[2][8][9][10]

A testament to the popularity of the Phyllis and Amyntas characters is how many composers included them in madrigals. They can be found in works by Thomas Morley ("Phyllis I Fain Would Die Now"), Francis Pilkington ("Amyntas with His Phyllis Fair"), and Thomas Weelkes ("Sit Down and Sing Amintas' Joys" and "My Phyllis Bids Me Pack Away").[11]

The text of "Fair Phyllis" presents a brief mock-pastoral narrative that playfully engages with traditional pastoral themes.[2][4] In this madrigal, the shepherdess Phyllis is depicted sitting alone and feeding her flock near a mountainside. None of the other shepherds knows where she is, but her lover, Amyntas, scurries "up and down" in search of her until he eventually finds her, leading to a lusty reunion.[12]

Structure, text, and musical devices

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Section Text[12] Meter[2][3] Texture
A
(Repeated)
Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone,
Feeding her flock near to the mountainside.
 Duple meter
Mixed duple and triple meter 		Monophonic
Homophonic
B
The shepherds knew not whither she was gone,
But after her lover Amyntas hied.*
 Duple meter
(Both lines) 		Polyphonic
(Both lines)
C
(Repeated)
Up and down he wandered whilst she was missing;
When he found her, O, then they fell a-kissing.
 Duple meter
Duple then triple meter 		Polyphonic
Homophonic

*hied = hastened, hurried

The anonymous poem that Farmer set to music is a sestain with a rhyming scheme of ABABCC. English part song publications provide no attributions for the texts. As a result, the poets or translators for most Elizabethan part songs, including this madrigal, remain unknown and are possibly the composers.[13]

Fair Phyllis performed by the Collegium Vocale Bydgoszcz.

"Fair Phyllis" follows an AABCC musical form[3][5] commonly found in Italian canzonettas,[2] which are known for their lightness of mood and rhythmic character.[14] Farmer employs word painting throughout the madrigal to musically illustrate the jovial narrative. For example, the opening line, "Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone," is set monophonically, reflecting her solitude. The subsequent line, "Feeding her flock near to the mountainside," transitions to a homophonic texture, with all voices singing together, symbolizing the presence of her flock.[2][3][5]

Beginning the B section, the phrase "The shepherds knew not whither she was gone," sung in imitative polyphony, creates a marked contrast with the A section and sets the scene for Amyntas’s hurried search. In the C section, the urgency of Amyntas’s search is amplified by the cascading and overlapping lines of "Up and down he wandered," as each voice enters in succession, providing a sense of movement.[2][3][5]

Word painting of the text "Up and down he wandered" using imitative polyphony
Word painting of the text "Up and down he wandered" using imitative polyphony
Etching of lovers in a pastoral setting by Martin van Maele


Notably, the C section is repeated, causing the phrase "Up and down he wandered" to occur immediately after "O then they fell a-kissing." This introduces a bawdy double entendre, shifting the meaning from Amyntas's search in the hills to foreplay.[4][15] Additionally, Farmer shifts to triple meter in the phrase "O then they fell a-kissing," sung homophonically, which lends it a rhythmic, lilting quality that enhances the playful eroticism of the moment.[2][3]

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The madrigal was featured in the episode Death in Chorus of the British detective drama Midsomer Murders.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Farmer, John (1599). The first set of English madrigals to foure voices. London: William Barley, the assigne of Thomas Morley. LCCN 2013568556. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nathan, Hans (1950). "John Farmer: Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone". In Thimme, Diether; Heist, William W. (eds.). An Introduction to Literature & the Fine Arts. Michigan State College Press. pp. 136–139. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rice, Timothy; Wilson, Dave (2022). Gateways to Understanding Music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000777697. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  4. ^ a b c d Taruskin, Richard (2006). The Oxford History of Western Music. Volume 1: Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199796045. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  5. ^ a b c d Shrock, Dennis (2022). Choral Repertoire (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780197622407. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  6. ^ "Fair Phyllis" at MusicBrainz (information and list of recordings)
  7. ^ Fabre-Serris, Jacqueline (2023). "Suicides for Love, Phyllis, Pyramus and Thisbe: Critical Variations on a Famous Motif of Erotic Poetry?". In Farrell, Joseph; Miller, John F.; Nelis, Damien; Schiesaro, Alessandro (eds.). Ovid, Death and Transfiguration. Brill. ISBN 9789004528871. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  8. ^ Craik, George L. (George Lillie) (1845). Spenser, and His Poetry. London: Charles Knight & Co. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  9. ^ Morris, Harry (September 1959). "Richard Barnfield, "Amyntas," and the Sidney Circle". PMLA. 74 (4): 318–324. doi:10.1632/460441. JSTOR 460441.
  10. ^ Chaudhuri, Sukanta (2018). A Companion to Pastoral Poetry of the English Renaissance. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526127006. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  11. ^ Chatterley, Albert (Autumn 2007). "Thomas Watson: Poet - and Musician?". The Musical Times. 148 (1900). Musical Times Publications: 79–91. JSTOR 25434479.
  12. ^ a b Ledger, Philip, ed. (1978). The Oxford Book of English Madrigals. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0193436640.
  13. ^ White, Chris (April 2004). "Phonetic Fun and Frolic: Alliteration in Elizabethan Part Songs". The Choral Journal. 44 (9). American Choral Directors Association: 29–34. JSTOR 23554928.
  14. ^ "Canzonet". Britannica. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  15. ^ Sharon, Deke; Spalding, Ben; McDonald, Brody (2015). A Cappella. Alfred Music. ISBN 9780739090411. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  16. ^ "Death in Chorus". Midsomer Murders. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
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