posted                  

I just thought I'd share my giggle of the day with you dear Hatrack....

"...PDQ Bach (1807-1742?) the last and least of the twenty-odd children of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, and certainly the oddest of the lot."

For one of my final projects I had to plan a high school fall choir concert. Dang is my concert fun. It's also quite reachable for the students which is a new thing for me and one of the coolest things I'm learning. (It's also full of amazingly fun and diverse music, did I mention that?) Anyway, my pretend concert choir will be singing "The Queen to Me a Royal Pain Doth Give" by P.D. Q. Bach. The words are hilarious, I almost peed my pants. The second madrigal in this set is called "My Bonnie Lass She Smelleth" and I'll have to get my hands on that soon. Here are the words to "Queen"

quote:

---

The Queen the Queen, to me a royal pain doth give.
To see the fair Thusnelda once again
Oy veh.

A Queen who reigns, yet keeps her powder dry,
Must power use where love would best apply
To keep me from Thusnelda once again.
Oy veh.

She fancies me her lad and so, alas,
She bids me bide awhile, her time to pass;
But once her royal cup the Queen doth drain,
The ruler by her servant, Sleep, is slain.
And I to my Thusnelda fly again.
Oy veh.

---

Just imagine a piece in the tradition of a madrigal with all those crazy suspensions and repetitions of text....yet there are also terrible musical faux pas that make you cringe a little if you're listening hard. The program notes make it clear that those terrible parts are to be sung distinctly and clearly for the audience's enjoyment. The "oy veh" section goes on and on and on until I almost die I'm laughing so hard.

I've never heard anyone perform this, but I will soon if I have anything to do with it.

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