Folk songs have passed down from generation to generation, telling timeless stories of ordinary people's lives. In The Sprig of Thyme John Rutter has collected eleven songs from across the British Isles and Ireland which make up a colourful musical patchwork of human experience. Through simple, direct language and lilting melodies, the songs tell us about the complexities of human life - especially where love is concerned!

Here's what Rutter wrote about his feelings for this music:

'For children growing up in post-war England as I did, traditional songs still form a common musical currency. These songs brought me delight and pleasure then, and they still do now, though pleasure has become tinged with nostalgia because, for the most part, they are forgotten and gone from our lives, perhaps forever. The Sprig of Thyme is an affectionate tribute to their composers and poets; a few were renowned, most were obscure or unknown, but the songs they created were famous, and I remember them fondly.'

Rutter's arrangements give new life to these songs, passing on his 'delight and pleasure' to us, both as singers and as listeners.

The Bold Grenadier warns that young girls should beware of falling for dashing soldiers, who will surely love them and leave them.

The Keel Row is a Geordie lassie's love song. She praises her handsome Johnny and hopes that the boat he sails in will be seaworthy.

The Willow Tree is a young man's lament – for lost wealth, a false friend, lost love and lost hope.

The Sprig of Thyme warns young girls of the dangers of falling in love. In folk lore, thyme is a symbol of innocence; once stolen, it is lost for ever. In this song, first documented in 1689, a false young man steals a maiden's love, then deserts her. She waits for time to pass and for the thyme in her garden to grow again, but cannot forget her love.

Down By The Sally Gardens is a mature man's lament for lost love and lost youth. He regrets that he could not be carefree and light-hearted in his youth, as his sweetheart advised him; now it's too late.

The Cuckoo tells of the joy of falling in love and the pain of betrayal. A girl wishes she could tell all men of the pain and grief their lies cause.

I Know Where I'm Going is about another 'handsome, winsome Johnny', this time sung by a rich girl whose family don't approve of her choice. She is prepared to give up all her wealth for Johnny, but knows that her future is uncertain.

Willow Song is a sorrowful lament in which the willow tree and willow garland symbolise lost love.

O Can You Sew Cushions? expresses tender maternal love in a gentle lullaby.

The Miller of Dee is an energetic masculine celebration of life, work, youth and making merry, ending in a toast to the king!

Afton Water tells of happy mutual love; a faithful couple live an idyllic rural life, accompanied by the sound of the sweetly-flowing river.

Liebeslieder Waltzes and Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes
Johannes Brahms, 1833 – 1897

Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833. His father was a professional musician who played the double-bass in local theatres. While training with a local music teacher and embarking on his own compositions, the young Johannes supported himself by playing the piano in cafes and dance halls.

In 1853, when Brahms was twenty, Robert Schumann met him, heard some of his music and wrote an article praising it. Schumann's enthusiastic review and his recommendations to publishers were a great help and encouragement to the young composer. The continuing friendship of Schumann and his wife Clara became very precious to Brahms.

Another lifelong friend was Johann Strauss the younger, whose music Brahms admired enormously, saying that he would have given anything to have written The Blue Danube waltz. When Strauss's wife Adele asked Brahms to autograph her fan, he inscribed on it a few notes from The Blue Danube, followed by the words 'Alas, not by Brahms'!

Johann Strauss and Brahms in Vienna

During a stay in Vienna in 1862-63, Brahms became inspired by the music of Franz Schubert. In 1863 he wrote 'My love for Schubert is a very serious one…..not a fleeting fancy…..Genius like his soars aloft so boldly and surely…To me he is like a child of the gods.' In the late 1880s he still felt the same: 'There is no song by Schubert from which one cannot learn something'.

The combined influences of Strauss and Schubert inspired Brahms to create the 18 Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52, a cycle of romantic love songs written in waltz time. These were published in 1869, and premiered the next year in Vienna by Brahms and Clara Schumann. The work was highly acclaimed by the public and brought Brahms his first real taste of fame; it was so popular that five years later he published a second set of 14 songs under the title Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65.

The songs are quite short, with colourful changes in key, rhythm and dynamics which produce a variety of moods. The expressed emotion is in turn passionate, lyrical, melancholy or joyful. The piano accompaniment for four hands is an additional delight.

Detail from 'Brahms Begins the Day' by Oswald Barrett ('Batt') reproduced by kind permission of Michael Abbott

Brahms Begins The Day This is one of twelve portraits of composers by Oswald Barrett ('Batt') which appeared in the 'Oxford Companion to Music' by Percy A. Scholes. Batt wrote: '[Brahms] was a confirmed bachelor, very simple in his habits and frugal in his tastes. When in later years he became affluent he did not change his mode of life, but remained, as he began, a lodger in furnished rooms. He is seen [here] in his bedroom in the Carlgasse, Vienna, having brewed his early morning coffee, which daily rite took place at about 5am. He always prepared his own brew, as nobody else would make it strong enough. The coffee machine and cup are the actual ones he used. With his strong coffee he would smoke an equally strong cigar, to be followed by many others throughout the day.'

Tickets for this concert are £12 standard, £10 concession or £2 for under 16s, and are available from any choir member, the Ticket Secretary (01260 276957), Congleton Tourist Information Centre (01260 271095) or click here to buy online (no booking fee).