"Nymphs and Shepherds" by Manchester Children's Choir in stereo

Nymphs and Shepherds, sung by a choir of 190 girls and 60 boys from 52 Manchester Schools recorded on 19 June 1929.

Their confidence was inspired by their teacher, Gertrude Riall and the orchestra was that of the Hallé, under the direction of Sir Hamilton Harty.

'Nymphs and Shepherds' is actually part of some incidental music that Purcell wrote for a production of Thomas Shadwell's play 'The Libertine' (or 'The Libertine Destroy'd') in 1695. A 'Libertine' is an amoral (rather than immoral) person who rebels against the accepted norms and constraints of everyday society and Shadwell's play is a variation on the story of Don Juan a fictional character (Mozart's Don Giovanni).

The 'Flora' mentioned in the song is the Roman goddess of spring and flowers. She is also associated with dancing and drinking, and so fits in quite nicely with the concept of Libertine life. The words in Purcell's song are quite fanciful and need not be taken too seriously, but are basically saying 'Hey, you good-time people, it's Flora's day of spring - let's have a good time!'.